Making Summer Fun For The Family
Summer is here! That means most kids are out of school and parents tend to be looking for ideas on how to keep kids busy and happy and safe! Even though we are into crunchy parenting and we homeschool that doesn’t mean we don’t think about those same summer things when it comes to the kids! So in this first part of the Making Summer Fun event I wanted to share a few of the things we have going on here!
First, getting out is so important! Don’t think you can keep the kids locked up in the house this summer and they will be happy. Use your out door space or take advantage of what out door spaces are open to the public such as public parks, beaches, pools, splash pools, state and national parks and what events your city might be putting on for the public!
For us so far we are using the yard space in a few ways. Not only are we keeping some of us very wild so the kids can get the feel of the woods but also putting up some common out door activities.
Kids Love Trampolines!
We have a large trampoline with full netting that all 4 kids (ages 14, 8, 6, and 4) all love it. It helps them get out into the clean country air, the sun, get some exerciser and have fun. They make up games, dances, routines along with practicing new tricks. They often work together, support one another, and keep one another safe. Friends who come over love to play on it as well.
We do not allow the kids on any trampoline that does not have a net, the dangers we feel just out weight the benefits in our opinion. There is of course still risks with the netting but less so, specially with the little ones! I think these are worth every penny!
Above Ground Pools
We picked out a 18″ by 10″ oval above ground pool for this summer. We have thought about getting a larger one but this one was one of the few that came in at 42″ high. This was important to us with our newly 4 year old who doesn’t know how to swim yet. She can stand up in this pool without water being over her mouth! This I love because even though an adult will always be eyes on with the kids in the pool, things happen to the best of parents. (we know some even who have had a pool accident that changed everything!)
So far we have had it up and going for weeks and again, all the kids love it. It came with a ladder and a basic pool pump. We added a salt water system to it as well so we do not have to add chemicals to it all summer. It was not hard to set up. About 2 bags of pool salt and good to go for the first week. The water started to look a bit cloudy with heavy use and we kept seeing the tests come up short on chlorine (the salt water system makes it) and the alkalinity and PH were too low, so we added our first chemicals. We shocked it and added Alkalinity UP. The water was clean within hours and tested great! We started to run the salt water system for more hours each night and shouldn’t have to add any more chemicals or anything else for the rest of the summer. So far so good even with very heavy use! If your getting a pool I would recommend the salt water system! Better on the budget in the long run and I think more healthy for everyone swimming as well though I don’t have any studies to back this up. I should go looking for such though!
This is the pool we got:
