What Activities Are Your Kids Doing this Summer?

If you have kids of any ages who will be out of school this summer, what are you envisioning your summer will look like?

Last year we didn’t do any traveling as a family or sign up for any paid activities simply because we wanted to take the summer months to ease into our new lifestyle here in Alabama, but it didn’t take long to feel like I was going a bit stir crazy without structure. I assumed we would fill our days with park play dates and mornings at the splash pad, but it didn’t take long before I found myself craving some semblance of a routine.

For the last few months I’ve vowed that this summer we would have more planned activities to fill a few days a week outside of the home.

But now that summer is quickly approaching, I find myself longing for simplicity for the kids and me. Our schedules really picked up this year between the kids’ activities as well as our own, which as times made Jamie and me long to clear some commitments from our calendars. With a commitment-free summer on the horizon and a baby to welcome, I am leaning toward not filling our days with as much structured activity as I originally envisioned.

Things we considered: a developmental swim team for Hadley (would be nice to get us out of the house each morning and get us going, especially in June when my 9 month pregnant body might be tempted to lounge all morning), a weekly gymnastics class for Sadie (but it’s Mommy and Me, which isn’t my jam anymore), and some art classes/programs for Hadley since she really loves art (but the facility is a solid 25ish minute drive each way).

But now I’m kind of “meh” about all of it and kind of just want a summer to rest and relax with the girls, spend time outdoors, with friends and family, and just having plenty of time to do things spontaneously as we want to without already being too over-commitment with planned activities. But then again, that sounds like my thoughts for last summer, which I didn’t care too much for. 😉

I know that life is as simple as it’ll ever be having preschoolers at home, and that we have many summers ahead of us where they’ll be bouncing off the walls looking for daily social activity. I look forward to that too, but I’m also in no rush for it. 🙂

I reached out to a few friends online to pick their brains about what their upcoming summer may look like, just to throw in a few other opinions into this post as well. I thought their responses were insightful!

What will you kids be up to this summer?

“My 2 year old son is going to “camp” at his preschool this summer because he is a severely picky eater and he eats much better when he is around other toddlers who are also eating. Sending him to camp will help keep me sane and help him gain weight over the summer, because he would not eat as well at home.” -Kate from https://highchairchronicles.com

“My son is 7 and he will be enrolled in summer school for 4 weeks at the start of summer. We take the summer slide very seriously and do our best to minimize the gap in education through the summer months, as it can cause a large regression in a child’s reading skills. After summer school we will keep summer laidback and just focus on staying active and reading together as a family!” -Libby from https://becausemomsays.com

“We are enrolling our 5 year old in swim lessons again this summer. We prefer a laid back summer approach, but our kids have so much energy that they need the structured play. Our kids are happier when they are more active. Also, our son loves swimming lessons. I think it is important to find something your kids will be excited about. We would never force him into something he didn’t enjoy.” -Alexis from www.thatfitfam.com

“My daughter is almost 4. I’ve thought about enrolling her in gymnastics or dance this summer before she starts preschool but then I saw the prices. It’s so expensive, and you’re required to pay for everything up front. She’s barely 4 so I have no idea if she’s going to want to stick with it. I remember my mom paying for gymnastics for me. I went to one class and cried that I didn’t want to do it. I never went back. I plan to wait until at least next year to start summer activities.” -Niki from Tootsmomistired.com

“I’m putting my three year old in a summer camp that will last for three weeks this summer. The camp is three days a week for three hours. I am enrolling her because she doesn’t get a lot of chances to engage and socialize with other kids her age, and she’s also never been away from me before. I’m hoping it will help make the transition to preschool easier. I think that doing activities through the summer is important because it can be difficult to have to readjust in the fall.” -Audrey from Mommyenlightened.com

“My kids will be participating in 4-H for the first time. My oldest daughter will be showing sheep, and the younger two will be raising chickens. This is a great program, since they learn about budgeting as they are responsible for feed costs. They also get to practice public speaking, which is such a great skill! And the biggest plus in my opinion is that they learn the value of a hard day’s work, and the pride of a job well done.” – Jamie from asformeandmyhomestead.com

“Just one week long church camp for my 10 year old, but the rest will be short day camps if they are interested, instrument lessons once a week (that’s all year long) and the rest of the time is for family, fun, and relaxation. I’m going to schedule lots of exercise and outdoor time, but that’s for all of us! We have 3 boys: ages 5, 8, and 10. I dont want to overload our schedules because summer is for fun, not stress!” – Gena from GingerCasa.com

Let’s chat!

What do you have on tap this summer?