Summer means vacation time for many families, but that’s not something I’m used to. We did take family vacations occasionally, but it wasn’t a set every year kind of thing. Now that I have my own family, I see the same pattern happening.

We have been lucky to take a trip every year since 2008, beginning with my husband and I creating our honeymoon for our five-year anniversary, since we never had an official honeymoon. The year after that we took a big family trip to Puerto Rico and brought baby girl along, plus extended family. Since our vacation in Puerto Rico, all of our family “vacations” have revolved around social media conference trips I’ve had that we’ve made into family trips. Conferences in New York City, Miami, and Washington D.C. have allowed my husband and daughter to explore those cities while I attended the events. But, none have been true family vacations since it’s just not the same to do a little here and there while also juggling a conference.

We need a real family vacation.

Unfortunately, this year is looking to be about the same. We have no plans for a vacation this summer and are pretty much staying in Orlando. Some people call this a staycation; growing up we just called it staying home for the summer. Of course, we do have fun! There’s various things for us to do locally, including visiting Central Florida theme parks, heading to the beach, and museum visits. We’re even thinking of heading up the coast one weekend and making a visit to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S.

While we may not have a traditional summer vacation planned each year, we manage to have fun as a family and have been lucky enough to have seen many cities in just the past few years. My daughter has done more travel in her short six years of life, than my husband and I did in our first fifteen years! Baby boy is not far behind, having traveled quite a bit before even his first birthday. We’re definitely lucky in this respect, as I know some families never get to travel at all.

Does summer mean family vacation time for your family? What are some of your plans this summer?

Disclosure: This story is sponsored by Hallmark through their Life is a Special Occasion campaign. As always, all stories and opinions are my own. To receive special offers and discounts from Hallmark, sign up for their e-newsletter!

Photo copyright ModernMami™.com

Photo: Dmitry Kichenko

My five year old will be starting Kindergarten this fall. She just completed pre-Kindergarten and since her preschool follows the same school calendar as the public schools, that means she has an actual summer off, just like all school-aged kids. This also means that she’ll be spending a lot of time at home and we need to figure out ways to keep her busy. She’s not the type of kid to sit still for too long, plus we don’t want her to waste away the summer and forget everything they did in pre-K this past year.

We’ve lined up a few activities for the summer that will help her keep busy, entertained, and should be fun. Here’s our plan.

5 Ways to Keep Kids Busy this Summer

1. Summer Reading Program

Our local library has a summer reading program for kids to keep up with their reading while out of school. They provide a reading list, a calendar for kids to mark off days they read, and a goody bag at the end of the program in exchange for a full calendar. Our library’s program is for ages 6-12, but I figure that since baby girl is reading well for her age, we can work on the books appropriate for 6 and 7 year olds. She loves to read, so this is perfect for her and will get her extra excited about the books.

Photo: elvissa

2. Museums

At least one of our local museums is offering free admission on Mondays throughout the summer. I need to check with some of the other museums in the area to see if they have a similar offer, but have heard this is not uncommon. A visit to a museum is great for a) getting the kids out of the house, b) expanding their minds, and c) providing conversational topics.

Photo: aarongilson

3. Summer Day Camps

Luckily, baby girl’s preschool is hosting a summer day camp full of activities, weekly field trips, and a review of the pre-K curriculum they just completed. We’ve enrolled her for 5 weeks of camp this summer, though the weeks are spread out. Our local YMCA is also hosting a summer day camp with field trips, as well, so that may be something you can look into.

Photo: Richard Styles

4. Free Bowling or Other Recreational Activities

You may have already heard that AMF is offering two free games of bowling per day for kids 16 and under at over 200 locations in the US. I plan to take advantage of this offer a few times throughout the summer, though baby girl hasn’t quite mastered the art of bowling. She’ll still have fun, regardless, plus it’s an indoor activity – something that’s super important here in Orlando.

Last year, I also heard that some of the movie theaters had certain days of the week where they had free movies for the kids. That’s something else that would be fun and is also indoors.

Photo: Paul Sapiano

5. Swim Lessons

Believe it or not, our girl doesn’t yet know how to swim. This summer, we plan to fix that and have enrolled her in swimming lessons at our YMCA. Depending on how she does her first two weeks, we’ll see if we enroll her in further lessons.

The weeks that we have none of the above activities planned, such as this first week off from school, we are keeping her busy with continuing to write in her pre-K journal, reading, visits to abuela’s house, workbooks, and of course, playing with the various toys she owns. It’s sure to be a fast summer and before we know it, we’ll be preparing for the first day of Kindergarten.

How do you plan to keep your kids busy this summer?

Guest post by Ellie McDermott

With summer at its halfway point, your children or the kids you take care of may already be going stir crazy. Choruses of “I’m bored” and “There’s nothing to do” may be ringing in your ears. You’ve looked forward to summer all year, but are quickly running out of ideas for engaging your kids in these long, unstructured days.

It only takes a bit of planning and creativity to infuse life back into your summer plans! Check out the field trips and at-home activities below to gain new inspiration and make the most of the rest of the summer.

