We stopped by an estate sale and got this desk for $40. It needs some cleaning, but it’s solid wood and has dovetailed joints and doesn’t smell weird or anything. It even has a glass top, cut to its shape.
I also saw a gorgeous china cabinet there that was the perfect size, but two ladies had “spoken for it.” I have to tell you, the ladies (one very very elderly, one fairly elderly) were discussing the potential purchase, and they had a) no way to get it home b) nobody to carry it and c) no place to put it. They were going to put it in a GARAGE. To KEEP.
Please, don’t hoard beautiful affordable china cabinets in your garage, when the cabinet would have lovingly held my mother’s china. Humph.
Then we went to the swap meet, where these dollhouses were $10 each. I asked if he’d take $15 for both and he said sure. Similar dollhouse kits cost around $45 each. That is, unbuilt. We don’t mind refinishing.
These are solidly built, heavy-ish dollhouses.
Our house has been overrun with dollhouses, and my husband’s been very understanding. I always need a PROJECT to do.
These houses are destined to be a Christmas house (Santa’s workshop!) and a Halloween house. I’m picturing Miss Havisham waiting in one of the rooms with a moldy wedding cake.
At ALA, someone from the organization interviewed me and asked what libraries mean to me.
I told him lots of things. How I won several consecutive years of the library’s summer reading contest as a kid. How heavily my family uses the library (not just for reading, they also sponsor lots of activities, like jewelry making, knitting, yoga, and chess). How heartily I believe this:
And also how I sort of hope one day, I too will have a banned book.
Anyway, after I went home I remembered something I’d forgotten all about.
For a time in early elementary school, my parents forbade me from checking out library books.
They said it was because the books were germ carriers, that people read books on the toilet and while they were sick and every time I got a book, they said I got a cold. I remember being really sad at not being able to get books when my class went to the library.
I think it was also due to the fact I hadn’t been to preschool or been exposed to many normal germs as a child, due to my parents’ Monk-like attention to hygiene. I was sick for quite a bit of kindergarten and first grade.
Eventually, I got to check out books again. I don’t know if I just whined enough or what. I believe the compromise was a Lysol spritz on the books.
Tonight I looked up whether or not books are actually germ-carriers and found out…they are! They are fomites, which is a word for something that transfers germs (like doorknobs, faucet handles, books, money [which is why cashiers should not handle money and food]etc), transferring everything from the common cold to Hep A and ringworm.
Here’s a formal study (click on the PowerPoint) where the authors conclude:
You should wash your hands after you read.
Pretty much, you should wash your hands after doing anything that has to do with anything.
Dear Lord. As if I don’t have enough to worry about. My kids get library books every other week. They read them in bed (my mother would keel over!). But I think the risk is generally minimal. After all, they could also get infected if a classmate with a grimy, cold-infused hand passed them a paper during math right before snack. Kids don’t do much hand-washing at school on their own.
You simply can’t prevent all exposure to germs. Even my late sister-in-law, who was incredibly averse to catching communicable diseases due to her health, was no stranger to the library or especially the library book sale.
But then again, I am not afraid to break out my purse-sized alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Eldest and I have been working feverishly on the dollhouse for the past couple of days. It gives us something to do. We make the plans for it, discuss them, and then we execute them. I like it because she has smaller, more nimble hands, so I make her do things I don’t like to do, such as paint trim (this summer, I realized, as a 13-year-old, she can do pretty much any chore I can. Too bad for her).
We decided to make some dolls.
My first attempt didn’t come out so hot. In fact, as I was sculpting his face, I thought, “This guy’s kind of messed up,” and almost squished the Sculpey back together to start anew. But he looked familiar.
Postlethwaite, who passed away last year, was a British actor who was in pretty much everything. The Town, Inception, Clash of the Titans, and of course, The Usual Suspects.
Since then, I have found a doll tutorial on the doll artist Patricia Rose’s website, and hopefully I will someday be 1/25th as good as she is. Look at her Robin Hood doll on the page. It’s made out of Sculpey, and even has real chest hair.
But I do like my Pete doll. He’s sort of too big, but I made him some clothes, and he will have a special place in the dollhouse.
After our sojourn to CalArts, we decided to go up to the Sequoias to see the big trees. We stayed the first night at a Best Western outside of the park, then went inside. The plan was to camp. We made reservations at a campsite, the only campsite available. It was about 20 miles away from the entrance we used, but we figured we could see some things one day, go up to our camp, and it wouldn’t be a big deal.
It was hot. I mean it was 103. My appendages swelled up immediately and I immediately had to join the queue for the ladies room inside the park. It was packed, of course. Tons of Europeans. I haven’t seen so many Europeans since I was actually in Europe. Not that I’m complaining, just an observation.
First we saw some really big trees.
And an interesting bug, which was about the size of a stag horned beetle. I asked Cadillac, “Does that have wings?”
