“But I’m Boooored, Grandma!!!”

Resources and Ideas for a Sane Summer

School’s out for the summer, the kids (and grandkids) are all looking for something to do. If you work at home, it’s a good idea to have some contingency plans or you’ll find that getting anything done is even more difficult than usual. I’m sure I’m not the only work-at-home Mom/Grandma who doesn’t get as much housework done as she’d like, even though she’s sitting right in the middle of the house 8 to 10 hours a day. Those dishes keep on piling up - especially when the rest of the family’s home. The food disappears faster than you can plan a meal, the television going constantly in the background is incredibly distracting, and then there’s the “I’m Bored!” whine that kids learn when they’re about 5 and don’t grow out of until they go off to college or career.

I’ve found some good resources on the web that offer good ideas. Char over at Weary Parent offers some great ideas in Keeping Teens and Tweens Busy This Summer. And while a few of them involve you having to physically be somewhere besides home, others serve to get the kids away from home instead! Don’t forget to read through the comments, there are more good ideas in those.

But this is Grandma’s House - I don’t have the luxury of signing the kids up for summer day camp because my house IS summer day camp! Younger children and teens who normally live in the city and swim in chlorinated backyard pools simply cannot be trusted to keep a real eye out for poisonous snakes, or check the depth of that creek swimming hole before diving in. So I do have to restrict activities to the yard itself and make all wood piles off limits, and insist that an adult or responsible older teen accompany all to the swimming hole or there’s no swimming allowed.

For my own sanity I’ve purchased a box of ear plugs that have come in useful for blocking out the television, and they also do double duty as whine-blockers too! I wish I’d had the money to get that newer, faster, more ‘loaded’ computer I think I deserve, which would have allowed me to donate this old one to the kids for computer games and basic email/surfing. Maybe next year. What I do have plenty of is art supplies - paper, paints, brushes, colored pencils, charcoals, clay, beads, colorful scraps of material, fabric paint, glues, glitter, felt and googly-eyes and jewelry findings and such. There’s always a project to be engaged, and one of the favorites is making refrigerator magnets. I get the magnet material in sheets, this can be cut into any shape.

Of course, kids and art supplies does equal a mess you’ll also have to clean up, though having the kids clean up after themselves is better. That way they know where all the supplies are, and the brushes still work because they’ve been washed. It won’t hurt them to learn some responsibility, and for those big enough to trust near the stove or a kitchen knife, letting them plan and produce some meals can be great fun.

Wendy Piersall at Sparkplug CEO offers more ideas than you can shake a stick at, in 94 Ways to Keep Kids Busy for the Work at Home Parent. It has age-appropriate resources and suggestions as well.

With a bit of planning the summertime visitors as well as out-of-school live-ins will have plenty to do to keep themselves busy while you’re working. And with just a bit more planning on the grocery end, even the younger children will be able to get their own snacks and even lunches together without making a big mess or interrupting your train of thought. So check out these resources and see if there aren’t some creative ways for you to maintain your own sanity while still being everybody’s favorite summer place!

Links:

Bored.com: Kids Links
Keeping Teens and Tweens Busy This Summer
94 Ways to Keep Kids Busy for the Work at Home Parent
Printable Games A to Z
Free Stuff For Kids

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Filed under Grandchild Visits, Crafts, Projects, Family Life |