Summer break. Ten weeks of kids at home. What to do?

In our neighborhood we're in the final four weeks of school before the summer belongs to the kids. Out of their routine, away from normal scheduled activity and academia and not seeing friends daily it'll only take less than a week before we'll start hearing that dreaded phrase "I'm bored," probably spewing from my mouth first. On top of that, with an XBOX 360, Wii, computer and DS in the home it's super tempting to let the kids tune in and drop out while mommy works on mommy stuff. But that's not ok and that's not my style. So, we've been preparing for the dog days of summer, stock piling an armory of weapons ready for the battle to begin. Some great sites have put together the perfect lists of artillery ready to fire at will from activities to get the kids off the couch and outside moving and shaking, imaginative play, creative crafts and games, games, games. The best part being most activities involve items that can be found around the house which motivates kids to give it a try and parents knowing we can conduct activities and pickup games without the hassle of having to travel out into the surface of the sun to buy supplies. Most importantly, we have to keep those kids active.

The Atlantic Journal-Constitution's site has a nice little article titled "50 Ways to Make Kids Active This Summer". The article discusses the "whys" and "hows" of summer fitness. With tons of tips on getting kids motivated to move, snacking healthfully and ideas on what next once they're ready to go, go, go it's the perfect starting point to begin your very own summer fun regimen!

Once the kids are on your side you're going to have to give them something to do. Kaboose offers a swell "Summer Guide" to help fill the time. The guide includes some fun games, crafts, recipes and "Get Active!" how-to guides to popular sports such as basketball. Their "Day at the Races" idea is a personal favorite of mine it's a nice little play day idea for setting up races and relays such as beach and water relays and water three legged race.

I'm quite fond of Family Fun's "Fun in the Sun" summer section. This is the best of the best summer survival guide complete with recipes, day-trip and family vacation tips and ideas, crafts, How-to videos, and games. Most impressive is their "99 Days of Great Summer Games". A summer vacation day by day countdown to September of games starting with Memorial Day and ending September 1st just in time restart those school engines. Each day there's a new game. What's great about the games is they are for the most part easy to set up and execute with little or no prep. Along with a boat load of various versions of tag there's a fair amount of new games and classic kids' games. They've added some fun twists to some of the old school games too like "Spray Bottle Capture the Flag" and "Stumps Tug-of-War". With Family Fun's Summer Fun guide in your bag of tricks you're sure to give them a summer to remember!

Summer is knocking at the back door. There's no where to hide. So why not fling that door wide open and welcome it in? Let the fun and games begin!

Link: http://familyfun.go.com/games/indoor-outdoor-games/specialfe...