“No, its antennae are too long to fly,” he said. Of course it then flew up and Son started screaming (glee) and a lady screamed and ran away (terror).
Camera wouldn’t completely focus on it and then it flew.
We decided to go to Crystal Caves, for which you need to buy a ticket on site. The first available was 4:30 that day. We were faced with a dilemma. The cave tour would last until 6:30 or so. It would take about 3 hours to get to the campground, according to the ranger. So we realistically wouldn’t be able to make camp until 10 that night, or skip going to Crystal Cave. We chose to go to Crystal Cave.
The hike down to the cave is a half mile. It smelled like artichokes in the canyon, and there is a big waterfall. They told us to put our food from the car into bear lockers, though I’m not sure if a bear would venture to a parking lot filled with 100 cars and even more humans in the middle of the day.
Inside the cave it was only 59 degrees, so we brought jackets. And flashlights. They had lighting, but it was still dark.
Our guide’s name was Mitch. He told us about the history of the caves and which rank it was on the long cave list. Son of course asked, “What’s the longest cave?”
Then Mitch led our group of 50 inside. He explained that there are parts of the cave where nobody is allowed, because it’s a Native American burial ground. Which might explain the orbs in the Great Room (orbs=ghosts according to some).
There was an underground river and I was terrified that we’d lose one of the kids over the edge. He also told us there’s a big lake in a cavern below the tour.
We also got to experience total darkness, which unfortunately was not also total silence since 2 out of 3 of our kids did not like that one bit.
The cave formations are a form of marble. Interesting.
Mitch picked something up and Son said, “What’s that you have?” Mitch said, “I usually don’t like to show people this because then everyone will want to see…” and he looked at Son, who would not let him off the hook, and showed him an insect. He said it was a “Muirepede,” named after John Muir. It has long antennae and no eyes and hates light, so I got no picture of it.
The walk up was strenuous, especially going from 59 degrees to 100+, but we powered through.
Then it really was 6:30 and we realized the kids could not handle a 3 hour drive (neither could we). We started back down the mountain. They’re re-doing the roads, so there is a 30 minute delay on top of it going either way. I took some pics during the delay.
The road was windy, and Son said he wasn’t feeling so well. He can’t chew gum because of his orthodontia, so I offered him crackers, which he refused. We were just about to the bottom when there was a noise like water being spit out and I knew he’d lost his cookies.
“I didn’t even know that was going to happen!” he said.
“Hmmm,” Cadillac said. “He got sick on the way home from Boy Scout camp, I guess he gets carsick.”
Um, that would have been nice to know. I would have made him take Dramamine. (I said as much, but maybe not so nicely).
Anyway, that was a mess, but we cleaned up once we reached a turnoff (which was a ways off). We continued down.
Then there was another weird noise, different. Metal on asphalt.
“What’s that noise?” Eldest said.
“Look in the rearview and see if our tire’s blown,” Cadillac told me. He’d checked the tires before we left, but it was worn out on the inside where you’d have to reach your hand all the way inside to feel it. So now he knows to check that.
We pulled off near a campground and he put on a spare. Some people offered to help but Cadillac declined.
By then it was 8 and nobody had eaten and there was now absolutely no way in heck we were going camping. So we returned to the motel where we’d stayed and everybody slept in. Then the next morning, we went over to Costco in Visalia and they had our tires in stock and got us on the road in an hour. We went home.
“Every time we try to go camping, it never works,” Eldest said. This is true. But Cadillac promised to take them to a local place next month for fishing.
Best Quotes from the Trip
Our youngest had some gems I wrote down.
“That new tire looks famous! It’s so shiny.”
“He is like a dentist for tires.” About the tire guy and his tools.
At the motel, Eldest said, “Let’s look through the peephole.”
Little Girl: “What people?”
Eldest: “No, the peep. Hole. Peephole.”
LG: “I don’t see any people! What are you talking about? You’re crazy!”
I had to write it down but only after it went on for a good long while, like “Who’s on First.”
Comic-Con was in San Diego this past weekend, and it was a zoo. About 140,000 people attend. Then there’s more random stuff people can do downtown, so even more people who aren’t attendees go. It is elbow-to-elbow crowded, but people are generally pleasant and wear creative costumes, so it’s a fun atmosphere once you can actually get there.
I took Son on the Wednesday preview night. He does not like crowds, but we got his sister a Doctor Who screwdriver and he got a talking Dr WhoDalek and we got the little sister a harajuki unicorn, so he was satisfied and ready to go home. While we waited for Cadillac to pick us up, I bought him a cupcake, so he was pretty happy.
On Saturday I went with my daughter.
Here is some kind of space ship, which I saw while in line from across the street. I don’t know what it is (theme of the day! Me: what is that? Who is that supposed to be?) but there it is.
