June 18, 2009

It’s summer.  The kids are going crazy.  We all want to do something fun!  Here’s what I need help with:

• Where do you find ideas for fun summer activities?
• Looking back, what did your family enjoy doing the most in the summer?
• How do you choose a vacation?  A location?  What to see and do on the trip?
• And even trickier:  How do you make it fun for the teens and the littles at the same time?

Would you mind sharing with me and the other readers?

Here are my ideas:

1. Get a science museum membership or share one.  A herd of stir-crazy kids cooped up indoors during a summer storm can be frightening
2. Pick up a local travel guide for the family from your library for your own neighborhood.  I’m amazed sometimes about the cool things right in my area I had no idea existed.  Try Travel Guides Free.com
3. Put the kids in charge of mini-vacations, not the 3-year-old, but maybe a 7-year-old with a lot of help.  Let them do as much of the following as they can:  (Here’s how this is school)

• Tell them if they can find a fun place to visit within a day’s drive, you’ll make a mini-vacation of it.
• You could do one a month in the summer with a different kid in charge each time.
• Research locations, events, and history for the trip at the library.
• Buy the tickets to any events or activities.
• Calculate mileage.
• Print the Google maps.
• Make online hotel reservations (WOW, Mom!  $100 for ONE night at a hotel?!?).
• Make a to do list
• Make a packing list
• Help younger kids pack and check their bags.
• Etc.

(I got tired just typing that list – kids just don’t appreciate how much work it is to make sure they have a good time!  They’ll probably think it’s all fun, for a while.)

I’d love to hear your ideas.  Thanks in advance for commenting!  Feel free to post a link to a blog article you’ve posted on the topic.

Posted under Field Trips, Thursday Topics