Field Trips

• The Zoo – It’s likely that your children have been to the local zoo many times. On your next trip, create a simple treasure hunt, using clues such as “I’m the tallest animal in the zoo,” in order to engage your children as they enjoy the many members of the animal kingdom.
• The Science Center - Just because it is summer doesn’t mean that your children have to stop learning. A trip to the local science center may spark imagination and creativity. Be sure to have supplies on hand for homemade science projects when you return home!
• The Wading Pool – Some cities have free wading pools at parks throughout the community. Fill a bag with sunscreen, towels, and water toys, check the schedule, and head out on a refreshing outing to a local wading pool. Make sure you know which days and times the wading pool is in operation, or you may be stuck with an empty wading pool and some very disappointed children!
• Free Movies – Ask your local movie theater if it shows free kids’ movies in the morning during summer months. This can be a great chance to escape the summer heat and enjoy a cool morning watching last year’s blockbusters on the big screen once again.
• The Park – Are your children getting tired of walking to the neighborhood park every evening after dinner? Load them up and explore a park in a different part of town.
• The Library – Help your children lose themselves in a world of imagination and creativity through a trip to your local library. Pick up a calendar of events and plan your next trip during a story-time or special event. Many libraries have a summer reading program that readers of all ages can participate in.

At Home Fun

• Baking – Babies can play with measuring cups, little ones can help stir dry ingredients (with the help of a parent!), and older ones can pour ingredients together. Regardless of age, everyone can take part in baking projects. Encourage your children to select a dessert they would like to bake, gather the ingredients, bake it, and enjoy!
• Camping in the Backyard – Your most exciting summer vacation may be entirely free and incredibly local. Sounds pretty good, right? Most children are delighted by the novelty of camping out in their backyard. Create lasting memories by throwing the tent out back, dragging sleeping bags and pillows into it, and telling stories by flashlight.
• Picture Time – Have an old digital or disposable camera lying around the house? Teach your child how to use it and let them capture their favorite summer memories while exploring their artistic abilities. Print the photos and create a summer memory album.
• Picnic Time – Shake things up at lunchtime by eating outside. Either pack a lunch and take it to the park or just take your lunch out back. Kids will be delighted with this new eating locale, and you will be less worried about them making a mess with their watermelon and ice cream sandwiches!
• Lemonade Stand – Cultivate your childrens’ entrepreneurial spirit by helping them create a lemonade stand. Guide them through purchasing supplies, producing the product, and interacting with customers. Explore other products, such as freshly-cut flowers and home-baked goods. Make sure that appropriate adult supervision is present at all times.

This post is part of a paid campaign.

As I’ve mentioned before, in Florida, it seems like it’s always summer. Spring runs into summer which runs into fall. We have very slight variations in the weather. Our winters are questionable as well. Even my baby girl has noticed: “Is it still summer?” “Yes.” “Man, summer is a looong time!”

That means, that the traditional summer activities reserved for June-August by the rest of the nation, are activities that we can do in Florida the majority of the year. However, for some reason or another, my family reserves beach trips for summer. It’s not that we can’t go other months in the year, since the weather certainly allows it. It’s just something that has become part of our routine – once September comes around, we don’t make any beach trips until the following May or June.

Because of that, our beach trips are what make summer the most memorable for me. That, and maybe the fact that I am from a tropical island and spent much of my early childhood on the sand under palm trees. I love la playa. From the cool wind and water, down to the hot sand and even the sea smell. It’s great to see that love was inherited by my daughter.

I can’t share the palm trees and coconuts with her, since the beaches near us don’t have anything but pure sand for miles and miles. I can, however, share many memories with her: collecting sea shells, swinging under a palm tree in the hamaca, and playing in the water, for example. Since she visited Puerto Rico with us last year, she’s able to remember the beaches in Puerto Rico and relate.

Now, we’re making our own memories by visiting the beach every summer. Since she was only about 6 months old, we’ve made beach trips during the summer. She loves it and can’t get enough of playing on the beach. We may not have many standard summer activities that differentiate the summer from any other season in Florida. Yet, somehow, our family has managed to find something to make summer our own.

This summer, we’ve also had the opportunity to try out some frozen pops courtesy of Popsicle. After tasting the Popsicle® Jolly Rancher™ ice pops, we then tried the new Slow Melt Ice Pops – specifically of the Dora variety, since baby girl is a fan. She loved the different shapes they come in and, of course, tried the pink one first, because what other color is there? These Popsicle Slow Melt pops are meant to last longer (Get it? Slow Melt), which in turn means less mess on your kids’ clothes. This is especially handy when you have a kid like mine who takes for.e.ver to eat her food. No lie, she can sit there for nearly an hour eating the same plate I put in front of her. Of course, with popsicles, she never takes as long, but still eats slower than I would. I did notice that the Dora Slow Melt pop took longer to start melting than I’m used to. So, I guess it works!

Don’t forget that Popsicle is also holding a contest this summer. You can enter the Anything’s Possible With Popsicle Sweepstakes where kids have the chance to win one of three great prizes: dinosaur dig, dolphin dive, or Space Camp®! See more information and official rules on the Popsicle site.

What special summer time memories do you enjoy sharing with your kid(s)?

