Summertime and The Livin’s Easy

Schools out for the summer, and that typically means there’s less stress and more time for the things we love. Whether you’re working full-time, longing to be in the sunshine with your kids, or home all day wondering how to fill the time, if you’re like me, there’s not a lot of money,  extra hands, or time off work to do big vacations or grand excursions. So, what’s a parent to do? How do I make summer as memorable as the ones I had growing up? How can I make this summer anything but monotonous days filled with my kids fighting with each other, and how can I use what little time I have away from work to give them the kind of fun summer that I want my kids to have? After speaking with other moms, my therapist, and conducting some research, I’ve found that it doesn’t take much effort to help your kids have a fun and meaningful summer. Here’s what I found out:

Keep it light – While a routine is important for kids (and crucial for those with anxiety, ADHD, Autism, and more), it is also important to take a break. It’s called Summer Break for a reason, and I’m all for it. This year, our family has kept our existing commitments and decided to wait until Fall to add new ones, such as swimming lessons and new sports, to give us more time to do as we please. A light schedule is less stressful and allows us to enjoy our home, our rest, and each other.

Simplify – Make summer simple. Let the kids get bored- don’t overcomplicate things by thinking you have to fix their boredom or have every moment of summer planned out for them.

• Choose just five pairs of shorts and five t-shirts that can be mixed and matched to make different outfits all summer. You’ll save time picking out an outfit and won’t have a million loads of laundry.
• Find things to do (like local restaurants or parks) that are within walking distance to save you time loading and unloading all the kids to go somewhere and get some exercise as a family!
• Get together with your kids to make a list of things they want to do this summer and do as many as possible, starting with the most feasible one. At least one person will be happy because it was their idea, and they’ll feel heard and seen since it was their idea that you decided to buy into.
• Teach the kids how to make a new dish or how to do a new chore- if they practice all summer when there’s extra time, they can help when school’s back in and you’re crazy busy. Besides, you could go ALL summer without doing something like unloading the dishwasher!
• Make meals easy with ideas like charcuterie boards, fruit and yogurt, sandwiches, and breakfast for dinner save time, clean up, dishes, and stress.

Simplify life by remembering what’s important – not having a spotless house or a gourmet dinner – your kids are what matter! Your family is the most important thing, and maybe I needed to take a step back from everything this season just to realize life’s that simple.

Disconnect – Turning off the TV gives us more quality time, and it’s easy now that there are fun alternative options for what to do, especially since we have no rain and more time together. We put our phones away to show the kids that we’re disconnecting too. Taking breaks from social media has improved my mood and also made me feel less pressure about how I’m raising my kids or what we’re doing. Giving less time to busyness, technology and even the busyness of taking care of a home, we can give more uninterrupted time to our kids. Our kids need us. They need our focus and energy and care. They need our TIME. This summer, let’s give our kids the gift of time.

Lower your expectations – Maybe I’m the only one that wants everything and everyone to be perfect and assumes it’s my job to make that happen. Summer is not that time. Kids are going to fight more because they’re with each other more often. The house is going to be messier than normal because everybody’s home more often and you’re outside all the time, meaning you’re inside cleaning less than usual. Personally, I think it’s okay that my kids don’t get the normal 3 meals and 3 snacks a day every day. I don’t like to eat full meals when it’s hot either, so I’m okay that my toddlers snack more than usual as long as they get all the nutrients and hydration that they need in a day.

Instead of planning activities at home or away that mean lots of prep, packing, money or stress, try doing something with your kids you know that they’ll like and costs little to nothing. Check my list below for a list of ways we have fun that are easy and cheap.

Even if we simplify how our families do life in this season, summer with kids means we have more demands on us than normal. As a kid, Summer meant freedom. Summer held the potential for incredible things to happen; it was magical. That magic doesn’t have to stop because we’re adults and it doesn’t have to be magic manufactured by you just because you’re the parent.  The potential that summer holds doesn’t cost anything, it doesn’t need your husband or wife to pitch in and it can happen anywhere. I hope you get some time to sit back, let go of everything and enjoy the magic of summer with the people that make your life worth slowing down for.

Our go to “simple activities”

• Taking walks
• Exploring new parks as often as possible
• Sidewalk chalk
• Crafts. Check out the Dollar Store, use stuff from around the house, or check out Goodwill for supplies.
• Start a garden. Seed packets are 2 for a dollar at the Dollar Store
• My Bored Toddler (myboredtoddler.com) has tons of random activities like games, crafts and teaching materials.
• Checking things out from the local library. Libraries have new books, movies, activities and now tons of supplies to support hobbies and interests like nerf guns or telescopes
• Library events. The Corvallis library has story time, but also holds events like kids concerts and visits from animals during the summer
• Cook dinner together
• Do a puzzle
• Play hopscotch
• Play in the sprinkler
• Concerts in the Park
• Check out Pollywog for a list of their summer activities
• Go on a hike
• Participate in a service project (we cleaned up at a park)
• Water play. try adding a small amount of food coloring to the water
• Buy Nothing Project opportunities. The Facebook group Buy Nothing Benton County is a group where people give services and goods to other community members for free. We’ve gotten puzzles, art supplies, a slide, riding toys, movies
• Have a movie night!
• Color together
• Go fruit picking. The fruits we eat are cheaper when we do U-Pick. Follow the U-Pick Facebook page for up to date information and links to all the local farms
• Wash your cars. Have the kids wash the family cars. We also wash our little tikes cars for fun, letting the kids use buckets of soap, water, and rags on their toy cars (sometimes even their Hot Wheels) just like they do with the family cars
• Go to a high school baseball game. it’s free and fun!
• Take kids on errands. With a slower pace of life, I use this season when I’m not pressed for time to take my kids to the store more often so that we all get used to having 3 toddlers in the store with me as the only adult