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The kids’ summer vacation is rolling by at a pretty good clip now that we are safely ensconced in July. The family’s got the morning camp routine down, which is much like the morning school routine, except without the homework angst. But yet we are still dealing with how to curb the summer blahs.
Everyone storms the kitchen at the last possible moment and you’re always running out of some essential breakfast component. But as the kids’ camp schedules wind down in anticipation of the family’s August jaunt to this summer’s holiday destination, the summer blahs can start to set in, with complaints that there’s “Nothing to do around here!” So here are some tips to make the dog days sail on by ‘til August packing off to paradise, and with some benefits to the old homestead to boot.
Curb the Summer Blahs by Starting A Garden
How about starting a home garden in the backyard with the kids and see if we can actually grow something that we could possibly eat? Or maybe you’ve already got a backyard garden, but it could certainly use a tune-up. Pack the kids in the car and compel them to accompany you to the local nursery or big-box garden center. Start out by perusing the seed bins so that each child can find a particular legume that she or he might want to actually eat.
The pictures of beautiful, hearty vegetables on the seed packets will do the talking and your children will love picking their favorites. Or, even better, you can start with seedlings, which actually might yield something edible before school resumes. Or maybe the pictures of the bright, robust flowers on the seed packets will overcome the rationale of eating what you grow and your kids will opt for roses and snapdragons. But the main thing is, they’re invested in the process and the satisfaction of nurturing a plant and watching it grow is an experience they’ll be able to take with them for the rest of their lives.
FIX UP THE OLD FAMILY ROOM
Your home’s family room probably gets a heck of a workout almost every single day and it could always use a little sprucing up. Why not enlist the kids to help you do a simple rehab or even remodel to curb the summer blahs? This is a place that they enjoy, probably with their friends, so maybe they could take a little pride in it and reap the benefits of compliments from their pals when the job’s done.
A helpful tip for beginning your home organization journey is to declutter the family room. This area often accumulates various items that don’t have a designated place elsewhere in the house. Many of these items may have been used just once and are now taking up space. To efficiently clean up, it’s best to gather all the unnecessary items in one go and dispose of them at a donation center such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Be mindful not to bring back more items than you got rid of. This process may require multiple trips in an SUV to fit everything.
Once you’ve cleared the junk, it’s time to pull the furniture away from the walls and clean behind everything. Actually, this might be a good time to bring in some interior painters and give the room a different look with some bright new colors. You could even pull those ratty old cushions off the chairs and recover them. What a tremendous sense of accomplishment you and the kids will have when you finally put the old room back together and see the result.
HOW ABOUT A LEMONADE STAND?
It may be old-fashioned but a kid’s lemonade stand never goes out-of-date and is a good one-day summer project. And there’s the prospect of untold riches for your children, which will certainly inspire – if just for a little while. Of course, no lemonade stand in history has ever made a profit, but whatever. It’s a great way to curb the summer blahs and give your kids a challenge.
Okay, so first thing, you’d better make sure that lemonade stands are even allowed in your neighborhood. If that’s okay, then you’ll need the stand, which can be as elaborate or inelegant as you wish. This is totally dependent upon the materials you have at hand. If you happen to have 4 old orange crates and some scrap plywood hanging around, you can build a Disney version of the classic lemonade stand suitable for an episode of The Wonder Years.
If you and your kids aren’t so ambitious, a card table with an old tablecloth and a hand-printed sign will do. Then all you need are plastic cups, some good old-fashioned lemonade, a money box, and lots and lots of ice cubes and it’s on to the Freemarkets.
These are just some of the small ideas to get rid of the summer blahs. It’s bound to be something you get hit with as a family.
Talk to me in the comments:
How does your family get rid of the summer blahs?
I love each of these ideas! We don’t have any kiddos yet (just cats!), but if we did, I’d definitely love to have a little garden. I have fond memories growing up with one and it made a lot of memories and just makes you feel good to eat something that you planted and watched grow. š
Make Life Marvelous
It does. My first stepfather had me make a small garden with him behind my “schoolhouse he made for me.” I loved it! Without him though, gardening never held much appeal because it was “our” thing.
Glad you like these ideas. It’s always good to see you.
These are all great ideas. I especially love the family room idea š
I’m glad you found these ideas as good.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you again soon.