Outside the convention center, some religious nuts were protesting. There was a counter protest by Comic-Con attendees bearing signs like “Bike Riders Love Satan!” but I couldn’t photo them because the traffic guy herded us out of the street.
Outside, we went into the Grimm trailer and saw the Grimm artifacts. Cadillac and I watch Grimm with Eldest, and waited all season for Grimm (this will take too much explanation if you haven’t seen it, so if you want a recap, go to the Grimm website) to get some powers. That is, our mythological-beast-battling hapless detective had only his wits and his gun most of the season, but at the end everybody was KUNG FU FIGHTING!
This is the super highspeed GRIMM tattoo you could get.
Funny story: outside, we saw a long long line kind of near the Grimm forest. I asked the guy in front of me, “What are you in line for?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “We just got in line.”
His family turned and looked at me.
They were super serious.
Anyhow, somebody else piped in, “It’s for the GRIMM tattoo,” so we got out of that line. Turns out the Grimm tattoo line was 2 hrs. I think we waited maybe 10 minutes to get into the trailer/forest.
The guy who worked for GRIMM had this tattoo, so I asked if I could take a photo.
They gave us posters. Note the poster.
That’s the back of me.
After we explored for a bit, we decided to try to see the Grimm panel in an hour. We found the line outside the ballroom. Not too long. It wasn’t the big standing-room only ballroom; it was a smaller ballroom. The guy told me the line was actually behind him. There were line breaks to allow for passersby. We followed the snaking line through the building, down a hall, outside, and MORE outside, to here:
Above are some princesses taking a break outside.
I did not think we would get in.
Eventually they let people in, and we were almost to the entrance when they thought they were full. But we got in!
Then, the usher ran out of seats and seated us in the RESERVED spots in the very front row. A Comic-Con miracle!
Still, my camera’s zoom wasn’t so good, and the lead (David Giuntoli, who plays Detective Nick Burkhardt) kept leaning back behind the red-headed woman (Bitsie Tulloch, who plays his girlfriend Juliette) so we couldn’t see him.
It’s so much fun to see actors in real life. They seemed happy to be there and totally down to earth, though that could all be a put on because, you know, they are actors. Who act. Anyway, they seemed to enjoy themselves and the audience hollered for everyone. Sean Hayes, from Will and Grace, is one of the producers, and also was there, along with the other producers/writers/creator, all of whom sat by the moderator and therefore are invisible.
They showed us Act I from the first new episode of the season. They are serious about cracking down on piracy. One of the ushers was more like a security guard and he was VERY VERY VERY serious about rule enforcement. You had to get a bathroom pass to leave the room. During the darkened part while they showed the episode, the guard used a night vision scope to look at the audience, ostensibly to make sure they weren’t filming.
I tried to make my daughter go ask a question during a Q&A, but she wouldn’t. She actually did think of some questions but all of them were sort of inappropriately highly critical (Why don’t they kill off the girlfriend? Why do the special effects look so cheesy? Why did Grimm not have any superpowers until the end of the season?) so both of us decided that no, she probably didn’t need to ask them. It’s funny that she can think of so many critical questions when she is such a big fan.
Then, they passed out tickets and told us to go to the “Fulfillment Center.” This was over at the Marriott. I had to consult the map three times, because you had to exit the center, go to the Marriott, go up the escalator, double back, and walk around some ballrooms.
It was quite a hike. “Will you be disappointed if it’s the same poster?” I asked my kid.
“No,” she said. “At least we got a walk.”
We got the same poster they gave out at the forest.
Those are the breaks. We did stop at a Marriott Starbucks, which had a line a quarter as long as the Convention center lines but cost more than a dollar more, so it wasn’t a wasted walk. And now we have extra Grimm posters.
We got some white Vans for our 12-year-old over the weekend, and she turned them into a work of art with fabric pens. She’s a huge fan of the new BBC SHERLOCK series and the DR. WHO series, so she simply had to devote one shoe to each. I swear, I think the best thing about having kids is sort of observing them like I’m Jane Goodall in the wild. My kid doesn’t like stuff like the usual boy bands (i.e. One Direction or whatever). Instead, she’s into anything the BBC produces. Also, she recently became a fan of the 80s. I guess FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF is popular with some kids at her school, and she also is listening to a bunch of our old CDs (The Smiths, the Cure, etc). Excuse me while I go into the corner and laugh evilly. Our plans have succeeded! Mwahahha.
Anyway, she freehand drew these designs, and I am simply amazed at her skill and creativity. I think she should have an Etsy summer business making custom Vans drawings for people. Sherlock shoes and Dr. Who shoes. Maybe she could do more designs on request. She also made T-shirts for her and her friend, and actually cut out letter stencils in the appropriate fonts, which took her forever but made the shirts look silk-screened.
