and it shall be upon us all.
SUMMER!
It may have already begun for you. In that case I bet you are having the time of your life. I bet you got your happy pills refilled, too.
ha.
That is what this post is all about: how to avoid going to my sweet doctor for a prescription for happy pills before July 1. Not that I have ever had happy pills, but well, I probably don't need to start, cause I am sure there will be no going back!!!
All kidding aside, I have had "summer" on my mind. And not just because I am SICK TO DEATH of dropping off and picking up kids. And not just because I am looking forward to sleeping in a bit more.
BUT, because I want this summer to be intentional. Fun. On purpose. Dare I say, educational? Nah, I probably shouldn't use that word around the three stooges.
I have started a summer book list for Cade and Eli (more thoughts on good books always welcome) and thinking of a good reward system for that.
We know Monday will be cleaning days. Cha-ching, they are really starting to figure things out around here. Gotta love writing down a list and not having to be the only one to cross things off of it! :)
Here are a few other ideas stewing around...I thought I would make a "master list" and we can cross them off gradually...or whenever the boys say they are bored, I can point them to the list. And if that doesn't work, I will give them each a safety pin and tell them to go kill the ants in the front yard. (Sam came up with this idea the other day and I was shocked at how long it kept him entertained. Is it so wrong of me to let him kill ants???)
So, here are the ideas:
1. swim (and get Julie to teach Sam to hold his breath underwater so I can breathe myself this summer.)
2. create recipes
3. bake cupcakes and share with friends and neighbors
4. have a garage sale, tell kids they get the proceeds from any toys they want to sale
5. make animals out of rocks and felt
6. make homemade ice cream (the joke is that we have had our ice cream machine for 13 years and still haven't made homemade ice cream....this summer ends this madness!!!)
7. wash the car
8. sport at home or park: baseball, soccer, basketball, kickball, 2 square
9. Write an ongoing summer story...we could either each write our own or have a "master" story with one plot/characters that we each occasionally contribute to
10. catch fireflies
11. shop garage sales for fun
12. play flashlight tag at night
13. throw a slumber party (whew. somehow have escaped this one so far...)
14. create a city out of play do
15. board game
16. work a huge puzzle all together
17. library
18. fishing
19. ride bikes/scooters either here or at walking trail
20. bowling (see if kidsbowlfree.com is for real)
21. play in a creek and catch crawdads
22. memorize God's word (seems to be easiest to pick one verse and learn all together while sitting down eating)
23. go on a picnic
24. set up a free lemonade stand where it can get lots of traffic (outside of Target anyone?? is that legal?) and then take donations and give to a local charity
25. fly kites on a windy day
26. invite friends over for water games outside
27. write funny poems
28. draw a sketch of the house from the outside
29. go hiking
30. invent and name a new dance
31. video that dance
32. ZOO! Little Rock and hopefully Memphis and St. Louis
33. make up a treasure hunt for the boys to go on (backyard) and let there be a real "treasure"
34. family game night once a week
35. tie-die tshirts
36. play chess
37. create a holiday, complete with fun food
38. arrange some wild flowers and give to an elderly lady
39. have a jumping jack competition...whoever does the most wins. (and I win because excess energy will be wiped out from three boys.)
40. make root beer floats
41. go to the movies (Cars 2!!)
42. Bathe the dog (pretty please!!!)
43. draw a self portrait (frame them!)
44. learn 5 new words from the dictionary, and how to spell them
45. Camp out in the backyard with Dad
Do you have any fun ideas? Anywhere we can go that is fun/semi cheap? Any amazing books I should know about for boys?
I'd love to hear your strategy for sanity!
6 comments:
Looks like you've got some great and very fun ideas. Your boys are sooo blessed. In the realm of water games -- my girls love to have water balloon fights. Yes, it does leave little balloons to pick up afterwards, but they really have fun with that. Also, you might check and see if Conway has the free (or really cheap) kids movie summer program. That's always fun. I know Little Rock does it.
Last summer the girls and I did little "field trips" almost every week to hike Pinnacle or dig for diamonds, or visit the alligator farm in Hot Springs, or go to the beach at Lake DeGray. These things did require some traveling, but we made some great memories.
I'm going to check back to your list this summer when we're trying to find something to do. :)
This is awesome! Catching crawdads and fishing took up much of my time as a kid, second only to the most awesome kid activity: building forts! Somehow, this was permitted as an indoor activity even though following fort planning and construction (old sheets, clothespins, pillows, etc) a Nerf War was sure to ensue.
But besides warring, it's just so much cooler to watch a movie under a sheet or in a refrigerator box...or eat snacks, read books, etc. Entertainment for hours!
Other favorites:
Making mixtures out of cheap/old bath soaps...then bathing with them.
Sidewalk chalk (which at Mema's was actually old white bath soap that was too thin for papa to hold anymore :) cities, roads, etc on driveway
picnic at the park..or backyard
You could go to pinnacle if you catch a pretty day
Making candles! we melted chunks of old ones together, the wicks are pretty cheap.
What great ideas for a fun summer, and what a lot of evergy will be expended. Your guys are really blessed to have such a creative & fun Mom. Have fun!
Bebe
I have an idea for your scripture memory. We got http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Grace-Memory-Book-1/dp/0970524803/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306015907&sr=1-1 this Truth & Grace Memory Book for Calloway. It goes from ages 2-9 or 10. Anyway, it lists memory verses that are age appropriate, hymns, and catechism type questions. Cal loves doing it and it might be interesting for you guys to do as a family. There is a whole series of these books, so check them out. ALso, I was going to let you know that they aren't real "Catholic-y".
I'm glad to see St. Louis made the list. A week in Conway is on our list too, I just don't know when because I don't know what we're doing when our house sells. Gah! But yes, some summer fun with the cousins is in high demand!!!
If you come to Memphis, you NEED to find Jerry's Sno Cones. It is the best I have ever eaten. Facebook me before you come and I will give you directions!
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