What to do with the kids when school is out!?!

heatherlee33
heatherlee33 Posts: 113 Member
So here is the problem. I have a three year old who is home with me everyday and a thirteen year old that will be home everyday after Friday...when school is out. Now I'm excited to have my son home, he's great....but amazingly him and my daughter fight like cats and dogs...even with the ten year age gap.

So the big problem, because I can't sell one of the kids, is what to do with them for the summer? My kids get bored pretty much immediately after they wake up. My son would play on-line shoot-em-up games until his eyeball melted out of his head...if I allowed it.

Does anyone have any ideas for what to do? Summer projects? I tried to train for a 5 K with him one year and that was fine, the next year I tried a 10 K training program and hurt my knee the first day...no running for the entire summer! So..... What the hell do I do?

I'm not in a big city that had a lot of options. Pretty much I have to drive 30 miles to get to movies...water parks, museums, etc...

???
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Replies

  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    put them to work in a community garden! we love little hands at ours!

    or bike rides... you can get a trailer for the little one and take day trips to local destinations to check out different kinds of ecological settings. also little mini-hikes with the one on your back and the other exploring. for example, here we have a couple kind of unique areas that have very specific plants and wildlife. there are even programs at these parks specifically for kids to learn to identify plants, frogs, toads, turtles and birds.

    check the libraries to see if there are any day trips scheduled for summer. if you have an audobon society nearby, they usually have many day-hikes set up.

    i work with an after school program in the summer, too, and we set up field trips for the kids so that the parents can have a day to get stuff done. last year, we took the kids on a river boat ride along the old mill line and talked about how the water used to be very polluted but over the last few decades, people have been working really hard to get it back. they could see all kinds of river life and connect with nature in an experiential way.

    we also took them to a food museum so they could see all the tools that people used to use before electric machinery; we took them to local parks & playgrounds and a working 18th century farm. so look into a public school summer program, too. they're usually very inexpensive.
  • tony2009
    tony2009 Posts: 201 Member
    Get the little one a bike, wear them out and they'll be too tired to fight. You can run and he can bike with you.
  • _Elemenopee_
    _Elemenopee_ Posts: 2,665 Member
    Go hiking with them maybe, nature walks. Bug collections, start a garden and let them seed, water, pick flowers. Fly kites, make mud cakes and castles.
  • angieleighbyrd
    angieleighbyrd Posts: 989 Member
    We do all kinds of stuff over the summer.

    Camping, museums, the zoo. Movies. Parks.

    Your kids 13, ask him what he would like to do.

    I have a 13 year old, a 8 year old and a 10 month old.
  • michelle850
    michelle850 Posts: 65 Member
    I can't wait to hear some ideas, mine are 9 and 11, I've been known to make them go outside and then lock the doors so they can't get back in and pester me....oh wait, that's probably not the best idea!! lol
  • faithstephenson
    faithstephenson Posts: 280 Member
    Bubbles! Bubbles for the 3 year old! I was so surprised yesterday, I made my kids go outside for a bit, and they kept coming up with more things to do outside. They started with bubbles, went to water guns, then played on their scooters/ride on toys. I would say they spent almost 2 hours outside. It was awesome! If your son is up for physical stuff, there are body weight exercise programs you could do together. I have an app on my phone called You Are Your Own Gym (I think it was $2). I started it last week, but had my almost 10 year old son start doing it with me this week. I'm having him do it for shorter time periods, but he seemed to enjoy it by the end. And he's been kind of like my personal trainer when I do my workout. I don't know. Just a suggestion.
  • Tskitzo_
    Tskitzo_ Posts: 14
    Haha what you describe in your "if I allowed it" post is pretty much what I did EVERY summer growing up. But that was probably because video games, in my family, were a family thing. I played with my father, step-mother, and little brother, and if they were playing one thing, I'd either watch, play along, or play something by myself. (edit) Oh and most of my friends were online gamers, so we'd sit on the computer for hours playing together online talking through a messenger, or through the games chat system.

    Things I can suggest though... hmm

    Bike riding, roller skating, build a small flower or vegetable garden.. when I was about his age I would go to the mall with friends and hang out at the arcade watching people play DDR, and just walk around window shopping with my friends. Without really knowing what's close and available to you it's hard to tell really.