Recently, I asked the kids’ pediatrician for a referral to the cardiologist, so they could get echocardiograms to see if they have noncompaction cardiomyopathy, the genetic heart condition that runs in my family. I am hoping the kids got Cadillac’s heart. Everyone in his family, on both sides, lives into their 90s, as long as they don’t smoke or drink really really excessively.
The pediatrician’s nurse gave me a number to call to make an appointment, so I did. The cardiology scheduler said, “If you need an echocardiogram, call your doc and get a referral for it, and then you don’t have to come in twice. Right now, I am only allowed to schedule you for a visit, not tests.” So I called the pediatrician back and asked for an echocardiogram referral.
Ped: “I am not comfortable giving you an echo referral because I don’t know enough about the disease, and the pediatric cardiologists have their own protocol as far as the age when that will be done.”
Me: “I don’t want to make two co-pays because it will cost $180. Also, I know about the disease, and it’s present from birth and nothing except an echo will tell them anything.This is what my cardiologist told me to get.”
Ped: “I don’t know enough about the disease. I am not comfortable giving you an echo referral. It won’t hurt them to wait a few more weeks.”
In the meantime, a DIFFERENT person from pediatric cardiology called up Cadillac and made appointments for all three kids. For what? Echo, EKG, and a doctor visit, all in the same day. See? Ta-da! I figured a cardiologist had looked at the referral request, and said, “Hey, nothing except an echo will tell us what we need to know. Schedule them.”
However, last night (late for office hours, about 6 pm), Cadillac (for some reason, they only have his number) got a call from the pediatric cardiology department saying that that there wasn’t enough time to do all three things in one visit and someone else had accidentally mis-scheduled it, so could we come in tomorrow (i.e. today) and do the echos? And we would need to have two adults. And we need to get there at 9. And if we didn’t, we wouldn’t get seen until August.
So the kids didn’t have to go to school today and Cadillac had to take some time off work and we trouped down there. It took about an hour per kid, because they look at the heart very thoroughly in kids, more thoroughly than in the adults– my echo took maybe 20 minutes, for instance. They were able to do kids at a time, so in total we were there a little more than three hours, with the waiting and everything.
Anyway, we are very lucky in that we haven’t had much cause to go to Children’s; we have been there just maybe three or four times. Once for Son to get his tonsils out and once when he was sick; once for Eldest when she was really sick and had to go to Urgent Care; and once for Little Girl to get a blood draw. Therefore, we’ve not had the necessity to become familiar with their layout. Their hallway signage is more confusing than the Naval Medical Center, which is really saying something. You have to follow many different signs to get to Cardiology, and sometimes there is not a sign on the wall but hanging down the hallway from the ceiling, so unless you actually look down the hallway you won’t see it. Also, you have to walk through a plain door. And sometimes the elevators are not marked ELEVATOR, like the one that went down to the cafeteria floor, which was only an elevator to floor 2, I think. I looked all over for a sign that said ELEVATOR and there wasn’t one; it just said TO CAFETERIA. (But it didn’t just go to the cafeteria). It might just be me, because Cadillac didn’t get lost like I did.
But they have a beautiful campus, with lots of nice soothing art to look at, which the kids enjoyed today. So even though we had to spend the whole morning there, it was actually a very nice environment and more like you were visiting someplace where you happened to see the doctor and got to play at the same time. The waiting area had a courtyard with a train-shaped play structure, and Son played tag with a boy, and Little Girl played Train to SeaWorld with another little girl (lots of imaginary dolphins on board!), so they were entertained.
After the two younger kids were finished, I took them down to McDonald’s (yep, there’s a McDonald’s there, along with a Ronald McDonald house) and then we found this beautiful garden we had seen from up above, while we were wandering around looking for elevators.
The kids pulled each other around in a wagon that was there. Unfortunately, Little Girl was pulling her brother one-handed like she was Hercules, and she tripped on this star. I was taking a photo, seen below. My shutter closed as she began to fall. I ran over there and the only thought I had was, “At least we are at a hospital! I wonder if they would make her wait in the ER if she got hurt on the actual campus? I wonder if people will hear her screaming bloody murder and come running?” Nobody came, though. I checked for blood and bruises, and she had some red marks, but she was okay, though she wailed for a minute or two as I comforted her. Her brother gave her his Happy Meal toy. After a few minutes, she was fine and the red marks disappeared.
I especially liked all the different kinds of rocks they were using for seating and decoration.
Tomorrow we get to go back for Part II of the visit. Yay! (That was not a real yay, in case you couldn’t tell.) But at least I know where the important things are, like McD, the cafeteria, the elevators, and the coffee cart. Really, I am grateful we have such a good hospital here, but I fervently hope our kids are thoroughly healthy, and we have little cause to go back in the future.
I am afraid that this does not adequately express the panic in my voice.
