Mom's Dilemma: What to Do for the Summer?

Each summer vacation, it’s always been a habit to list down things or activities to do for both Kyle and I. I guess I’m not alone on this one, for sure mommies out there also does the same thing for their kids. On my case, I don’t want to see Kyle bored to death so I make sure summer vacation could also spell FUN.

Each year, I would line up some activities for him, whether it’ll be sports related or something that would squeeze out his creative juices, I would check it out just so Kyle had something productive and entertaining to do. Each activity varies from one another so that he’d have many options and would definitely find something that’ll interest him.

But sometimes, out of lack of budget, as parents we had to be resourceful and more creative…proving once more that we don’t really need to shell out money to have fun. So I am sharing five activities, which Kyle and I have agreed to do this summer:

•          Fly a kite. Yes and why not? It’s a really great way to bond with your child regardless of his or her age. We’re planning to fly a kite in Riverbanks or at the Quezon Memorial Circle one weekend. It’ll be nice to introduce your kids to those simple toys we used to enjoy as kids. In our case, we had our D-I-Y kite (we colored it ourselves) from Global Art Academy. Kyle had been looking forward to it.
•           Design a shirt. Kyle and I had been finding ways on how to recycle used and broken crayons. He says they’re difficult to use in school so he doesn’t want to use them anymore but he says it can’t be thrown away too. And recently, we finally found something to do with it. You just need parchment paper, sandpaper, t-shirt and flat iron plus loads of creativity and imagination. Procedure: Draw on the sandpaper using your broken and overused crayons. When writing letters on them, make sure to write them in reverse. Once done, place the sandpaper on top of the t-shirt, cover it with parchment paper and use the iron. Then, voila! Your sandpaper art’s instantly printed on your shirt. 
•     Watch a musical fountain show. It’s up to you, if you have excess money on your daily budget, you may bring the entire family to see the Musical Fountain Show at Aquatica in Manila Ocean Park. But if you’re on a really tight budget, there’s the Rizal Park Musical Fountain every night. It’s for FREE and your kids will surely love it! 
•        Let your kids help you in the kitchen and concoct a meal or drink together. Make your own pizza or dessert or anything that it is that your kids will love. In my case, pizza had always been Kyle’s favorite. He enjoys helping me create pan de sal pizza. He would gladly help me chop the veggies and other pizza toppings. He’d also like to grate mozzarella cheese and put them in the oven. And once he starts smelling the warm pizza aroma wafting in the air, he knew he’d be in for a great meal. And there’s always that genuine smile after…and the thank you’s…
•         Shop school supplies together. I let Kyle choose his own stuff for school. I would just give him a list and budget. I would accompany him at the bookstore but it was always him to choose which brand or design it is that’ll work for him. In doing this, I can have that assurance that he will know how to value his items and learn to budget his money as well.
  So there you have it Mommies, I hope you guys can try to make a list of summer stuff to do with your child.