    Also 30 miles doesn't seem far to me, but that's because I'm from Texas and to go anywhere fun from where I used to live was at least a 15-30 minute drive, or if we wanted to go somewhere really fun it could be anywhere from 2-8 hours of driving to get there depending on where we were going. Hahaha.
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    you definitely need to take them out every day for supervised activity, otherwise you will have fighting.
    is there a pool you can go to? or a beach/lake? hiking/picnics? Does the 13 year old not have friends he can go visit for the day and stuff?
    Or can you have his friends to yours? sleepovers etc? anything that gives him somethng to focus on other than the 3 year old?
  • BPayton27
    BPayton27 Posts: 626 Member
    Love the ideas thus far. Any community pools nearby? Hiking trails? My son's last day of school was 5/18. We've been out nearly 2 weeks and it took a few days to find a balance. If I go to the gym, he goes to Kid's Quest (climbers, inflatables, etc.) and then we swim together. Other ideas are roller skating, bike rides, or yard work. Maybe you could ask your son to watch your daughter while you get yourself a workout in at home if you're not comfortable leaving.
  • mslack01
    mslack01 Posts: 823 Member
    Check with your local parks department or agricultural center. Our ag center has 4H day camps that don't cost much and keep them busy exploring and doing all kinds of things. Last year my daughter was in an art camp, drama camp, she learned archery, they had a small pet camp. All kinds of things.
  • theberg
    theberg Posts: 80
    My boys are 3 years apart (6 and 9), we sucked it up and bought passes to the local pool. They swim all day and are pretty tuckered out by the time we come home (6-8pm). Also we made video games into a privilege only to be played after they have played outside for a reasonable length of time AND they have had good behavior. I may be bribing my kids, but it's working so far. We shall see how that continues throughout the summer.
  • EmCarroll1990
    EmCarroll1990 Posts: 2,832 Member
    I can't wait to hear some ideas, mine are 9 and 11, I've been known to make them go outside and then lock the doors so they can't get back in and pester me....oh wait, that's probably not the best idea!! lol

    Ugh my mother used to do that to us! We hated it. :P
  • Tskitzo_
    Tskitzo_ Posts: 14
    Check with your local parks department or agricultural center. Our ag center has 4H day camps that don't cost much and keep them busy exploring and doing all kinds of things. Last year my daughter was in an art camp, drama camp, she learned archery, they had a small pet camp. All kinds of things.

    Archery? That's sweet. I would have loved a camp like that when I was growing up.
  • hdroddy
    hdroddy Posts: 122
    They have summer camps for video game design and creation.
  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
    I put mine to work, lol Seriously. My son works for me 3 days a week. No harm in making them earn the oney to buy the things they want!! A little sweat never hurt me as a kid.
  • Is there a boys and girls club near by? They have a $5 a year enrollment and you can drop him off there. That's what I'm doing with my daughter. I paid $100 for the whole summer camp there and she is really excited! I have to work all day so paying for daycare or camps were about $200 per week and at the boys and girls club it was $100 for the who summer from 8-5 which works out great for me since I work full time. Check out the community centers around your area.
  • jheartj95
    jheartj95 Posts: 34 Member
    I tell my kids they have to play, just the 2 of them 11 & 13, for 2 hours together. Then they may call a friend to play with, play video games, watch a show, etc. Often, the 2 hour limit is up, and they are having so much fun they don't realize it:)
  • slepygrl
    slepygrl Posts: 249 Member
    I lock mine in the closet. They are so loud, I hate it when they interrupt my nap!

    :-)

    We have something planned for most days. Park days, library day, clean up day, stuff like that.

    Good luck!!
  • I just tie them up in the basement and just throw food and water down there.....They manage okay:laugh:

    Totally kidding....I work and they stay with my mom!! We live in a lake community with beaches and a pool a short walk down the road:) They will be there with my mom most of the summer, I'll even head down there to hang with them for a little while when I get home from work!
  • kd_mazur
    kd_mazur Posts: 569 Member
    Is he interested in any team sports? Check with the local school district or the YMCA, sometimes they run week long day camps geared for kids his age for specific sports. Even if he is interested in a couple different ones it will get him off his butt for a couple weeks lol
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
    Pool, sprinklers, garden, paint, crafts, bikes, play ball, picnics, build a treehouse or fix something around the house and bubbles, playdoh.... Read. Lots to do just getting everyone excited is the trick. :wink:
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,810 Member
    I went to summer camp most of the time when I was a kid. Although, my mom was a teacher so she had summers off too, so I could stay home if I wanted. I was kinda lucky, when I was in middle school my dad started running his business from home so during the summer we could go on vacations, go to the movies, kinda do whatever...but I INSISTED on going to various summer camps: dance camp, horseback riding camp, cooking camp, Girl Scout camp, you name it.