It is MAY, people!
May means the last full month of school.
May means JUNE is coming very very soon, which means school will be OUT.
Phineas and Ferb say: There’s 104 Days of Summer Vacation, And school comes along just to end it. So the annual problem for our generation, Is finding a good way to spend it.
I find this song ironic. I mean, you’re WATCHING Phineas and Ferb have a blast on Summer Vacation, having all kinds of real-world adventures. The one thing they are NOT doing during break is watching a show about kids having fun on their summer vacation.
So, ACTION, Jackson.
My kids are school-age, which means they theoretically can pour themselves a bowl of cereal and operate the remote without awakening the sleeping family members, so this summer should mean we get to sleep in a little bit.
Day camps around here range from $135 a week for a bare-bones elementary school-ground camp, to $300 or so for educational camps. Because I don’t work outside the house and I am not yet a millionaire superrich novelist, I keep the kids with me.
When I was a kid, we just went out to play. But we no longer live in a society where you can shoo your kids out the door and tell them to come back at sunset. Personally I have no problem doing exactly that; but everybody else is paranoid, so my kids would be on their own.
Thus I got to thinking– the kids need something to keep them occupied sometimes. I can design my own camp activities for less than $100 a week. However, this means I have to act like I’m somewhat organized. Otherwise, the kids WILL end up doing nothing except watching Phineas and Ferb, and bugging me.
I’m doing my summer guide for free activities planning right here, and hopefully your kids will benefit, too.
Use my suggestions to brainstorm your own, or just use them.
Chores
Yes, not the most fun thing ever, but hear me out. There’s no schoolwork or activities getting in the way, so let this be the summer when your kids learn some life skills. How to clean the bathroom, work the vacuum, and do laundry are all necessary to being self-sufficient young people.
If they already know how to do those things, how about slightly more advanced chores?
Meal planning
Grocery store budgeting, list making, and coupon clipping
Learning how to change the oil and tires on the car
Mowing the lawn or other garden care
Other suggestions:
Attach a dollar value to some of the chores if you want. I’d pay my kids to wash the windows because it’s outside the normal chore system, and I don’t like to do it.
Draw up a daily chore list and have the kids attend to it first thing before they can do anything else. Unless they get up at 5.
Build in some treats. For example, when drawing up the grocery list, the kids will get to select their treats themselves, and will learn to budget. If you buy the ice cream ON SALE, then you will also have money for cookies. That kind of thing.
Cost: FREE, unless you are chore-paying.
2. Geocaching
Geocaching, for those of you who don’t know what it is, involves people hiding various items, then plugging the coordinates into a GPS system.
Basically, it’s a treasure hunt for smart phones. Who doesn’t love finding treasure with a map?
For about $10, you can get a high-quality Geocaching app. The app has a map, describes where the geocaches are and tells you how close you’re getting. It also describes the terrain and the difficulty of getting to the cache.
There are geocaches everywhere. People hide them in public parking areas, in parks, off hiking trails. People use magnetized containers to stick them behind Dumpsters and parking signs; hang items from trees; even use fake rocks.
What do you do when you find it? Sometimes people simply put a small piece of paper into some kind of weather-proof container, and when you find the container, you add your name to the list of who found it, then re-hide it.
For fun, sometimes there will be small objects in there, like outdated European coins or pennies or plastic toys; in that case, ,you are supposed to replace the item so the next person can have fun finding it.
I have only found a couple, with the help of my experienced geocaching friend Alex. The items are usually camouflaged very well. Sometimes, people stumble across them and move them. For example, my family and I went looking for a Boy Scout tin filled with lollipops hanging from a tree off a popular hiking path– I’m pretty sure some random person happened along and took it.
Cost: $10 for the app, plus gas, of course
3. Food Reviewing
My kids love eating, so I was thinking about what sort of food-based activity we could do that would get us out of the house a little bit. Doing food reviews gives us a solid sense of purpose, and it will be fun to mark off where we’ve been on a map.
However, I wanted something that wouldn’t be too expensive, so visiting every sushi place around here was out.
Thus I came up with The Great Donut Review Project.
My son loves doughnuts. Really, who doesn’t? Donuts (I’m spelling it both ways, yes) are cheap, 50 cents to $1 or so. Also, I don’t like doughnuts that much– they are too sweet for me, so I am happy with one bite. If we reviewed, say, chocolate shops, then I’d be in really big trouble.
I’m using Yelp to find doughnut shops in San Diego. Then we are going to visit a couple each week. Each kid gets one doughnut and has to create a review, citing what they like, what they didn’t like, and assigning a star rating.
I will get one bite of donut each time as my fee.
Estimated Cost: .50 cents to $1.50 per donut, average $2.25 per visit
4. Book Reading
The local libraries always have a summer reading project. Around here, they give out prizes when you reach a certain number of books every week.
