10 Easy ways to fight the mundane this summer

Early during Covid-19~March 2020: Ahhh, I get to sleep in! I don't have to rush the kids around to get them ready for school in the morning! Nothing to rush them off to in the evenings anymore! No trying to scrape together dinner and gulp it down leaving us with indigestion a half hour later (hopefully your kids weren't going to swim practice). The freedom is like a weight lifted off my shoulders. It almost feels like summer, only colder and rainier.

Mid-way through Covid-19~April 2020: Wake up. Oh yay, I slept in again. What time does that say? Oh man, the kids have their zoom meeting in wait, what, 2 minutes? Oh geez, oh geez! Open pantry door for food, empty. Again. Well, can't go to the store, gotta go to the reserves. What are we going to do today after virtual school? Movie? Family walk? Oh wait, it's raining again. Ok then...how about a board game since we can't go anywhere?

Late through Covid-19~May 2020. When is it going to end?? Are we ever going to come out of this stay-at home order? Is virtual school almost over? We've done everything we can do at home and the kids are bored. Bored of the same games, bored of the same faces, same activities.

Most of that is true, although we managed to stay pretty active during our stay-at-home order. We varied our daily activities so it would not feel mundane. However, I still found myself waking up thinking, back to the same old, same old! My heart longed for something more, which is when I decided to start this blog! I had many other projects on my to-do list, but many of them did not get done. Mostly because they are not ideal to do with an almost 2-year old (he turns 2 tomorrow!). So although most of us are no longer in a stay at home order, many of our normal summer activities have been canceled or will look totally different than ever before. If you're looking for some different fun activities, here is a list of 10 things to try!

1. Have a book swap. Simply go through your books and your kid's books and put them in a plastic bin at the end of your driveway. Place a sign on the bin with directions like this one

2. How about a toy swap? I heard about this one from a friend whose friends started doing this in her neighborhood. This is essentially like the book swap only with toys. Who doesn't need to get rid of a few toys!?

3. Write cards to shut-ins. Ask your church for names and addresses of people who live alone. Call a local assisted living or nursing home to find out who would benefit the most out of getting a card.

4. Explore the outdoors! Now is the best time to take a drive or a trip to the wild outdoors since it is summer! Get kids off of screens and outside. Go for a hike, a bike ride on a trail, a "sightseeing" vacation. Get some water shoes and get in a creek to look for cool rocks, crayfish, or even snails. You never know what you might find!

5. Have an outdoor scavenger hunt. Pinterest is booming with ideas in this department. But if you have older kids, have them develop their own hunt. You could even get the neihgborhood involved and have community scavenger hunt that is timed.

6. Outdoor obstacle course. Sort of like the scavenger hunt, develop some fun and quirky movements for the kids to run around and burn off some steam. See how fun and interesting each kid can think of ideas to develop the course and then set it up. If you don't have space in your won yard, go to a local park or again, have a community obstacle course in your neighborhood!

7. Donate. The seasons have changed, kids have grown out of clothing and toys, there is bound to be many household items that you don't use. Take the time on a very hot afternoon when you can't breathe outside to go through your stuff to donate. Donate to a local homeless shelter, Community Aid, Salvation Army, or do a google search on local community needs.

8. Create something! This could be an art collage, pictures from quarantine, sidewalk art, or even a family drawing. If you have access to rocks, why not paint rocks and be a part of the Rock Painting community? You can find local groups on Facebook.

9. Plant something. Watch it grow! You can create your own little garden, or start a windowsill flowerbed.

10. Stay active! Take an early morning walk, hike, bike, play keep it up with a ball or balloon (indoors of course), play tag or a version of tag with a ball. Find a frisbee/disc golf course to play. Whatever it is, make it fun for the kids and get them moving. Everyone will feel better and have more energy.

There's a saying that my family and I laugh about that I said when growing up, "something is better than nothing." Of course I was probably about 12 when I said it with a silly face and probably a funny accent. But in all honesty, this is good for our overall well-being. Sometimes we just don't have the time and energy to come up with a list of ideas on our own. So what about you? What fun things have you and your family done during quarantine? Comment below so we can pass on more ideas to our parenting community!