Boredom Busting Summer Activities for families with TWO young kids

The lazy and fun days of summer are already coming to an untimely and unwelcome close here in our household. Rearing it's ugly head is the BORED and IRRITABLE monster's, better known as my kids. As they get older, the arguments and competition get bigger and more unruly, and I am at a complete and utter loss as to how to handle it. Both kids have a weekly commitment (one does dance and one does karate), but it apparently is just not enough for them to keep them occupied and focused enough for the whole week. So I am gathering ideas on what to do to keep them busy and their minds exercised, while we await the start of the Fall 2012 school year in just over 3 weeks. I have scoured the internet for "Boredom-Busting-Brain-Benders" and here is what I found.

1. Find a new playground/park.
2. Go to the beach. (dinnertime is my favorite time to visit the beach. there are less people there, it's not as hot, and bathing suits aren't necessarily required)
3. Visit Storytime at your local library. (call ahead or check their website first, some libraries change their kids activity scheduling in the summer)
4. Go digging for fossils. (find a patch of dirt and have the kids dig for rocks)
5. Bake. (my kids love cooking up something in the kitchen. And if they help cook it, they are more likely to eat it!)
6. Date Night with Mommy/Daddy. (one-on-one time can do wonders for a kids attitude)
7. Clean out the basement. (the kids will find hidden "treasures" and you will get a de-cluttered basement. Be sure to toss/donate everything you don't need. The more you get rid of, the better you'll feel!)
8. Screen time. (I know some mom's aren't a big fan of the TV/Video Games, but if ONE child is occupied with a movie/tv show/video game, you can give the other child special attention to work on a craft or project JUST FOR THEM!)
9. Summer Movie Specials. (Two of our local theaters participate in summer movie deals. Where weekdays (or SOME weekdays) they play a FREE or $1/ticket kids movie at 10am. They also have kids meals for only a few dollars. With the oppressive heat of the Chicagoland area this summer, these have been lifesavers for us!)
10. Ship 'em off to Grandma's. (My 5yo loves special time with his grandparents. It's kind of like Date Night with Mom/Dad, but he usually spends the night and gets all their love and attention for a longer amount of time. My 3yo isn't quite ready for an overnight without Mommy, but when the time comes, she will be spending some nights with her grandparents too.)

How do you beat the summer boredom? Please share!

Our Very Own Elf

They are 2 and 4, yet it seems as though these two children of mine have been here for an eternity. I can't remember life without them, and am grateful for their faces (smiling or angry) every single day.

Life with my 2 year old daughter has been a rollercoaster. One moment she is happy and dancing and giggling, and the very next screaming "NO JONAH NO!" and running off to pout and be grumpy. The mood swings are intense, for all of us. I am not saying SHE is the root of the arguments, we all add our own unique tension to the situations.

Christmas is coming and they both know it. I have in the past used the "Santa is watching" technique, but this year is different than years past. Each year the children understand more and more, about life, love, and particularly, one another. They know how to love on one another in a way only a young brother and sister can. They stick up for one another, think about one another, and obviously, know how to push each other's buttons.

In the last few years, I have seen a few Mom's here and there talk about their Elf on the Shelf. At first, I had no idea what it was, until Stephanie started blogging about their elf, Chazz Star. But this year, CBS aired a 30 minute movie called Elf on a Shelf: The Elf's Story and after a single viewing the kids were asking when OUR elf was going to arrive.

The movie laid out the entire idea of the Elf on the Shelf. Where he comes from, how he gets there, how he needs a name before he gets his magic, how he reports back to Santa, and how you cannot touch him, or he will lose his magic. Yes, the book does this well too, in a classic, bedtime story kind of way, but in today's age of visual learning and technology, this made it easier for my little ones to "see". Of course, we can all advocate the importance of imagination, but if it weren't for the movie (it's only 30 minutes, INCLUDING commercial breaks), our Elf, Dazzle McNoodle would never have come to be known as ours.

The Matuska Family Elf ~ Dazzle McNoodle