If you need suggestions, ask your school or library for summer reading lists.
Or check out some of these lists, divided into different categories, like books for boys or books for pre-teens.
Cost: FREE
5. Fishing
My kids are always clamoring to go fishing. I have no idea why they say they like it so much because they sure seem miserable while they do it. They are bitter when the fish don’t bite (which is the case about 90% of the time for us).
Check with your local fish and game department for your state’s regulations and fees. In California, you don’t need a license if you’re under age 16, but you do need a license if you’re an adult and you’re going to be helping your kids fish. Which you definitely will.
Thus, fishing can be a somewhat expensive start-up; not only do you need poles, you need a fishing license in CA. Fishing was easier in Hawaii; you didn’t need a license, and you could fish anywhere.
COST: FREE DAYS only on July 7 or Sept 8 in California; or FREE if you stick to pier-fishing.
Reduced License Fees: Reduced for those 65 years or older (with income limits) or veterans with a service-connected disability of 50% or more. FREE for those with impaired eyesight, the disabled, and the developmentally disabled.
Annual License in CA: $44.85
One Day License: $14.85
Poles: Approximately $16 for a kit with the line and reel and tackle
Bait and hooks: $4 total, depending on what you need
Day-Use Fees: On top of the fishing license, most places charge you to fish in their lakes. Look this up ahead of time and plan on spending up to another $15 for a day-use fee. Some places are free. You can also fish off the piers in San Diego for free.
The annual Grunion Run might be a good bet for older kids; they spawn at night on the beach. You DO need a license if you’re 16 or older, so unless you plan on being 100% hands-off in your supervision, you will need to get a license, too.
COST: FREE for kids under age 16
6. Free or Low-Cost Camps
Want to get your kids out of the house and your supervision entirely?
In this city, there are a few types of free camps. I only mention this because I didn’t know they existed and found out accidentally. The local middle school holds two free ones, an Engineering Camp, which my oldest attended; and a general camp. They were not income-based, so any student in the appropriate grades could go, as space allowed.
Do some sleuthing in your area. Eldest claimed the engineering camp was kind of boring, but she in fact had a great time, because there were rockets involved, and you can never not have a good time when you’re building a rocket.
Local religious organizations also have Bible school or other religious half-day camps. Our church’s Bible school session is free to parishioners.
Many regular programs also have need-based financial assistance available.
7. Childcare Sharing
Find a couple of friends with similarly aged kids and rotate hosting them throughout the week. In this age when most kids don’t roam neighborhoods, they love having built-in play buddies. As long as they get along all right. Hopefully one or two of those friends will have a pool and different video game systems.
I’d also establish a few ground rules, i.e. have the parents tell the kid, “When you’re at Mrs. Dilloway’s house, you will follow Mrs. Dilloway’s rules, or she will break my thumbs.” That kind of thing.
Cost: FREE, plus the cost of a bit of extra food
8. Crafts
Get your weekly craft store coupon and go get some craft supplies. Get some general supplies or specific ones for specific projects; ideas here. The craft store Michael’s also had free weekly kids’ crafting classes all last summer.
A kid with a big box of Popsicle sticks, craft glue, paint, felt, and googly eyes will be kept entertained for some time.
Cost: $20 or so for the basics
FREE if you have a store that does them.
9. Cooking School
Focus on summery treats, like Popsicles or no-ice-cream-machine ice cream.
Personally, I got a big cookie recipe book for my birthday, so I’m going to let the kids make a few different cookie recipes every week (this summer sounds kind of fattening!).
It’s also a good time, with less rush in the days, to make the kids, er, I mean HELP the kids learn how to cook. How to slice and dice without chopping off their fingers.
I’m always worried I’ll send my kids off to college and they won’t know how to slice an onion because I’ve been too WORRIED to show them how. Nope.
Remember to make them clean up after themselves; it’s an important life skill to learn and will prevent them from growing up into the kind of jerks the other roommates hate.
COST: Varies; build it into the grocery budget
10. Art
I used a 40% off coupon and a sale, and bought a set of six canvases, brushes, and a set of acrylic paints at my local craft store. Now, I could let my kids paint whatever, but I could also be like the school art teacher (example here, our school also did Blue Dog) and give them a specific palette and make them all paint the same subject.
They are all going to paint the cat (cat as subject, not paint on his fur) in a specific set of hues that I’m going to let Eldest select. That way, the paintings will all look really nice on a wall hung together.
Cost: Approximately $45 to get started, depending on what you need.
11. Beach Going
I actually HATE going to the beach in San Diego in the summer, because EVERYBODY is there. We have the best beaches. Beaches weren’t this crowded in freaking Waikiki (but sometimes in Kailua, which really, sigh, was the Best Beach Ever. I digress).
There are a couple of ways to beat the crowd:
Go early. The lots are not too crowded before 10 am.
