Here’s How to Enjoy Summer at Home.

Summer is just around the corner! We know that this summer might not go as you’d planned. Travel might be canceled; camps and classes might be virtual and money might be tight for your family.

That doesn’t mean summer can’t be fun! Let’s take it back to generations past and learn from those who knew how to have fun, at home. Summer didn’t always mean elaborate trips on world class cruise ships or cutting-edge camps to keep the kids busy until school was back in session. Summer used to be a simple time, full of backyard fun, imagination and creative ways to beat boredom.

Here are our top 5 tips for how to have a simple summer at home.

1. Take the Fun Outside – Backyards are magical. We just forgot how to use them! There are so many ways to enjoy this accessible space and burn off energy with some fun in the sun. Build a fort from cardboard boxes, have a water gun fight, turn on the sprinklers or invest in a slip n slide! You can even encourage your kids to get creative and put on a play, using homemade costumes complete with a stage set up for their patio audience. Break out the flashlights and tell stories into the evening, or take a brain break and look for cloud shapes. Draw or paint what you see and keep a picture journal as a keepsake so you never forget this special time.

2. Invest in Art Supplies – Order online or head to the closest Walmart, Target, Dollar Store or even peruse online yard sales! Stock up on everything from beads to buttons, string and scissors. Think outside the box and pick up a package of plastic cups, glitter, glue sticks, tons of washable paint, kinetic sand, and be sure not to skip the craft section of the store! A little goes a long way for encouraging creativity. Take those fort boxes and turn them into one of a kind creations, make walkie-talkies out of cups and string, decorate the patio with artwork and set up an exploratory area where kids can get messy.

3. Bring Back Home Economics – A fantastic way to enjoy the lazy summer months is by learning a useful skill. Make it fun with kid-friendly summer recipes. Grab some frozen fruit, juice or yogurt and some wooden sticks and have a DIY popsicle session, bake cookies for ice-cream sandwiches and pull out your family’s recipe book and teach the kids an old-fashioned family recipe. Culinary adventures are endless and your children will delight in learning something new and provide you with invaluable time to bond, build memories and pass down family traditions.

4. Family Book Club – We know….summer is the time to turn our brains OFF! But reading doesn’t have to be a drag. Get familiar with your neighborhood’s Little Free Library locations and drop off books you no longer use and pick up new ones to enjoy. Write your own books, each person writing one page before passing it to the next person and see where the story goes. Join OCLS by getting a library card so you can take advantage of free resources, classes and clubs. Create a space in your house or backyard that is a cozy place to curl up and read. Pick books you’d never normally consider reading and once a week, get the family together with some favorite snacks and talk about what you read to encourage your young readers to ask questions and engage with books!

5. Make the Most of Rainy Days – Dust off your stack of board games and start having fun the old-fashioned way. Pick up some puzzles and work on them together as a family. Let your kids help rearrange furniture and draw up a plan first to incorporate some planning skills. Make a time capsule so your family can always remember this unique summer. Camp in the living room; put some fun tunes on and tell stories with flashlights. Teach your kids how to play card games, charades and marbles.