This is part of a 100 Days of Summer Fun series where Oklahoma City metro moms share their ideal days with their kids. We hope it inspires you to try something new with your kids this summer! Find more Ideal Days on our list of 100 Days of Summer Fun.
Kristin is a Moore mom of two daughters, ages 4 and 6. She writes about her ideal summer day below.
Being raised by a mom who was a teacher and being a teacher myself, I think my idea of an ideal summer day is part of a much bigger “to-do list." Let me explain. When I was growing up, there wasn’t a day in the summer that I didn’t awaken and find my list of chores for the day hanging on our family note hook. Since my mom was teaching the busy school year didn't allow for much more than keeping the house at a healthy level of clean. Summer provided the time to add in some additional chores.
Looking back, I see that deep cleaning the house was only a small part of my Mom's reasoning in giving us daily jobs. She wanted us to have a good work ethic, to be a functioning part of our family and a functioning member of society. I always remember her saying, “What did you do for the good of the world today?”
With that in mind, and since my kids are at an age where they can begin to help around the house, my ideal summer day would start with a chore list for the day. However, let me be clear, nothing at our house starts without chocolate milk and sippy cups (same as any other day). After our milk and breakfast, I would let my 6-year-old daughter read the chore(s) for the day. On this day, our chore might be something we do together like cleaning the baseboards. With a tub of soapy water and rags we would all work together to do a few rooms of the house.
After we completed our chore, then it would be time to do something fun together. We would probably have a quick lunch at home, feasting on one of our staples, a tortilla pizza with a side of fruit. Our fun activity that day would be swimming with our cousins in their neighborhood pool. Both girls at ages 4 and 6 are so excited to not use their floaties because of the completion of their swim lessons earlier in the summer.
After a few hours of splashing around, we would head home for dinner with Dad. The best summer days always involve a BBQ grill. With Dad on the grill, my kids and our sweet puppy run around the back yard and wait for dinner to be completed. I would be inside getting our sweet beans and fixins all ready for the meal. As the burgers were placed on the table we would hold hands and thank God for a wonderful day and then pray for hurting family and friends. After dinner, the girls would talk me into their “most favorite” part of summer gardening and we would add some new touches to our fairy garden. The prefect summer day would close as it began…. chocolate milk and sippy cups.
Happy Summer!
