Ready or not, here it comes! Summer! It’s vacay time, school is out and it’s back to you, Mom and Dad, for day time care. We had a group of teachers in our local school system that had t-shirts made that read, “Dear Parents, TAG you’re it!” I loved this! Now it’s our turn to teach, entertain, correct, organize activities, and generally care for our children we brought into the world. If we’re all completely honest, it can be enough to strike terror into one’s heart.
I even remember sitting in the doctor’s office this time last year for an annual checkup and recall sharing with the doctor how nervous I felt about having all my kids again in my 24 hour care during the summer. She even offered me medicine! No thanks, doc. I remember feeling so overwhelmed, but you know what, we made it through it, and I’m looking forward to it this time!
Here are some things that helped me. First of all, Vacation Bible School. Utilize them all, and don’t feel guilty! This is a prime time for you to drop the kids off at a church that you trust and go out for some much-needed alone time with your spouse. This gives you around two hours to have dinner together, enjoy uninterrupted conversation, and catch a breath. This also gives them a chance to regroup as well, giving them a change of scenery and fun memories to be made. I loved VBS as a kid! And some even serve suppers too! These were on the top of my hit list if there were two churches doing VBS the same week.
Another thing we do is utilize school lunches. Usually a school in the district will serve free lunch during the summer, 4-5 days of the week. All you need to do, is take your kids with you to pick it up. Then you can head over to a park with your blanket or plastic tablecloth and enjoy a picnic together and let them play for an hour!
Number three on my list for summertime entertainment that won’t break the bank is the Kids Bowl Free Program. Harmony Bowling in Cleveland accepts this program. All you have to do is go on their website, www.kidsbowlfree.com and sign up all the kids in your family and they can get 2 free games per visit per week. You do have to pay for shoe rental but check out Marketplace for kid’s bowling shoes or get some shoe covers online. This fills an entire morning or afternoon and then you can get a cone of ice cream and call it a day!
Be on the lookout next week for part two of making the most of your summer with some free or budget -friendly ideas to get you out of the house and into some fun in your own town or backyard.