Disclosure: I am a Popsicle Brand Ambassador through a compensated Mom Bloggers Club member program. This post was written in conjunction with the program, but all opinions and thoughts are original.

This post is part of a paid campaign.

It’s always extremely hot in Florida. Ok, maybe not always. We do have a couple of weeks in the “winter” where you actually need a jacket and *gasp* maybe even gloves. But, for the most part? It’s hot.

So, of course, in the super-hot summer months, we lock ourselves in our air-conditioned homes and dread the days we actually have to step outside. I’m exaggerating. Sort of. I mean, life does require that you step outside the home. But, even inside the home it can get a little warm on those extreme 100-degree days. Unless you want your power bill to be sky-high, you learn to deal with a little warmth and find other ways to stay cool.

Like food. Well, technically, not food. More like cool treats and lots of liquids. Summer is when you constantly have ice cream, slushies, and other frozen goodness on your grocery list. That’s why when I was contacted to participate in a Popsicle campaign this summer, I agreed. I mean, seriously, we buy them all the time anyway.

The Popsicle folks sent us a box of the new Popsicle® Jolly Rancher™ ice pops to try out first. My 4-year-old’s first reactions when I asked her to try were:

• “Oh look! There’s jokes on them!”
• “It tastes like a rainbow!”

Mind you, the girl loves jokes. She’s constantly telling everyone who will listen, knock-knock and other silly jokes. Her father and I are often scouring the web looking for new jokes to add to her repertoire, since well, you can only hear “Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?” so many times before pulling your hair out. Needless to say, the fact that the Popsicle stick has a joke on it was a huge selling-point for her.

As far as the taste? We all noticed that they tasted a lot juicier than the Popsicles we’re used to. Of course, I later realized that we normally buy the sugar-free Popsicles, so of course, these would taste richer. She seemed to think they tasted like rainbows. The fact that it has 4 flavors and color layers has nothing to do with that, I’m sure.

Popsicle also has a fun contest going on this summer. You can enter the Anything’s Possible With Popsicle Sweepstakes where kids have the chance to win one of three great prizes: dinosaur dig, dolphin dive, or Space Camp®! See more information and official rules on the Popsicle site.

What do you eat to stay cool during the summer?

Disclosure: I am a Popsicle Brand Ambassador through a compensated Mom Bloggers Club member program. This post was written in conjunction with the program, but all opinions and thoughts are original.

Our 4 year old daughter has been wanting to go camping the last few weeks. For some reason or another she’s got camping in her head and has brought it up quite a few times recently. She probably got it from TV or perhaps from her preschool – what with them learning about summer activities and such.

The problem? We’re not exactly what you’d call a camping kind of family. I’ve only ever done it once in my life – not by choice – and the hosts had a nice RV in which I slept. I’m just not a get-intimate-with-earth kind of girl.

That said, I could see us parking a little trailer or mini-RV on some campgrounds and spending one (do I dare stay two?) night “camping.” But, of course, we have no plans to buy a trailer/RV anytime soon. So, when our baby girl says she wants to go camping, the answer she gets is obviously no.

Being the clever little girl she is, the other night she answered back by saying, “let’s pretend we’re camping.” Thankfully, I have a creative husband who immediately thought up a way we could do this in our own house. After he arrived home from work and we had all eaten dinner, the man proceeded to set up “camp” in our living room.

He set up a toy tent she already had, brought out some marshmallows, chopsticks, and a flashlight. (Bare with me, this will all make sense soon.) He then stacked some of her books on the floor and stood an empty paper-towel roll in the middle to hold the flashlight. We sat down on the floor, used the chopsticks as our wooden sticks and “roasted” our marshmallows over our fake flashlight-campfire. Of course, we went around and made up stories as we ate our marshmallows.

Our baby girl was not just happy we had gone “camping,” she was ecstatic. I think it was even better than the real thing - no bugs, no allergies, no mess. And, I had found a new appreciation for my dear husband. Don’t get me wrong – I always appreciate him. But, seeing how fast he could whip up a camp-site, please our daughter (and me), and watch him be an all-around great father while roasting his marshmallows…well, it touched that soft spot I have in my heart for him.

Now, if he could just whip up an in-home spa for me, I’d be one happy mami!

Guess what? Guess what? Guess what?

Sorry, I’m just a tad bit excited about my latest blogging gig.

I’m guest blogging, along with four other great ladies, at Scholastic Parent Voices for the month of May. I’ll be over there at least once a week blogging about various topics. First topic is Summer Plans in a Tough Economy.

And my first post? It’s all about our summer vacation on a budget. Meet all the guest bloggers and check out my first post, won’t you?

You also already know that I’m blogging at Family Eden. But, starting this week, now I’ll be over there once a week and on Tuesdays instead of every other Wednesday.

This week’s post at Family Eden is all about tantrums. I took a look back at our ordeal with tantrums about a year ago. Whew! What a time that was.

And if you’re currently dealing with tantrums or know someone who is, be sure to enter the contest for the book I Brake for Meltdowns: How to Handle the Most Exasperating Behavior of Your 2- to 5-year-old.

It’s a busy week no doubt. But, when isn’t it?