With June's arrival, I know I need to be purposeful in planning out a handful of activities for my children during the summer months.  I don't want to always make them play on their own because I want to have an active part in their summer, making memories.  It will also keep them excited, knowing something different is coming soon.

And maybe, just maybe, the television will be ignored more days than not if I give purpose to summer days.

If we don't stay busy, I know that I will turn to the TV for entertainment when they have played their Legos or have played outside for an hour.  Instead, we'll move on to a different activity as a family.

Some activities will take just a few minutes to complete, while others will take a bit more parental guidance and planning.  My thought is if we complete three or so activities a week, our summer will be lots of fun.

Some of these activities are things we would do anyway.  We already had our first campfire of the season.   We bake together regularly...but why not include them in our summer fun?!
I have FUN and SUMMER Pinterest boards, along with LEARNING ACTIVITIES.  Many of the ideas came from there, and if you use Pinterest you can go to the site for explanations, where needed.  Others are just fun ideas that I would like to see happen.  Stay tuned this summer to see how our family interprets these fun ideas.

We may have a week-long science theme week instead of just an experiment or two.  We will also complete a few marble activities, if things go as planned.  We'll memorize several Bible verses and ideally complete a Fruit of the Spirit week (on the heals of me reading The Fruitful Wife...rather timely, huh?).

A few things that didn't make it to the Summer Fun Inspiration list because I am unsure if they will come to fruition.  I would like to host a summer book swap.  I would also like to have an Elephant and Piggie Party/Day.  I did not include visiting family or attending family camp, though we would like to see both of those things happen.

I'm not sure if you noticed, but very few of these activities will require money.  (Actually Kiddie Camp through CEF has a fee, too, but both of my older children can attend camp for a week for a total of $13.  TOTAL.  Not bad!)  We already try not to spend much money on things and busyness, but this summer our family is impacted by the government sequester so we need to spend drastically less.  (If you don't know, many military civilian employees are required to work 20% less and earn 20% less for a duration of 11 weeks.  It was originally supposed to be 22 weeks, so we are thankful for the shortened furlough time.)


Quite honestly, I am thrilled that my children have loved being outdoors this spring.  Our kid-size "construction site" and mastering pedaling the bike has helped my 4 1/2 year old son want to be outdoors even when there is no one to play with.  My daughter, age 6, could swing all day...but I want to be a purposeful mom and make some memories together as a family, too.