Wait and get to the beach at 4:30 or so. It will still be warm, the rays won’t be harsh. My husband goes to work early and comes home early during the summer, so he can take the kids to the beach. I usually go too, because it’s so darn hot.
Go to tidepools instead. Beforehand, look up the animals that you might find and plan some activities. Then check the newspaper or online for the low tide time, then hit Point Loma (by Cabrillo, which has a car fee, is my favorite).
COST: FREE
12. Hiking
Hiking is also done best in the early part of the day or later in the day. Check out Local Hikes for some kid-friendly suggestions in your area.
While you hike, do some other activities. I like to bring (actually, the kids like to bring) WHO POOPED IN THE PARK? along. (Words I never thought would come out of my mouth, ‘Maybe today we’ll get lucky and there will be NEW POOP!’)
We look for poop and ID it. We also ID footprints and watch out for rattle snakes.
Other ideas:
Collect leaves and wildflowers to make a scrapbook.
Collect interesting rocks.
Capture bugs in a jar to observe, then re-release. My son just found a chrysalis and is keeping it in a jar to watch it hatch. He did this last year (it was a moth).
COST: FREE
13. Planting
Summer’s the perfect time to do some plant-growing. My kids and I are currently growing tomatoes in a pot, a cactus, some succulents, Swiss chard, oregano, and roses.
Have them water the plants and look for evidence of bugs. My kids adore going out to search for the predators leaving holes in the plants. Then they can try to identify what kind of pest it is, or mold, or what have you.
COST: $5 for soil
$2.50 per plant
I used recycled containers for the veggies, and a lightweight foam planter that cost about $10 for the roses.
14. Science Experiments
My dear late sister-in-law got my son a group of the worst books ever, Grossology. They’re not really the worst, except that they involve really stinky, slimy, gross experiments. Like attracting cockroaches, or growing slime mold on a log. That kind of thing. The kids LOVE these books, so this summer, I’m going to let them go ahead and do all these experiments. There’s also a short PDF version here.
Cost: FREE, or $6 to $15 per book. Generally, experiments use stuff you have around the house.
15. Drama
Choose a short play, or a scene from a play, and make copies of the dialogue for everyone. Who DOESN’T want to see a 6 year old girl play Hamlet? That’s right. You can even do “selections” from a scene to make it more manageable for the kid. Who’s going to get you, the Shakespeare police?
Paint backdrops onto old cardboard, make costumes out of found items, do up makeup. Make it a whole production, invite your family to come out and see the final product.
16. Film
Give the kids a camcorder or digital camera to use. Check out these free movie scripts and let the kids make a scene from their favorite movie.
Or, suggest they do something different, like pretend to be an interviewer grilling a rock star.
Actually, my experience has been if you give a kid a video camera, they will come up with plenty of things to do. We have Barbie movies, a Twilight spoof, and some plays on film.
If you’re worried about the equipment, you’ll have to be the one to film it. Or maybe try out a tripod so the work won’t be shaky.
Cost: FREE
17. Kids Bowl Free
Sign up your kids for this free bowling program, and they get to bowl for free at participating areas. You still have to pay for your portion at the regular rate.
The program also lets you pay a one-time $24.95 for a family pass, letting you get 2 games of bowling per day, per up to 4 adult family members.
COST: $24.95 for the whole summer for your adult fee; or whatever the fee is at your bowling alley.
18. Gaze at Stars
The local astronomy club hosts nights where members bring along their huge telescopes to campgrounds, and you can see Mars and the moon and Venus and all kinds of cool things. Check with your local astronomy club.
COST: FREE
19. Go Backyard Camping
I always did this when I was growing up, and I thought it was the funnest thing ever. You feel so independent. Let your kids invite a couple of friends over and do a backyard sleepover. I think my 10-and-ups are fine alone; the youngest one would need an adult nearby. Bonus: All the noise is outside.
COST: FREE
20. Free Movies
Regal Cinemas, in our area, usually offers free summertime movies on somewhat older-run movies, on certain mornings. They haven’t posted this summer’s offerings yet, if they exist. Check your area to see if this is going on. The drawback is EVERYONE IN THE WORLD shows up.
The park near us also has several Summer Night festivals, which invariably I find out about AFTER they happen. They always get a local high school band to come do a concert or show a free movie, and the local Kiwanis sells food, and everyone brings their lawn chairs and blankets. It was a lot of fun, on those two occasions when I knew about it ahead of time.
I don’t buy soda myself. My in-laws, the kids’ grandparents, buy soda. They used to get diet, and then my MIL decided that diet was worse for you than sugary soda, so she started getting the regular kind.
(I think the dentist would beg to differ.)
Anyway, soda (and ice cream, also a big item there) are occasional treats for my kids.
The other day Eldest took a can of root beer home with her without my knowledge.
