Summer Fun......the COOLEST tip for a fun summer is......

i know the pressure out there...

to keep the kids busy,

get them in the best camps,

expose them to the most activities,

make sure every minute of every day

 is filled up because if you don't,

they might not get into Harvard some day:)
 i'm not here to say NO camps, EVER.

i understand that camps are a real help sometimes.
and fun.  some are really fun.

but seriously,

this is

SUMMER.

time to relax, kick back and have fun.
and not just the kiddos.
you have fun too...WITH them if possible:)
be a kid.
sleep in.  spend time together.
fly by the seat of your pants, without plans.
so many kids are over-planned in the school year.
 chill a bit in summer time.
this is childhood, right?

i remember growing up, before the era of camps.

we swam in backyard pools,
ran through sprinklers,

picked wild strawberries in the field behind our house,

swam in backyard pools,

caught fireflies,

rode our bikes...even creating a track for our own

motocross races.

we played football, daydreamed, ate popsicles, built forts,

had kool aid stands, played tag...

flashlight tag, cartoon tag, cereal tag, freeze tag and
hide-n-seek.

when we got thirsty, we drank icy cold water from the hose.

(and guess what? we never got a deadly disease from it, either:).
in fact, if we had come in the house,
asking our moms for a glass of water (no bottled water yet)
they would have told us to go get a drink from the hose.
and stop coming in and out of the house.
play outside already!:)  hahaha ...the good ol days!

after we drank, we squirted each other or watered the driveway.

we came in when the streetlights came on

or when our moms would call our name from the front porch.

we had mosquito bites,
 dirty feet from slipping our shoes off and playing in the grass,

and we came in just in time to take a bath, have a snack
maybe watch a tv show

and go to bed.

no video games...THANK GOODNESS!
we were responsible for making our own fun, thank you very much:)

now it seems summertime is no different than the school year.

pack lunches

set the alarm, hop in the car and get busy.

 maybe kids today love that.

but have they had a taste of the simple life recently?

they may get "bored" but did you know that's a good thing?

they NEED to learn about quiet time and solitude once in awhile.

perfect time to read, color, play with dolls or cars.

create.

imagine.

cool stuff like that:)
and by the way...here's a thought.
UNPLUG the computers and iPads this summer.
at least some of the time.

trust me on this one, 

if you get in the habit of entertaining your child, being the full time social director 

for every minute of every day, 

you are setting yourself up for some tiring, frustrating years ahead.
because they will come to expect it and you will hate the words
"i'm bored".

growing up, i had a friend next door name Donna, and her mom used to say
"i'll show you bored if you say that one more time"!!! LOL

all i'm suggesting is to resist the pressure a few days each week or so
and enjoy summer with the kids.

maybe you have amazing ideas for a fun summer.

if so, great!

you rock!!!:)

but if you need a few, i want to share some with you.

i mean, nothing is terribly original.

some of it i came up with myself, much of it i found through other sources.

but if it gives you one idea...COOL!

i'm sure you've seen the "i'm bored" jars all over pinterest.
COOL idea...but as you can tell, i am not a fan of that phrase.
so instead i suggest to you a fun jar...like this:

just type out simple, fun ideas on strips of paper.
make a rule...they draw one each day, or on a rainy day.....
anything you choose.
here are some great ideas.....

that should get you started on a fun jar!

and another idea out there that is super cool and can be used instead of a fun jar is a

SUMMER BUCKET LIST!

you can treat this the same way 

OR

if you have older kids, make a bucket list of activities they would like......

and you would be willing to do.

some ideas are vacations or day trips, if they want to do a few camps, they can choose which ones they MOST want to do here,

random activities like roast marshmallows, go snorkeling...

then, pick out a few favorites and make a note on a calendar.

make sure to leave plenty of family down time...

time to just hang out, you know?

so are you ready to have a chilled out summer?

 i'll post other ideas that are fun throughout the next few weeks and i promise......

no preaching:)

except for this next thing.

because i so believe it:) 

xoxoxox

Suzanne