Summer Savings: Priceless

June 13, 2008 | Written by: Lisa Cutler

Have a Priceless Summer Summer can be a very expensive time of the year. Deciding whether to send a child, or children to camp is largely based on cost.

As a parent, it’s a tough decision to make, especially if there’s pressure to keep up with other families.
A few years ago I decided to buck the trend and not send my kids to camp. The main reason was the cost. However, there were other reasons as well. One of them was to get us all to slow down and enjoy the simple things.

During the school year we were constantly running from one thing to another. I felt that sometimes I was so stressed out from running around that I needed to take a deep breath to calm down. During that first summer home we really needed to just BE. It didn’t happen overnight, it took a couple of weeks to get them deprogrammed from the hustle and bustle of the school year, but it was truly amazing to watch the transformation. After that initial time- it was more relaxing.

Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t all peachy and perfect! I’m a type A personality, I don’t mind messes- as long as they’re controlled messes! Suffice it to say, it took me a couple of weeks to be deprogrammed from needing to keep the house super clean! I had to lower the bar a little and just deal with a certain level of chaos. I also had a daily schedule that the kids had to follow before we went out, involving cleaning up and time reviewing their studies.

Some examples of the cheaper or free activities that we did were nature centers, which taught the kids about animals and their environment. The library also was an invaluable resource. We usually stopped by about once a week! Besides books there were puzzles, various toys, and computer games. We rented movies, and books on tape, which were great for long car rides because everyone could choose their own book to listen to. The library also had many activities there, such as drama club, knitting class, and movie night.

One day a week we went on a big trip to a place that was farther away. I bought a pass to a museum that was reciprocal to many other museums and aquariums as well. The yearly fee paid for itself with one or two visits, and we didn’t have the pressure to visit the entire museum at one time because we could come back another time for free.

Our city zoo is free and it’s a place that we frequented a lot. Their children’s zoo is included and there are many activities as well.

Swimming was a favorite activity! My friend has a pool in her backyard and we spent many hours splashing and laughing- I’m not sure who had more fun, the kids or me!

At home we enjoyed all kinds of fun activities. I bought a lot of art projects and toys from the dollar store to keep us busy. We also try to do some home improvements in our home every summer and painting is something we do as a family –its cheaper than hiring someone. The kids also enjoyed just playing outside in the backyard on the swing set, running through the sprinkler and playing in the dirt. Last summer we watched the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly in our own backyard!

These examples are only the tip of the iceberg of the different activities that kept us busy in the summer. I learned so many things that summer a few years ago. I learned that yes, I can keep the kids home and still be sane by the end. But, what I realized most was that it wasn’t me saving in the summer; it was summer that saved me. That’s priceless.

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Written by Lisa Cutler | Filed Under Fun Family Activities, Lisa Cutler

Comments

2 Responses to “Summer Savings: Priceless”

Chaya on June 16th, 2008 2:24 pm
this was great!! thanks for writing such an informative article. practical tips and very humorous too! looking forward to reading more articles like this!
Connie Brooks on June 16th, 2008 10:25 pm
Thanks Chaya :)

The author, Lisa Cutler did a great job!