"Mom, I'm bored!"

One of the stories on "Today" this morning was about what to do with kids this summer if you can't afford to send them to camp. Chris was the only one of mine to ever go to camp. He went to Boy Scout camp when he was 11. We were creative with our summer/rainy day activities.
The park was always a favorite destination. We would walk the trails, swing, ride the merry-go-round, and slide. Some days, we'd take a picnic lunch. If the kids were really good, we'd get Happy Meals to eat at the park. Basketball and catch were also fun. Catie was every bit as good as the boys, and just as competitive!
Sports were always a part of our summers. We joined the YMCA, and the kids all played ball: softball, T-ball, little league and soccer. Practices and games occupied many evenings and Saturdays. During the week, we would go to the pool several times. Chris was never a strong swimmer, but he enjoyed the water. Elliott was the only one who never had "formal" swimming lessons. His way of learning was to jump in. "I did what you said, Mom, I kept my eyes open and my mouth shut!" was his explanation when I asked where he learned to swim! If only he would follow that advice at other times! Like me, the kids did not like the diving board. Jumping or diving from the side of the pool was OK, but not jumping from anything elevated!
We lived at the end of a dead end street. It was the perfect place for kids to play safely. A lot of the neighborhood kids were the same age as ours. We had a "Little Tykes" stoplight that we put at the corner. It was battery operated and flashed red, green, yellow. All of the kids knew not to go past the stoplight. Bikes, trikes, Big Wheels, skates, doll strollers, anything wheeled was used in that dead end! The moms would stand at the corner and talk while the kids played for hours! Unfortunately, the man who lived directly across the street from us HATED kids! He would stand on his porch, or at the end of his driveway, and simmer! If no parents were around, he would shoot the kids with his garden hose. One afternoon, Catie came in the house crying and sopping wet. Dave told her that our neighbor was not mean, he was keeping the kids from getting too hot and they should thank him every time they got squirted. Of course, he knew that would infuriate our neighbor! Sure enough, after a few sincere "thank you, sir"s, he went inside.
We took lots of day trips. Strawberry picking, Reed's gold mine, Kings Mountain, Chimney Rock, even the animal shelter (just to window shop!) were all summer adventures. One weekend when I was working, Dave loaded the kids into his Honda Civic hatchback and drove to Pittsburgh! They saw lots of trains, rode the trolley from one end of the line to the other, visited museums and just had a good time with Dad. At the time, not many men would dare to take kids aged 3, 6, and 8 on a weekend trip without mom, but Dave has always been a good dad, ready for an adventure! We always went to Ohio to see Dave's parents and West Virginia to see his grandparents. The kids loved to visit. In Ohio, we would go to the Columbus Zoo and spend hours watching the animals. West Virginia was fun, too. Great-Grandma was an excellent cook and never served anything "weird". Great-Grandpa, probably the best fisherman I've ever met, would take the kids fishing. Whatever they caught, they turned loose. There's nothing happier than a kid who is grubby from a day spent enjoying being a kid!
On rainy days, we would bake cookies or cake, make pictures (coloring was a favorite
of Caite's), build models, or "camp in". To camp in, I would take blankets and drape them over the dining room table and chairs. A few pillows and blankets would furnish the inside. This blanket fort could be a castle, a mansion, or a log cabin. Disney videos were a staple on days when outside play wasn't possible. I think Chris could recite Mary Poppins from start to finish by the time he was seven!
We tried to be creative with our summer activities, but that doesn't mean that the kids were always perfectly behaved or that Dave and I never got totally aggravated by them. Any time there is an odd number of kids, there will be that "odd one out". That's when the bickering would start. "He's on my blanket" from the blanket fort. "She won't let me color" from the den. I even heard "He's breathing my air" and "She's looking at me" every now and then! How many days did I put myself in time out?! I really do know why some species eat their young! Even with the bickering, summers were a fun time. We've proved that it is possible to keep the kids busy, active, entertained, and learning without spending a lot of money.