Summer Survival with Kids

Summer was approaching and I knew that if I didn't come up with a plan to make it fun, it would slip by without any special memories and I would be a frazzled freakshow rocking in a corner somewhere saying "find a happy place, find a happy place." 

I decided that trying to make everyday wonderful would be a really ambitious goal, ha ha, and I probably would run out of ideas and not only fail my kids but I would feel I had failed myself as well, so I deemed every Friday this summer to be "Adventure Friday." (surely I can handle that, right?!)

Anyday I can sprinkle an "extra something"  in, even something as simple as sidewalk chalk, makes my kids smile, which in turn makes me smile.

Our  kids are young still and easy to please, so it's fun to do the little things with them.  I live in Maine, so some of these things are Maine-related. Feel free to come up with your own local fun! 

Here's my "Summer Survival with Kids" list.  The red ones mark the fun we've had so far!
(If you have older kids, it may be harder to make these "simple little things" work.  There has to be something "out there" that you can do with them to make memories.  Any suggestions are welcome, please comment!)

• Set up a painting station outside. (painted rocks, scrap wood, firewood - my daughter painted a flag on the butt end of a piece of firewood  - it turned out GREAT!)
• Go on a picnic somewhere. Basket, blanket and all! Bring a kite, some bubbles and a soccer ball. 
• Take the kids to a camp on the lake for the day 
• Write a letter and send stickers or something to a friend or family member 
• Go on a moose hunt in Baxter State Park 
• Take a drive to the Alagash and check it out
• Start reading a kids book series 
• In the fall, visit a corn maze 
• Make a trash can drum set out of 5 galon pails
• Yardsale 
• Do something special for a friend
• Blow up balloons, put notes in them and give them to friends or neighbors 
• Visit a zoo 
• Make a treasure hunt
• Go Camping 
• Take a Horse Carriage Ride 
• Mini Golf
• Go to the movies
• Set up a sprinkler
• Build a tree house
• Family game night 
• Go to a museum 
• Plant flowers from seed 
• Throw a party for no reason
• Tie dye t shirts
• Start a collection of something
• Go to uncle willys candy store
• Roast marshmallows on a campfire....even if it’s during the day!
• Redecorate bedrooms
• Homemade playdough
• Have a sleepover in the living room with a tent
• Water balloon fight
• Make something for a local charity
• Learn to facepaint
• Bird watch/feed birds
• Get a bike go for bike rides
• Legos or duplos or the other kind
• Sidewalk chalk grafiti
• Make some pintrest crafts
• Wash the car together
• Watch the clouds
• Crochet, knit or make braclets
• Star gazing
• Dress up fashion shoot/old time photo shoot
• Set up a progressive supper with other families
• Hang out in a hammock and laugh a little
• Get dollar store creepy crawlers and put in a sand box and have the kids be great explorers discovering fossils
•  Put streamers on dowels and turn on dance music for the kids to dance to
•  7 day club with the kids?

Spirit Week...not so bad!

I can't say that I love spirit week at school.  (Am I aloud to admit this out loud?)  I mean, for a procrastinator like myself it proves to be quite stressful.  (do I see an upcoming remodel for this part of my life by chance?)

Day 1 was simple.  Dress in Blue for one kid and Green for the other kid.  I can handle that.  We just happened to have those colors in their wardrobes.
Day 2  Duct tape day.  Ok, tell me, who hated me enough to make this one of the themes for the week?  Do you know how many things you can make with Duct Tape?  Question # 2 - do you know how much $ Duct Tape is! Question # 3 - Did you know that Silver Duct Tape is no longer an acceptable color choice to a 9 year old when there is double your money zebra print to buy?

Well, as much as it was quite a waste of money, it didn't totally go to waste.  They did have a blast with it at school,  and decking their clothes out etc was so much fun for the kids....I loved to see their imaginations in full force, so that has to count for something, but beyond that....I made an accessory that will be useful for years to come.  

 The Z-bag.

And for those wondering if it wears well...Ha, Ha, my husband is such a great sport.  Just another reason why I love him so much.  (He thought I was just taking a picture of the Z-bag LOL!!!)

Ok, back to the the purpose of this post.  There is a point, I promise.

Day 3  (tonight's project) Costumes from a movie the class chose.  Our themes to work with:  Monsters Inc. and Peter Pan.  I love how you can Google what you're looking for and they give you a cheater page called Google Images. We picked the characters they wanted to be and it was late enough I had to send the younger 3 off to bed while my 9 year old and I dreamed up costume ideas. 

This is where things went right.  She was smiling ear to ear just spending time with mom, laughing with me at the ridiculous costumes in some of the pictures and at some of my hair brained ideas, too. 

The Point of this post...

I find these moments some of the best moments between my daughter and I.  As much as I'm thinking "it's so late, you need to go to bed" I can see by the way she is smiling and snuggling closer that this is what she qualifies as quality time and I love that. 

So, I can't say I want to make Z-bags every night, nor do I want to dream up Mike and Mr. Smee costumes in the near future, but I do want to keep finding ways to connect with my each of my children individually so we can have that time to giggle and smile from ear to ear by just being together.