Moms Comment: Summer Activities

In our Moms Comment last week, we asked your suggestions for fun things to do with the kids now that school is out. We got some great ideas. Here are some of them:

• Hiking (Lantern Hill, plus miles of Ledyard Trails)
• Boston trip for Red Sox game
• Ledyard Parks & Rec summer programs
• Summer Soundwaves Concerts at Eskar Beach in Groton
• Movie nights at Mystic River Park
• New York trip for Broadway show
• Kayaking or canoeing (Poquetanuck Cove, Long Pond)
• Misquamicut State Beach after hours (6 p.m. – no fees, plenty of parking)
• Bowling at Holiday Bowl in Groton (watch for coupons)

To help supplement your ideas for summertime activities Patch is presenting a new feature (see below) called “Keep the Kids Busy,” or, “PatchCamp,” for short.

Moms Comment, meanwhile, will be taking the summer off. Thanks to all of you who have shared your ideas and insights these past months about how to be the best parents we can be. The kids may not always appreciate your efforts now, but they will some day.

Have a great summer!

One in a series of fun things to do with your kids

By Carrie Jacobson

Welcome to PatchCamp for Wednesday, June 22!

Today, let's make and decorate a calendar - or diary - for summer!

Materials

• 11 sheets of construction paper (any paper will do, but the heavier the better)
• Markers or crayons
• glue and sparkle if you have it
• any stickers you have
• ribbon or string
• a ruler
• a hole puncher would be great, but is not necessary.

By my calculations, there are 11 weeks between now and Labor Day, so let's use one sheet of paper for each week.

Moms and Dads, if the kids are really young, you might want to do the first couple steps...

Take your paper and turn it horizontal, so the long sides are at the top and bottom. Use the ruler to divide the paper into thirds horizontally and then thirds vertically, so you have a grid of nine squares.

In the first square, put the month and the day-numbers you're going to be including on that sheet. The first one would be June 19-25  (yes, you will have some empty square this week... but you'll have them every week!. 

Then put the day and the number somewhere in each box, leaving room for some writing or drawing.

When you have the first sheet done, repeat on all the sheets, changing the dates. The second sheet will be June 26-July 2.

Then:

• July 3-9
• July 10-16
• July 17-23
• July 24-30
• Aug. 1-6
• Aug. 7-13
• Aug. 14-20
• Aug. 21-27
• Aug. 28-Sept. 3

Start by filling in birthdays and holidays. Have the kids draw fireworks on the Fourth of July, and a birthday cake with candles if someone has a birthday over the summer. Use glitter on the fireworks if you like! If you have stickers, you can use them to decorate.

You can use the calendar to plan things to do, or you can use it as a diary, recording things you did. There should be enough room for the kids to draw on each day.

You can use the calendar throughout the summer. There's no need to finish the whole project today!

When you have all the months and days done, stack the sheets together, punch two holes along the top edge, an inch or so in from the corner, and string a ribbon or piece of yarn through the sheets to hold them all together.