If you’ll be keeping your kids home this summer, you can look forward to lots of memorable days (even if they’re not perfect!) of mommy camp.
Whether you just need to entertain your children between camp and school, or whether you’ve decided to keep them home for an entire half of summer as I do, there’s one important thing to remember. It’s not about, “Oh, this is my dream and it’s going to be a blast.” Rather, “This is going to work.” There will be days where your kids are kvetchy or fighting like crazy. Tomorrow, though, will be better. It’s not about perfect, idealistic days. Rather, it’s about having fun times that they’ll remember. They’ll remember their fun times with you, but they won’t remember the fights with their brother.
In my family, the oldest two boys go away to sleepaway camp for the second half of summer, but all the rest of the kids, age 11 and under, are home with me. My kids love having a time of year when there’s less structure and they’re more relaxed and not running to catch buses.
I don’t work during the summer, so this works for me. But in order for me to have the energy to keep my kids entertained all day, I must start the day with 90 minutes of swim time without the kids. That time is therapeutic for me. During this time, there will be help at home to watch the baby and my oldest daughter is in charge of doing an activity with the kids. Then, once I come home, we’re on the go. We’ll usually go out to one place each day.
Note that if the oldest child is old enough, appoint her/him as the “counselor.” She’s in charge of planning some of the activities and helping you out (it doesn’t have to always be with a smile). Most preteens will love the privilege and responsibility of being “in charge.”
Here are some of the things we do:
(Note that I live in Lakewood, NJ, but you can find similar ideas and activities in your own hometown.)
*Overcast day? That’s the perfect time to visit a sprinkler park (most people don’t go when it’s cloudy so you’ll have the park to yourself). I like to visit Jackson Sprinkler Park and go to the Jackson library on the same day. They’re right next to each other.
*On one day we visit iScream Kids and play games, climb in the jungle gym, and enjoy ice cream.
*One afternoon, we’ll have a pajama party at home. The kids will get into pajamas and we’ll roast marshmallows, cuddle up with blankets, and read stories.
*One day is school supply day! The kids actually love this outing.
*If you’ll be doing Mommy camp for an extended period of time, it’s nice to get away for a few days for your “grand trip.” We go upstate to the Catskills for a few days.
*If I see good deals on new toys or games, I’ll put them away and save them for the second half of summer.
*When we have a picnic in the park in the evening for dinner, my husband will join us.
* There are lots of parks we like to visit. Here are our personal favorites in the Lakewood area. If you live in New York or Northern New Jersey, you can find more recommendations in this post.
Atlantic Farms (when it’s not too hot)
What are your favorite mommy camp activities?
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