While it seems that the summer certainly has taken it’s time to get here, there is no doubt that with school over, it’s official. Summertime! And now it’s time to keep the little ones busy and out of trouble. As a working mom, the choices are endless, with many day camps available, ranging from art, dancing, sports and more. So what to choose? While I think it’s a good idea to keep them active, I remember my summer vacations, and always enjoyed just hanging’ out.

As my husband and I looked at our options for our 5 year old, we decided to take my sister-in-law up on her offer. For three days a week, our Little Bird will hang out with her 4 and 8 year old cousins and have fun in the sun with them. The other two days, she’ll be with her little sister and my mom. As she completes her first year of FDK (full-day kindergarten), I know things were quite the adjustment, with long days, schedules to follow and now we felt like it was time to let her enjoy a relaxing summer.

Between my sister-in-law and my mom, there will be endless excursions to the park and picnics in the backyard. There will be field trips to the movies and the zoo, and maybe, if they are brave enough, (the adults, not the kids) there will be a trip or two to LegoLand at Vaughan Mills. And there will be arts and crafts! Lots of it.

My sister-in-law is an ECE teacher at an elementary school and I have all the faith in the world that she will be keeping them busy, with more than just play. In an effort to help, I will be raiding my basement to collect all my craft supplies to send over, along with anything else she may need.

So for this year, I’m going to let her be a kid, in an environment she’s comfortable in. I’m going to let her hang out and play with her cousins and we’ll revisit day camps next year.

What are you doing with your kids this summer?