Summer Break Is Hell on Earth
Fun ideas for distracting your children for eight whole seconds so you can drink your cold coffee while peeing!
My oldest starts kindergarten in the fall, but he’s been in preschool for the past two years. On the precipice of each summer break, I’ve found myself slack-jawed and dumbed, realizing that the structure of our days is falling off a cliff and I will need to get out some scaffolding, and quickly. Whereas our days usually revolve around dropping my loudest child off for eight hours, then heading to the gym, eating lunch in front of the TV, naptime/writing time, school pickup, park, dinner, and merciful bedtime, these summer days mean I have another voice in the house—one who is used to constant activity and routine; one who, unfortunately, has opinions.
Each day, he asks me, “What are we going to do today, Mom?” Sometimes, I’ll muster up a bright, “Well, maybe we’ll go to the library!” Or we’ll go to the park, or play outside, or do some unknown craft project I’ll make up on the spot, et cetera. Inevitably, he vetoes my idea. This is because what he wants to hear is, “We’re going to Target in a helicopter! Here’s a fan of $100 bills!”
Since that’s not going to happen, I have to rely on plan B: doing things we haven’t done before, because the allure of newness…
