Most of our kids look forward to the summer. Even if your kids LOVE school, they can at least look forward to some extra play dates with friends, lots of swimming, and vacations. Since I only work part-time on weekends, and my gig at school is on break, my summers look like a lot of time with my kids, and even a lot of time with other kids. We host our own “summer camps” at home. I get to earn a little income without having to pay for childcare, my kids get to play with other kids, and our friends get very inexpensive summer childcare with someone familiar. Win, win, win.
But what do you DO with a whole bunch of kids who are used to being entertained and told what to do most of the day? During the school year, they get up early and get told to dress and have breakfast. They get packed up and put into cars or buses and dropped off at school where they are directed and instructed for a pretty solid 7 hours. After that, some get taken home, others go to after school classes where they get further instruction and entertainment. Many kids don’t even get home until dinnertime. That’s when they get told to eat, do homework, and get ready for bed. Phew!
Summertime means freedom and fun, right?!?!?! Many kids still get solidly entertained at super fun summer camps. But what about the ones who get a lot more home time? Honestly, so many of the kids don’t know what to do with themselves. My kids get bored. I could rush around making sure they are entertained and busy, and I used to try really hard to do just that. But having other kids around has made me less inclined to do this, so we find other things to do. We might occasionally fill time with free summer movies at the theater. The library system has amazing summer programs for kids. There are LOTS of pools and parks to check out. We do some art, science projects, or cooking.
But sometimes, they just play. It’s amazing what they figure out when left to be BORED and get creative. Today, I had 6 children. They did face painting, turned each other into horses by tying sofa pillows onto their backs with martial arts belts and gave each other rides. They played in the treehouse, had a huge battle with various weapons, turned my back patio into an art mural with chalk, pulled each other in a wagon using a bike, and we played a cup stacking reading game with Dixie cups. It was so much fun, but nothing fancy or super organized happened. This kind of sounds like childhood to me.
This kind of magic is easy when there are lots of friends around though. What happens when it’s just me and my kids? They do get bored. I encourage them to use their toys, books, games, backyard, but they usually come right back 15 minutes later and get in my way in the kitchen playing with refrigerator magnets or ask me to play with them. Sometimes, I just say you have to be bored. It’s OK to do nothing. Meditate.
I could give them a screen to look at, and every once in a while I do. I could put on an audiobook or podcast and give them some art supplies, and sometimes I do that. But the thing I do that makes them feel like they’ve had a really awesome day is just be with them. We play a board game and make eye contact. I get a balloon and we see how long we can keep it off the ground. If I do 10 minutes of sword fighting with my son, he thinks I’m the most amazing mom in the world. I didn’t have to feed him candy and let him watch lots of TV to get that designation. What they want and need most of all is us. A little bit of Mama time goes a LONG way. Still.
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