    My son is in a pre-k program right now so he'll be there all summer, but he starts regular school in the fall. Next summer I plan on having him enrolled in various summer camps: baseball camp, soccer camp, Vacation Bible School, etc. It can get expensive, but considering what I've been paying for preschool/pre-k, it's nothing new---plus I'll have the whole school year of not paying tuition to save up!

    ETA: I did horseback riding camp and dance camp until I was like 15. I'd gone so many years to the horseback riding camp, they started giving me free riding lessons if I would come and help with the little kids, it was awesome!
  • LauraSmyth28
    LauraSmyth28 Posts: 399 Member
    My eldest who's 7 is not on his summer holidays until 29th of June. I have a 2 year old at home all the time. The plan is to sign the 7 year old up for two seperate week long summer camps to break up the 8 weeks off school.

    Other than that....I don't know.

    I have the opposite problem though, my 2 year old loves to have his big brother at home, they get on so well it's easier to have them both here.
  • Val_from_OH
    Val_from_OH Posts: 447 Member
    I would definitely register them each for a week or more of day camp. Your 13 y.o. is probably old enough to work as a junior counselor. As much as you want to, don't send them the same week - this way they get 2 total weeks away from each other.

    The 13 y.o. should try to do some work and start earning spending money this summer. He'll want to start saving up for when he has a car in just a few years. Maybe babysit for some younger kids, mow lawns, weed gardens, whatever. He can make a little flyer on the computer to pass out around the neighborhood. Also, this is a great time to instill the values of volunteering in a child. Your local hospital, library, YMCA, etc. probably have a need for young volunteers.
  • scythswife
    scythswife Posts: 1,100 Member
    I totally understand. I have 2 at home all day ages 4 and 20 months. I have a 11 and 6 yr olds in school and the fighting starts the minute they are all together. I am close to town but don't have money to spend on things so my kids play with neighbors or just have to deal with each other. for me i have to throw in 3 appointments each week to deal with too plus normal errands which makes them want to eat out all the time and gets them made when i say no. i think there will be lots of outside time for them this summer is the weather allows. in the past 2 weeks we have had 2 days without rain.
  • ChaseAlder
    ChaseAlder Posts: 804 Member
    The age gap creates a few problems (like finding a movie they'd both watch, etc.)

    One thing we're planning on doing this summer is geo-caching... it's just cool enough that a young teenager would see the fun in it and a 3yo would enjoy being outside and "hunting" for them!

    If you have a local swimming pool, that's always a great option. We take our kids to the pool like three times a week during the summer, taking advantage of all the free swims they offer! Kids of all ages love to swim, and it will wear them out.

    We do a lot of random craft activities, even when they sound sort of silly. The other day, we found a huge stick on the side of the road, brought it home, washed it off and painted it white. Then the kids and I painted it with colorful designs. It kept them busy for an hour and now we have a colorful stick on the porch that has my kids' handprints on it. It's fun.

    If it weren't so hot here, we would go on lots of nature walks. We would gather rocks and sticks and do fun things with them.

    You also can't go wrong with putting a sprinkler outside and letting them run around in it. I also like to have them help me work on the yard... they do a great job clearing rocks and sticks from the lawn and help me put pieces of mulch back in the beds.

    If it's an ugly day out, one of our favorite things to do is build elaborate forts in the house. We use bedsheets and blankets, dining room chairs, etc. My oldest (4yo) loves fort building and my youngest (almost 2yo) just loves going in and out. I fill the forts with sleeping bags and pillows, they just absolutely love it.

    Your local theater might have matinees... if my kids had a large age gap, we would each take a kid to a movie they wanted around the same time.

    When I was 13, I really loved the mall. If I had kids your age, I'd go walk the mall with them and allow the 13yo a little freedom while I pushed the little one around (our mall has car-shaped carts you can rent, my kids love them).

