Jack's Harvest

I have three kids – they are 4, 7 and 11 which means that there are very few things that they all enjoy.  I don’t work on Wednesdays and we have started a new tradition where each week a different child is in charge of deciding what our activity will be.  This has saved us untold hours of fighting and bargaining and cars that get turned around and head back home.

Here are some of our picks for the summer as well as some activities we just like to do as a group.  We would love to hear your ideas for keeping the kiddos entertained over the long, hot months of summer.

1. Puppet Shows:  This just doesn’t get old for my kids.  I have been taking Lucy since she was 6 months old and we are so lucky to have The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta.  The show are fantastic and I have at least as much fun as the kids do.
2. Pool:  Although even the pool was hot yesterday!
3. Water Parks
4. Creating a salsa garden and making our own salsa:  Just get a large pot and put a green pepper, cilantro, tomato and jalapeno plant in it.  When they get big enough you can harvest and make homemade salsa.
5. Sidewalk Chalk:  We like to create a village and everyone is in charge of one building like the library, school, houses, etc.  We draw roads to connect them and then use Jack’s matchbox cars to get from one place to the next.
6. Arts and Crafts:  No summer is complete without a trip to the art supply store to buy glue, crayons, construction paper, glitter, buttons, pipe cleaners, feathers and stickers.
7. Rock Band: ’nuff said.  I LOVE this game and will play as long as they will let me!
8. Treasure Hunts:  Hide objects around the house and leave clues.  There is no winner in my house until all the items are put back where they came from.
9. Lemonade Stand:  Not really as hard as it sounds.  I fought it for as long as I could, but it turned out to be really fun and they made some cash too!
10. Rails to Trails:  Most cities have created some sort of biking/hiking trails.  As long as we get there early enough we can beat the heat.

Send us your ideas!