Knee High by the Fourth of July...Fun or Trouble?

Ah, Summer Time! Always in capital letters!  Nearly every school kid dreams about those words, as do the  teachers.   For me it was the idea of riding my bicycle down to the river or dam, playing baseball and watching TV.  For my parents on the other hand, it seemed to mean cleaning the garage, my bedroom, painting fences and barns, and weeding the garden.  I don't know how they got such an awful picture of what summer was supposed to be.  They even put band lessons in.   My kids seem to have a picture of summer that involves lots of PlayStation 3 and Netflix and sleeping in.  As a parent, I can think of all kinds of chores to get my kids to do! Yes, thank you there is a garden to tend.

So how do you balance it all?  I guarantee this;  If you don't have some structure for your kids, don't worry about the corn being knee high by the Fourth of July, the trouble will be.  Even the best kids will get into some sticky situation.  So how and what to fit in? I think its about setting expectations.

At our house, we have a list of tasks that need to be completed before TV or Video. They can each do a  1/2 hour of piano and band and a chore.  Also, we set an expectations that they spend some time being outside.  That may include swim time at the public pool or playing ball with a friend.  Each meal they can contribute something whether it is  clearing or setting the table.  Do their own dishes.  When they were younger they were supervised by a teenage nanny (you may not want to call them a babysitter!). We also had a list of fun activities that we/they chose from.  Each week each child got a day that they picked the activity for everyone.  Everything from going 'geocaching' to 'capture the flag'. As parents you have to put in some time helping them think of a few ideas.  There were two lists, the money list  for a family day with everyone and then the free activities list for regular everyday.  Here's some ideas.  Get the kids started and keep updating it every week. Please write in with your suggestions.

Nearly Free List:

Animal Rescue League
Badminton
Balance the bean bag dancing
Beach Party at home
Bike Races
Bike Ride
Bike Trail
Bocce Ball
Body rolling down a hill
Bubble blowing
Build a kite
Build a model car or airplane
Build Card board fort
Capture the flag
Catch Frogs
Conkers (its a British game)
Craft book activities
Croquette
Don't break the ice with Watermelons
Draw a logo contest
Duck Duck Goose
Face Painting
Finger painting
Fishing
Flag football
Frisbee catch
Frisbee golf
Frog Catching
Frog Racing
Geo Caching
Go to Local Conservation Center (In 50158 Grimes Farm)
Home made ice cream
Hopscotch
Horse Shoes
Hot Potato
Ice Cream Cones
Jump Rope
Kick ball
Library
Mafia
Make Tie Dye tee shirts
Make up story telling
Make your own Pinata
Make your own Puppets
Making Gorp
Making No Bake Cookies
Marble
Miniature Golf (Homemade Course)
Musical chairs
Night hike
Person Wheelbarrow Races
Pogo Stick
Popsicle Castles
Potato Sack Races
Puddle Stomping
Red Rover
Running Races
Sand castle building
Sardines
Scavenger Hunt
Secret signal Game
Shadow Tag
Sidewalk Chalk
Sock Tag
Snake in the grass tag
Sprinkler tag
Squirt gun battle
Tennis
Ten Flags (aka capture the flag in smaller area and have to capture 10 instead of 1)
Toss Across (a very build-able game)
Ultimate Frisbee
Video scavenger hunt
Water balloon fight

Money List:
Adventure land
Apple-berry Farm
Arcade
Beach
Bookstore
County and State Fairs
Go Carts
Go to Corn Maze
Miniature Golf
Pool
Shopping