Summer Is upon Us.. What ARE We Going to Do to Entertain the Kids??!!

Right now, I kicked my 5 and 7 year old daughters out with a scavenger hunt list. They have to find something for A-Z, assorted shapes, and all the colors.

What they don't know, is when they do find it all, they have to draw pictures of all those things, MWAHAHAHA!! Busy work :)

Then tmrw we're writing thank you notes to nanny and pawpaw, who just left after spoiling us rotten on a week long visit.

We play 'school' a lot... and read a WHOLE lot when it's too hot or rainy.

Monday-Wednesday-Friday are NO TV DAYS, no matter how frazzled I get.

We go to the library for story time and puppet shows.

We hang out at the river every spare second we can.

We'll be doing a LOT of camping :)

But seriously, have a friend over (one for you, one for your son- safety in numbers) and get him outside from sun up to sundown! Help him do a lemonade stand (and you can have a yard sale, why not? Spring cleaning!) Plant flowers (or pull weeds)... um, yeah, I'm SUPER excited it's summer vacation... I love having my kiddos home!! Have fun!

Do you have a pool or can you join a pool? That's a great way to get out, get exercise, etc.

Sprinkler & hose? Sidewalk chalk? Bubble machine? Movie night once per week with pizza? Playground? Hikes?

Duct tape, hours of fun for mom. :p

I got a pool, when they start driving me nuts it is time for a swim. They sleep real good too.

i work part time in the mornings but we have alot close by also (thankfully!!!) my son is 6 and loves fishing and biking s we spend alot of time at the rail trail....its a reservoir with lots of paths in it....parks in walking distance and im thinking of doing a weekly thursday fieldtrip on my day off to the zoos or state parks etc

Sand box and old spoons/pots/colander will keep kids occupied for hours.
Have them use it in the mornings before it gets too hot outside.
Wading pool or sprinkler (and water balloons) are fun, too.
You can always read to them any time of the day (and libraries often have story time, too).

Ballons from the dollar store (you can blow them up or let the blow them up and you tie them off or our personal favorite water ballons), a jar of bubbles and either a bubble blowing gun or any of the various bubble wands. Let them pop the bubbles while you blow the bubbles. Side walk chalk, great fun and entertainment washes away with the next rain. Kite flying, have them help you make a kite and fly it. There are great arts and crafts books that can give you activities to do during the summer. We also have special kitchen projects like ice cream making or even icy making. Let them know the fun things you have planned at the beginning of the day and also let them know they can only participate if they are cooperative and don't fight then don't be afraid to follow through. Another thing my kids loved when they were small was our little wading pool and the sprinklers. Another thing where we could get hours of fun for little to no effort on my part.

Be creative and think outside of the box and have a great summer.

DS is 5-1/2. Last week we (that would be me) made giant fish out of corrugated cardboard (we saw James Grashow at a local arts festival- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD-Sm0wSV9k) and DS painted them with temperas. Painting outside is GREAT - get an old sheet and let them go.

Do a vegetable garden. Dig holes, plant seeds. Visit the local farmers market and pick a new vegetable. Cook together. (DS LOVES to wash dishes - works for me)

Go on a 'hike' around the yard looking for 'nature'. We have 1-1/2 acres in a suburb - DS collects seeds, feathers, robin's eggs, bird's nests, sticks, etc. (You can always make a collage with all the stuff).
LEGO - consumes hours.
Coloring - almost as good as lego.
Play outside with them - we kick around the soccer ball, play 'baseball' (we play imaginary guys on the bases since there are 2 of us), throw a ball. set up a hose and run through the sprinkler.

Fly a kite. Make a kite. Make paper airplanes (paint the paper airplanes). Teach them to fish (learn to fish).