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momtimesfour
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| Posted: June 23 2008 at 5:19pm | IP Logged
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Help! I am not the most energetic person on the best of days... and AZ summer days are less than the best, lol. We are finishing up schoolwork, but don't do our regular full load. The kids can swim, but not between 11am-3pm because of the intense sun. Lately they've wanted to play gobs of video games and there's no way I'm going to let them spend the whole day doing that. Help me think of some ideas.
Reading aloud is not a good option, btw, because of toddlers. Just trust me. I also have a lull in energy myself around 2pm - to say I feel as though I've been hit by a bus is about right.
Any thoughts? It seriously is 110 on my porch right now, so sending them out to play just isn't an option either. :(
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~Lucy,
wife for 15 years,
mom to four blessings (ds13, ds7, ds3, dd1)
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folklaur
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| Posted: June 23 2008 at 6:24pm | IP Logged
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Lucy,
Just moved to NV from AZ, where we lived for the last 20 years. To be honest with you, the heat is a big reason why we did school in the summer, and then took the winter months off or easy - when it is glorious outside.
Be happy they can swim in the afternoons and mornings - we never had a pool so that wasn't an option for us. We would go to our local pool, though, usually in the evenings (and certain nights were free, and it was walking distance - according to my dh - I usually drove if it was just me taking them
Trips out are good...but can be a hassle, especially when the steering wheel causes 2nd degree burns...and now with gas prices...  . But we utilized a lot of the Mall Play areas (fun for my two younger ones, my older one - she's 18 now - was usually bored, but managed....) I don't know where in AZ you are - but Jungle Jim's/Jeepers has a free, huge, soft play area - even my teen would crawl around in there with my younger ones.
I really kind of equated the summer in Phx to being similar to being snowed in during the winter in colder climates (and at least we DO have the opportunity to swim.)
Most "out" places were expensive (like Makutu's Island is a BLAST but goodness is it expensive.)
Inside - games, board games, crafts, make salt dough and paint it (or make fossil imprints with it), finger paints, coloring, scavenger hunts, bubbles when it gets later out...
we do lots of crafts. (Not many paper crafts - I don't like paper crafts, I have no idea what to do with them afterwards!) But...we make t-shirts, and I got those plain treasure chests from michael's, and they decorated them all kinds of ways, I just read a fun idea recently, - learn about stonehenge.....then bake a tray of brownies and build an edible replica (take pictures of it them eat brownies!) I also have a project I want to do with mine soon, where you make an
edible map of the US.
Google "rainy day activities" and I bet you could come up with a lot of ideas!
hth, (and don't worry, in November it will start to cool off down to the 90's, right?  )
ETA: the link to the map.
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Tina P.
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| Posted: June 30 2008 at 8:43am | IP Logged
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Do you live close enough to Glendale to hit their library occasionally? I love that place! Peacocks outdoors, small animal cages, fish tank, and loads and LOADS of books indoors. I think the children's section at the Glendale library is bigger than the whole LIBRARY we live close to now. Family Fun is not so educational as the link Laura offered, but it *does* have lots of crafts and activities for kids.
PS: Laura, I have the kids file their paper crafts in folders. When the folders get too full, they get purged.
PPS: My kids *love* being snowed in. The tromp all around our yard, make 8 ft snowmen with my husband, have snowball fights, build forts, etc. Being too cold beats being too hot in my family!
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
Mary's Muse
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ctrivette
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| Posted: June 30 2008 at 9:10am | IP Logged
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Cactus mouse...thank you for that link...there is a lot there!
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folklaur
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| Posted: June 30 2008 at 11:32am | IP Logged
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Tina's post reminded me - I don't know if you are close to ASU - but there are a LOT of neat little museums there - Anthropology, Geology, and the biology building used to have all kinds of live desert animals and habitats....and there is stargazing in the Astronomy dept, too...at least there used to be....I know it used ot be free - but it has been a while since we utilized them so you would need to check into it but my dd used ot love to go there, adn during the summer it is pretty quiet.
Tina P. wrote:
PS: Laura, I have the kids file their paper crafts in folders. When the folders get too full, they get purged. |
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What do you do with the 3-d paper crafts - that have things that stand up or whatnot? That would get squished? My dd6 wants to save every tiny scrap of anything she makes. It drives me wonky.
Tina P. wrote:
| PPS: My kids *love* being snowed in. The tromp all around our yard, make 8 ft snowmen with my husband, have snowball fights, build forts, etc. Being too cold beats being too hot in my family! |
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Oh - actually, I agree with you. (My mom always said, "if you're cold, you can put on more clothes. But if you're hot, you can take everything off and STILL be hot.") I'm one of those people who hates being hot, I would be content in a cold-cold climate with lots of snow! DH says that is because I am not the one who has to get up and go to work in it .
