Good Times

How to Have a Fun Summer During a Pandemic

Do any of you know how to have a fun summer during a pandemic? I’m writing this post, but I’m the one who needs ideas!!! We have 3.5 weeks until Summer officially starts in Austin.

This summer is very different from last summer for a variety of reasons. Last summer, Matt and I were working full-time. We took an incredible family vacation (one of my favorites!) for two weeks. Then the boys went to daily summer camps for the rest of the time. We had 12 different creative activities to help me feel like a fun mom, even though I was working full time.

Since then, Matt transitioned to a stay-at-home dad (so no money for camps). And now there’s a pandemic.

So what does this summer hold for us?

First of all, I’m thinking about continuing some of their academic learning. Specifically, I think they will continue Lexia, All About Spelling, and the Prodigy math app. Whomp, whomp! They are going to hate me for that…

Then there’s the question of what to do for a family vacation. I might join the boys on their annual trek to visit Matt’s family in Bloomington, Indiana. Another idea would be to take a road trip somewhere cool enough (whether wise) to camp. We might combine these two ideas. However, lots and lots of campgrounds are closed.

We could also resurrect our 12 creative activities with some amendments. Some new ideas:

  1. Make rootbeer floats
  2. Make water bead stress balls
  3. Paint on rocks
  4. And definitely resurrect the snow cone machine! Seriously, using melted juice concentrate as a syrup is so good. And buying the plastic condiment bottles is worth it!

Ah, but really I need to build this list with my boys. I always default to doing it myself because it’s so fun!

What kinds of things are you thinking of for this summer? Please share your ideas! I’m desperate over here.

8 Comments

  • Kate

    I can’t think ahead that far (summer for us starts at the end of June) or I will weep. Normally my kid is supposed to go back to Canada to spend the summer with her dad and grandparents, like she does every summer. Instead, it looks like she will continue to be locked down here with just me, and me with just her!

    A few bright spots on our horizon:

    -early in the lockdown, I realized that she was going crazy with all the playgrounds closed. She is a kid that really needs to climb. So I contacted the head of our local woodworking club (an am not handy at all), and for a modest price, he built her a climbing wall for the backyard. Even though the holds haven’t arrived yet, we did buy a cheap hanging ladder for the cross brace, and she has been going crazy over even just that. She climbs on it, she swings on it, she hangs upside down and stares at the clouds on it, she sings on it…

    -another local business here put together “summer survival kits” for the garden. For one flat price, they delivered a whole bunch of started plants: tomato, peppers, zucchini, lettuces, eggplants, parsley, cilantro, mint, etc. and a huge bag of soil. Planting them all took us two afternoons of activity (score!), and now watering them with the hose every day is a standard activity.

    -surprisingly enough, our local chain grocery store has the THE BEST outdoors kids toys. Seriously, the section is only one end-cap, but I have found so many treasures there: KUBB, a Swedish block throwing game, a badminton set, a small inflatable pool, and a slack line. The best thing is I don’t have to go anywhere else! They might never have eggs, but they do have toys!

    • Sara Cotner

      All of this is amazing, Kate! What an awesome idea to build a climbing wall, and the local chain grocery store is on point with their offerings! (I’ve had to start buying ready-made boiled eggs to achieve my egg needs.)

  • Katharina

    Hi,
    we were also planning a big trip, which we had to cancel. I still hope that for some magical reason boarders open up (and ferry prices won’t be sky high) so we can visit my family in a different country. That hope keeps us from planning too much other stuff.
    That put aside I do like the fact that Corona takes a lot of the time pressure and social stress away. So what I look forward to this summer are long lazy days, hopefully with nice weather to hang out at beaches and let the kids swim and build sand castles until they have blue lips, walks in the forrest and bike rides (just have to teach the youngest one to bike more controlled first). Hopefully we get to see some more friends (safe distance provided) because until now we have been very strict due to my job. I also have a kitchen garden that normally dies off when we’re on summer holiday- this time I have hopes for a harvest.
    Bonus would be getting an outdoor kitchen installed (either a second hand one or an easy diy one) and making nice summer dinners outside (+ starting to learn some canning). Maybe I will also get a SUP board this year that both the kids and I can use.
    Over here it is very popular getting hamocks up between trees and sleeping in nature.
    Good luck with your summer plans. Hope you’ll all have a nice summer.

  • Denise

    – A nature/backyard scavenger hunt
    – Camping in the backyard
    – Challenge the boys to come up with their own game, helping each other practice how it would work, refine it, then teach it to the family and play. Could be an outdoor game, a board game, a card game, a fusion of games.
    – I once got an obstacle course kit on clearance, but could easily be put together with some cones, hula hoops, random things from the garage. Kids have a blast reconfiguring the course and timing each other going through it, improving on their own times.
    – Learn about the constellations and take nighttime field trips out of the city to see them.

  • Heather

    I love the idea of having some simple activity goals. It reminds me that the fun things don’t need to be complex projects. One of my most memorable experiences was making a homemade puzzle with my grandmother. It was very simple–glue a magazine picture on cardboard and cut it out. We used flour and water for the glue as I recall. This was a special time with my grandmother and it also taught the lesson of resourcefulness in regards to materials.

    • Sara Cotner

      What a sweet memory, Heather! I hope my children keep sweet memories of me. The other day, Henry said that one of the things on his “bucket list” was to pull out every fuzzy blanket in the house and sleep with it. I added on that we could all sleep together as a family under all the blankets, and he said, “I think that would be the best day of my life!”

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