Camp Concerns

Is your child ready for sleep-away camp?

Figuring out the right time to send your kiddo to sleep-away-camp can be tricky.  Here are a few signs your kiddo is ready and some advice to make the process a little easier!

Signs of readiness for sleep-away-camp:

1. Is your child expressing an interest in camp?
2. Has your child developed friendships at school?
3. Has your child had successful sleepovers away from home?
4. Can your child follow direction from adult leaders?

Tips to have a happy camper!

1. Sign them up with a friend to help ease the transition with a familiar face.
2. Pick a camp that focuses on their specific talents or interests.
3. Take a tour of the camp in person or virtually.
4. Tell your child that they may experience some homesickness in the beginning.  If after a few days it intensifies or something happens have a code word or phrase that you have created together to allow them to express this and not be embarrassed while away.

Good Old Fashioned Summer Fun

One of my favorite summer traditions is to set up a lemonade stand on your street. Recruit neighbor kids and make it fun! Use red cups and wave American flags to encourage customers to stop. My kids usually sell a glass of lemonade for $.25. The money made from a Fourth of July Lemonade stand is donated to a local charity.

Along with making lemonade, my kids love the tradition of making red, white and blue snowcones in July!  You can buy inexpensive snowcone machines and flavoring at Target or online. The machine is easy to use (one button to shave the ice) and it takes two minutes. After the ice is shaved, I take it outside and put it on the picnic table to let the kids make their own snowcones. They love scooping the ice and pouring on the flavoring (red and blue, of course). This is the perfect treat to beat the heat after playing outside! The best thing for parents is that you can hose off this mess!

Fourth of July Family Fun

Looking for some kid-friendly fun for the Fourth of July? See if your town or neighborhood has an Independence Day Parade. Most communities have them and they are great fun!

The parade in Fishers, IN (near where I live) blocks a portion of the street off and families line up on the curb to watch the parade. Local bands play, floats glide, dance teams perform, and various groups cruise by offering handfuls of candy to the kids. If you go, make sure to bring something for your kids stash their candy in! (Like Dad’s baseball cap or a plastic firefighter’s hat.) Take a cooler packed with popsicles and water and enjoy the hot, but great family fun.

Keeping Kids Busy During the Summer

As a kid, summer days seemed endless – filled with hours of running through the sprinkler, riding my bike, and selling lemonade at the street corner. The neighborhood kids gathered around the slip-n-slide in the backyard with popsicles dripping down our chins is a special memory. Looking back, I recall feeling like summer was in fact a “break.” It felt effortless, lazy and fun. Oh, to be a kid again! Now, as a mother of three, I know there is a lot of orchestration involved for those of us “creating” these magical memories.

Add to the equation a little thing called Daylight Savings Time. DST has now truly made summer days endless. With that in mind, I’d like to lighten the burden by sharing some fun and affordable ideas for your family this July.

Start off with a trip to your local Farmer’s Market Saturday morning. It is a great way to get your vegetables and produce for the holiday weekend. Ours, in Fishers, IN is free and very family friendly. They often have live music, local artists and my kids’ favorite – The Honey Stand! Each Saturday they look forward to getting their honey sticks (9 honey sticks for a quarter!) In July, a local farmer fills his pick-up truck to the brim with ears of corn. Kids are encouraged to hop in the back of the truck and pick out their own corn to buy. My kids think this is so fun and the corn is always sweet and delicious! Check into your local Farmer’s Market and make it a family tradition during the summer.

Stay tuned for more family activities - what are your favorite summer activities?

Fun Family Tips for the Fourth of July

Tip #1 - Join your local Forth of July Parade

Go to your local township/city for their Fourth of July Parade. Most towns have them and they are a great free and fun family tradition. Most times they feature local businesses, firefighters and high school bands. A great tip is to bring a hat for your kids to catch all the candy they throw to kids on the curb. Red, white and blue beads and removable tattoos are a fun way to get into the spirit and can be picked up inexpensively at a party store.

Tip #2 - Plan your own local Fourth of July Parade

Plan a neighborhood or street parade. Have the kids decorate wagons, bikes and scooters with streamers & balloons. Make flyers to let your neighbors know. Everyone loves a parade and it is so fun when kids of all ages get involved!Let them decorate and really get into the spirit of celebrating for the Fourth of July!!!

Tip #3 - Make Red, White & Blue Snowcones

Make red, white and blue snow cones!!! Have your kids help shave the ice and let them pour the flavoring! A great treat to beat the heat and if done outside all you have to do is hose off the mess!