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Tina P.
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| Posted: June 30 2008 at 12:24pm | IP Logged
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cactus mouse wrote:
| ASU - but there are a LOT of neat little museums there - Anthropology, Geology, and the biology building used to have all kinds of live desert animals and habitats....and there is stargazing in the Astronomy dept, too...at least there used to be....I know it used ot be free - |
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Ooooh, we totally missed out on that resource! Our kids were only 4 or 5 and under when we left AZ. I don't remember my oldest's exact age. I only remember that we had three children at the time. I also remember wanting to try the frying-an-egg-on-the-driveway experiment but never could justify wasting a good egg!
cactus mouse wrote:
| What do you do with the 3-d paper crafts - that have things that stand up or whatnot? That would get squished? My dd6 wants to save every tiny scrap of anything she makes. It drives me wonky. |
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Do you have a seasonal table? You can set them up there, take pictures of them, and when you get tired of them (and when she's not looking) toss them. You have the nice, flat, even digitized pictures as memories.
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
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momtimesfour
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| Posted: June 30 2008 at 3:58pm | IP Logged
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Laura, those are some good ideas. We're way out west, so it's a hike to go just about anywhere. And, to be honest, right now I dread going anywhere with my 3yo and 1yo. My 3yo takes so much mental energy ("translating" everything he says due to speech issues) and melts down multiple times a day. I wish I didn't feel this way... but it is what it is.
I like the comparison to being snowed in. We will seriously consider taking larger chunks of time off during the "regular" school year and maintaining a heavier schedule during the summer.
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~Lucy,
wife for 15 years,
mom to four blessings (ds13, ds7, ds3, dd1)
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momtimesfour
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| Posted: June 30 2008 at 4:02pm | IP Logged
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Tina P. wrote:
Do you live close enough to Glendale to hit their library occasionally? I love that place! Peacocks outdoors, small animal cages, fish tank, and loads and LOADS of books indoors. I think the children's section at the Glendale library is bigger than the whole LIBRARY we live close to now. Family Fun is not so educational as the link Laura offered, but it *does* have lots of crafts and activities for kids.
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Thanks for the link and idea. :)
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~Lucy,
wife for 15 years,
mom to four blessings (ds13, ds7, ds3, dd1)
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momtimesfour
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| Posted: June 30 2008 at 4:05pm | IP Logged
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cactus mouse wrote:
Tina's post reminded me - I don't know if you are close to ASU - but there are a LOT of neat little museums there - Anthropology, Geology, and the biology building used to have all kinds of live desert animals and habitats....and there is stargazing in the Astronomy dept, too...at least there used to be....I know it used ot be free - but it has been a while since we utilized them so you would need to check into it but my dd used ot love to go there, adn during the summer it is pretty quiet.
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We're too far west to make that a regular visit (I'm out by the World Wildlife Zoo, lol), but that would be a fun day trip. I had no idea all that was there!
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~Lucy,
wife for 15 years,
mom to four blessings (ds13, ds7, ds3, dd1)
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Tina P.
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| Posted: June 30 2008 at 4:20pm | IP Logged
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I just had a thought, speaking of being snowed in ... Why don't you have an indoor snow day? Just the *thought* of cold could help cool you off. Have your kids make paper snowmen, snow forts, cardboard snow shoes, ... I don't think you'd want to turn on the oven to make cookies or make a big wintery meal, so following is another idea.
We've had Hawaiian days when it's cold and ugly out, pasting paper palm trees and sunshine on our windows, wearing swimsuits and sitting on towels in the living room, making Hawaiian meals, treats, and slushies. The older kids still recollect that time with fondness and we did that at least 8 years ago.
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
Mary's Muse
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momtimesfour
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| Posted: June 30 2008 at 7:11pm | IP Logged
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Tina, that's a fun idea! We've done "camping" in the living room before. A snow day would be a hoot.
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~Lucy,
wife for 15 years,
mom to four blessings (ds13, ds7, ds3, dd1)
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SeaStar
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| Posted: July 01 2008 at 6:54am | IP Logged
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What about a photo scavenger hunt? For the older kids- give them a list of things/ relatives to find in pictures in old photo albums (they can mark the pages to show you). This could spark some interest in family stories- maybe they could record some or start a family history. Or you could do a "digital" photo scavenger hunt... give them a list of things to find and photograph around the house. Or a picture contest- each gets an hour with the camera and then have a contest with prize - the family can vote for he best.
For outside on the porch- squirt bottles? My kids are much younger, but they love to play squirt tag or just squirt each other or whatever is out there.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Unplugged summer ideas?
