Don’t let the temporarily (I hope!) damp cold weather fool you. Summer has arrived here in Ohio. My oldest son started a full-time job in downtown Columbus this morning. My younger two are undoubtedly wriggling in their seats at school today, minds wandering ahead to Wednesday morning, when their own summer vacation will finally begin.
Like many, I’ve been planning how best to accommodate the summertime shift to our schedule. In years past we kept a basket of our written activity goals for summer. These goals ranged from kayaking and biking to picnics and “ice cream walks”. From going to the fair to cleaning the garage (one of mine)… We all wrote down three or four choices and emptied the basket over the summer months. I kept the slips of paper as “evidence”, however, for the inevitable “we haven’t done anything!” moment of boredom that typically ocurs in mid-July.
My aim is to designate an afternoon each week for an “In-Town Tourist” type activity. Dawes Arboretum, Blackhand Gorge, The Kokosing Trail, The National Airforce Museum, The Columbus Zoo… we have a lot of choices around here. A weekly afternoon devoted to exploring won’t begin to uncover all that Ohio offers us, but it will hopefully buy me some uninterrupted work time during the rest of the week. ~And kids are the best excuse to enjoy the activities you never quite outgrow… like racing at the local go-cart track and skipping rocks across a quiet river. Hello Summer.
More “In-Town Tourist”
Is that bear waving?
Uh huh! Crazy, huh? His name is Xander, and he was waving at the couple standing next to us who apparently knew him more personally. They waved to him, and he waved back… repeatedly!
What a great idea! Keeping the kids busy in the summer can be very challenging.
You know it, Trisha! As much as I can lay out as a “plan”, the better. This totally works against my spontaneity gene, but I think incentive plans carry great value with kids. This week, we’re aiming for The Columbus Zoo!