One month down. Two to go.

It’s official. One whole month of summer vacation has passed. But at least I’m not hearing “I’m bored” as much. That was the general consensus when Kassie was first home for vacation. I knew all 3 of them would be at each others throats and on my nerves if I didn’t find something for them to do and quick.
Back when I was a kid we would find ways to occupy ourselves. Back then, that meant endless days playing baseball with my brothers, shooting baskets, playing school (yes playing school while on summer vacation) and generally trying to make myself scarce so that I could avoid chores. Today, unless your children are at least in middle school, you probably don’t leave their summers all that unstructured.

But what can you do to keep kids entertained for 3 months? If you are a stay at home parent like I am, you probably want to avoid having your child play 90 straight days on their Nintendo DS or Wii. You also probably want to keep them engaged, you sane, and your wallet full. Fortunately, there are a lot of options out there. I am also a work at home mom so I knew I needed to find a way to make everyone one happy; I need to get my work done without them nagging me every 5 minutes.

We all sat done and brainstorm things they’d like to do and things that they could do this summer.

Reading Books: I went on EBay and purchase 12 Junie B. Jones books for $6.00 for Kassie to read. Who knew that a girl that wears mismatched clothes and was so nosey could be interesting to read about. Every time Kassie reads to her sisters she’ll get a star added to her reward chart.

Going to the movies: Many cinemas offer discounted or even free films if you go to matinees, especially showings before noon in the middle of the week. Our local cinema has a free family movie day of Tuesday mornings. It is a great value and a great way to get out of the house, without any cost, in the middle of the week.

Going for a walk: We live in a wooded area and the girls love walking in the woods. We almost always see some kind of wildlife on our journey and they can’t wait to tell Dad when he gets home from work.

Local Parks: Most local parks have play areas and swing sets. Who doesn’t love to swing?

Scavenger Hunt: Make up a scavenger hunt and have them look in your yard for their findings.

Sprinklers: Most kids love to play in water so a sprinkler or pool is ideal. We a have a huge inflatable water slide that the girls could spend hours on end playing with.

By incorporating things that they wanted to do into our schedule it makes things more enjoyable for everyone and it gives them something to look forward to.