We are just a few short weeks away from school ending in these parts and I know schools in other places have already started summer vacation.
For most parents, summer vacation is scary, exciting, exhausting and overwhelming. Overall, most people I know look forward to it at the very least because there isn’t the crazy driving around all over the place by spring activities.
My kids and I typically make a Summer Bucket List. List items can be as simple as “eat Popsicles” and get more complex with planning trips or learning a skill. We are almost close enough to summer vacation to start making our list and I was starting to think about possible ideas to discuss. I know that we’re excited about a few new movies coming out this summer, but can’t think of any other summer goals we’ve already talked about. Right now, my kids are 6-10 and their interests are in reading, Maker/engineering/science style projects, crafts, outdoors, and playing with friends, while I’d love to visit a few new places and clean out the basement and closets.
Here are some of brainstorming ideas of areas of projects to do with elementary aged kids:
Mom Camp Ideas:
- Flight – paper airplane contest, have you seen the Red Bull contest? I bought some rubber band engine kit model airplanes for us to try.
- Music – learn a song on an instrument in the house, make an instrument, or my son’s new favorite beat box
- Identify bird calls
- Woodworking – build a stool, shelf, hooks, repair something, carving/whittling.
- Sewing – cross stitch or sewing kit, cut fabric into book marks and embellish them
- Crocheting, Knitting, Friendship Bracelets, Paracord
- Paper dolls
- Neighborhood kids or cousins put on a play, magazine, or art show
- Geocaching/Letterboxing
- Hiking, tracking, wildlife ID
- Local History
- Pick up a trashed lawn mower, printer or radio on the side of the road and take it apart and see whats inside (old TVs/monitors may have hazardous materials inside)
- Paper Mache – pinata, masks, scupltures
- Community Service – pick up litter, visit an animal shelter or nursing home
- Tie Dye
- Ukelele
- Fishing
- Pick your own and preserve – make jam, applesauce.
- learn chess or card games
- make your own board game
- go on a factory tour
- make your own comic book (or stop motion animation)
- go places people in books went or pretend to be people in books for a day
What gets your through the long summer days?