    Also, you could look into day camps for the oldest. In 8th grade (I was 12) I did a different day camp once a week every week for an entire summer. I loved it... art class, water skiing, etc.
  • blynn2708
    blynn2708 Posts: 262 Member
    I can't wait to hear some ideas, mine are 9 and 11, I've been known to make them go outside and then lock the doors so they can't get back in and pester me....oh wait, that's probably not the best idea!! lol

    :laugh: That's what my mom did with us when we were kids! Pssstt...I don't think we're allowed to do that now! LMAO!! Didn't hurt us any though!
  • heatherlee33
    heatherlee33 Posts: 113 Member
    Library not an option....
    Like ten years ago I got a book there and spaced it. I went two years ago after the eight year lapse and asked for a new card. The (not nice) lady at the counter informed me that I had a $56 fee because of the book I has inadvertently been holding hostage. Whoops! I told her I still had the book and would gladly go get it. She refused. Was unwilling to work with me on the fee. So when she went to the back room to see if my old card had been turned in I turned to my son and said "RUN". He was like, "What?"

    "Run!"

    Me, my 11 year old (ages they were at the time) and 1 year old fled the library. I have not been back since!

    F- the library, they are nazi's!
  • thrld
    thrld Posts: 610 Member
    Does your town or county offer a Summer Rec program ? Also, many dance studios, gymnastic studios, taekwando studios offer 'camps' during the summer .

    But some cool things you can do for free with kids:


    1. Build a kite with them. Newspaper , balsa wood, or thin plastic strips, glue --you can build a kite out a lot of different things (we built one out of wrapping paper and straws taken from Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins). You can find basic instructions with your googler.

    2. Gather all your water based items and get them to build a "water park" or "water obstacle course" in your yard.

    3. Public Library. The best resource ever. It's air-conditioned, has a children's section with puppets/toys/board books, has plenty of current magazines, DVDs, CDs, books, Internet, and plus they often have programs/entertainment/classes as well.

    4. Make a movie. Have them write, direct, film and then let them edit it on your computer.

    5. Go to all the parks in your county. A different park each Thursday.

    6. Read your local newspaper -- a lot of organizations have summer fairs and post the dates in the "Community calendar" .
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    - Day camp. A whole week of activities for them. Chances are your local YMCA has several, your school or local colleges (college students studying education often run day camps for experience credit) might be aware of some, or if there's a local farm they might have (or be interested in starting) a program or your local 4-H might already have one going.

    - Take the last weeks of school to get to know the parents of a few of the other kids. Play dates = good for everyone. You get to hang out with the parents, the kids all go running around in the yard tiring each other out. Plus your kids are developing better relationships with their schoolmates and you're developing a relationship with the parents of the kids your kids hang out with.

    - Skip the running if you think you'll get hurt again and concentrate on walking for enjoyment. Do some day hikes in the woods if you have a park with trails. Hills are great, tiring fun, and you get a rewarding view from the top. The more they appreciate the outdoors, the more they'll want to be out there, and an active kid in the outdoors is generally a healthier kid than one who sits in front of a screen a lot.

    - For the rainy days, get some puzzles or all take up a hobby together (knitting, reading together). Or get some good raingear and enjoy the outdoors and revel in being wet. There should be some outside time EVERY DAY unless the weather is dangerously bad (which is limited to either beyond the temperature zone of their outdoor gear, hurricane-force winds, hail, thunderstorms, or the Apocalypse).

    When I was growing up, my mother taught us how to cross busy streets safely and to be on the lookout for people acting oddly. Then she would feed us a solid breakfast in the summer and throw us out of the house. Lunch was available if we wanted it, and she had a big bell you could hear for several blocks that she'd ring about a half hour before supper, and an neighbor had an airhorn that could be heard for miles. Most of the families on the block had supper at about the same time, so our dinner bell pretty much applied to all my friends, too. My mom would ring the bell, the neighbor would give two long blasts on the airhorn, and everyone started heading home to wash up for supper.

    If you showed up at the house during the day, you were either hurt, hungry, or just plain exhausted. All your friends were at the playground, home was where you went to fuel up or get fixed up.


    We don't live in a neighborhood, but we got rid of our television and it was amazing how fast my daughter found other things to do. She's a voracious reader, and has learned to knit, crochet, play the flute and cello, and just sit and think of silly stories. Of course, we spend as much money on yarn, musical instruments, and other supplies as we used to on the cable bill, but I'm never short of hats, mittens, musical accompaniment, or artwork.