Tips to Keep Your Kids Busy this Summer

Written by Mary Lutz

Depending on where you live, your kids may already be out of school for the summer, or you may be fast approaching the day when your kids will be home all day with you. As a work at home mom you may find it more difficult to find the time to work and to focus on your work if you have younger children who don’t always occupy themselves for any extended period of time. So here are some tips to keep your kids busy this summer for work at home moms.

Schedule different activities throughout the day that your kids can do on their own. These include: playing a board game for ½ an hour, watching one of their favorite movies, making a special craft out of materials they don’t need much supervision to use, and coloring in a coloring or activity book for ½ an hour.
If you have a laptop, take it outside for a couple of hours, or however long your battery will last and let your kids play in the yard or a small wading pool while you get your work done.
Have Nana take them one day each week. Kids love to spend time with Nana, and having them gone one day a week will allow you to get a ton of work done at once.
Rotate toys. Kids are more likely to get bored with the same old toys so put some away where they can’t find them for a while. Then bring them out every week or two. Rotate different toys each week and your kids will feel like they’re getting new toys on a regular basis.
If you have a YMCA or other type of community center, see if they offer any type of supervised activities where you can drop your kids off for a couple of hours a couple of times a week.
If you have teenagers who are old enough to work, have them find a summer job. If they aren’t old enough for a “regular” job, they could mow lawns or babysit for others in your neighborhood.
Assign regular chores to your children based on their age. For younger kids, they may be able to handle a vacuum cleaner, wash windows and mirrors, dust, and do the dishes. Having them do these chores twice a week at least will occupy them long enough so you can get some work done. For tweens and teens, cleaning the bathroom, mopping floors, washing cars and mowing the lawn are good chores they need to learn anyway.

When you combine a few of the suggestions above on a regular basis, you will find that you are able to keep your kids busy this summer while you work at home. If you have any suggestions that work for you that aren’t listed above, shoot us a comment so we can share it with others.

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Comments

5 Responses to “Tips to Keep Your Kids Busy this Summer”

Angela Green says:
May 29th, 2009 2:09 pm

These ideas are fabulous, and appropriate for all different ages and stages. Thanks!
Danielle says:
May 31st, 2009 10:13 pm

These are great ideas. My oldest had his last day of school on Friday. The summer has just begun for us!
Marya says:
June 1st, 2009 8:22 pm

I’ve been implementing a “workbox” system to help my younger kids stay occupied and doing something productive. We love to use file folder games in these.

Thanks for the ideas!
Tricia says:
June 1st, 2009 8:58 pm

Great ideas. I do like a monthly work packet that I put together with indoor activities, outdoor activities, crafts, and much more.
Tashia says:
June 12th, 2009 8:13 am

Excellent advice! Being a work at home mom, it is a challenge to keep those kids busy during summer vacation! Creating a weekly and daily summer schedule helps too because you can plan your work time while the kids have their free play time or afternoon quiet time. You can also create a list of “Things to Do” ideas that they can refer to when they need something to do (this would work best for older kids:). Check out the Busy Mom’s Guide to Summer Survival at my website!