Last night, at 11 pm, I got a notice on my phone that Eldest had played her turn in Draw Something. “Go see if she’s up!” I said to Cadillac. She had just been up to use the bathroom, and lately she’s been staying up too late, reading or just staying up.
He told her to go straight to sleep and to quit playing Draw Something on her iPod.
This morning, she was feeling ill, sick to her stomach. But then she said she felt better and went to school.
I was concerned until she confessed to her dad, en route, that last night she was really thirsty. “She thought she’d get yelled at if she left her room again, and she had no water in her room, so in her great wisdom she chugged the can of root beer before she went to sleep,” Cadillac reported.
Ah, yes. So good for the teeth, that!
No more soda.
My kids seem to require military-like regulation. It seems like if we let them have a little bit of a treat, they get really piggy about it. Same thing happened with Cracker Jacks. We bought small bags for them to take to school. After school, Son was hiding them in his shirt to eat them out of our sight. Let them play one video game, they have to play it for a hundred hours and get cranky.
I finally went on a field trip with Little Girl. The schools here don’t mess around about volunteering. To volunteer, you have to fill out an application and the office has to do a background check; you also need a TB test. If you’re going to drive, you have to provide a copy of your insurance.
I never got around to filling out all the paperwork until February.
Little Girl had a field trip to the Birch Aquarium, which has always held an especial place in my heart because that’s where Cadillac and I got married (actually, number 2 out of 3 ceremonies). They wouldn’t let us have a deejay; they said it stresses out the fish, so we had piped in music over the sound systems.
Little Girl was so excited, she asked me every day for the past week, “Are you REALLY going?”
Yesterday: “Are you going to just drop us off?”
“Of course not. I’m coming in.”
“Will you stay with us when you come in, or go do something else?”
“Stay with you, of course.” I have no idea why she was so worried.
As you arrive on the grounds, you see a sculpture of blue whales (I think) outside, where we congregated and waited for the aquarium to let us in. I had three kids: my daughter, another girl, and a little boy. All were easy and quiet. But the actual trip was with all the first grade classes.
It was not quiet. I should think the fish would be just as stressed by schoolkids as by music.
Inside, there are a bunch of exhibits. This is a smaller tank.
At one point, while we waited in line for the class to start, the other little girl asked, “What are we going to do next? I’m so bored.”
“They are going to have us put on wetsuits, dive off the pier, and collect seahorses,”I said. “Won’t it be fun?”
She got an uncertain look on her face. But the little boy was giddy. “Oh boy!” he said. I had to quickly tell them I was joking. (I had been joking about other stuff too– she’d also asked why I’d parked SOO FAR AWAY, and I told her it was only another 20 miles; couldn’t she make it?)
Here’s the weather outside today. I thought a cold ocean breeze would be blowing through, but it was very very mild. It was actually colder inland today. Below the aquarium is the Scripps Institute pier for ocean research. (Fun fact: when I told people I went to Scripps College, many thought I was somehow attending college here. The Scripps family lived in San Diego and Southern California, and lots of things are named after them).
So, I was standing here minding my own business, breaking up a fight between Squidward and Patrick the Starfish (two plastic things which were not meant to represent cartoon characters) and watching my three charges besides, when an older couple with two young kids (ages 2 and maybe 10 months) accosted me.
Note: I had seen them minutes before at the tide pools, where an employee repeated said, “Touch with one finger! Do not remove anything from the pool!” which they ignored or didn’t hear, until the employee went over and tapped the grandpa on the shoulder and told them to put the sea star back. This isn’t Sea World, where you can take sea stars (which they said was the real name for starfish) out and poke their tender undersides.
“Will you take our picture?” the woman asked.
“Sure,” I said.
She put it on panoramic view and handed me the camera. Instead of a wrist strap, something like string or dental floss was threaded through.
I waved and made funny noises at the baby, which got her to look at me; the toddler boy looked at me, too. I took one, which was good; then another, for good measure– but the Grandpa was pointing because the kids had stopped looking.
I gave them the camera back. “The second one’s not good, but the first one is.”
Grandpa fumbled with the controls. “That one’s no good,” Grandpa said.
“The first one was good,” I said. I don’t think he knew how to view the first.
“Take another one and get closer this time,” he said. I am not kidding. It was not phrased as a request.
I considered chucking the camera into the ocean. “I hope the kids I’m watching don’t run away,” I said.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said the lady.
Her apology mollified me just enough to get me to help out. Plus, I am a good-natured person. Let my actions herewith prove it forevermore! I took one more photo and zoomed in. Probably too much for their liking. Then I handed them the camera and turned away.
You know, I don’t know if they thanked me.
Anyway, Little Girl had a grand time. So it was worth it.
(Prints out this blog to show her when she’s, oh, 30. I think that’s when she might appreciate it.)
