Camp Mommy

Summer is almost upon us, and someone – maybe everyone – in the family will be clamoring for fun things to do. Unfortunately, most of those fun things cost money, and even less expensive ideas tend to add up very quickly. The good news for us budget watchers is that there are entertaining things to do that cost very little or nothing; children can be kept occupied and have fun without expensive trips and toys. Caveat! Although these ideas may not cost much in dollars, they will cost in time and patience. So, if you have a lot of those, get ready and psych yourself up for fun as you spend quality time with your family.

As you begin, don’t forget this principle: Everything is in the presentation. Preferably, don’t mention money at all. Focus on the positive and explain to your children that they are so lucky that they will be in Camp Mommy this summer! Start by getting a notebook and work on a calendar together with your children. Explain that it is only a suggestion-type of calendar, and success is up to Hashem. This could be a good time to talk about enjoying whatever we do, turning lemons into lemonade when necessary, and so forth. It is always better if everyone expects less and gets more, rather than the opposite.

After that, start to collect ideas from the children, while you introduce some of your own. Hopefully, the ideas you see here will suit you or at least “prime the pump” of your own imagination! You can write down your children’s suggestions without approving or disapproving. Expensive or inappropriate ideas can be responded to with a joke, or try to find a redeeming feature and get the submitter to modify. For example, if a child suggests, “Let’s go visit our cousins in Switzerland!” you can praise your innovative thinker for being family oriented. Offer to send off photos, letters, or perhaps one of the projects you are planning to make. Suggest that you can all plan a Swiss evening after researching what they eat and any traditions involved. A humorous response might also work. “Great idea! And we can get kangaroo rides in Australia on the way home! That would be something we would never forget!”

After you have collected ideas, tell the gang that you will review them and put a plan together. Meanwhile, proceed to set up a daily schedule that can be used on most days. A schedule is worth posting, even if only part of it works only one day. Children like to know what the plan is and can earn treats for staying on schedule. You may need more than one schedule for varying ages. For my young children, we included breakfast with a story tape, davening, game time, clean up, snack, arts and crafts, lunch, free play, and rest time. Then, in the afternoon, we did swimming or water fun or a short outing, then blocks or coloring and helping to prepare dinner. At bedtime, review the day with each child and coax them into listing what made them happy. Try as best as you can to emphasize the positive.

Many of the following ideas mesh well with Chol Hamoed and will enable you to spend extra time in the sukkah, instead of running around!

Cooperation Motivators

·         Every morning, fill a little cup with nosh for each child, for their afternoon snack. Label it with a sticker or their name. Explain that if one child bothers or hurts another, one of the perpetrator’s snacks will be transferred to the sufferer. It can be one pretzel or chip, just something to appease the injured party. In the afternoon, the children enjoy their treats; hopefully, by that time having recovered from their small losses and learned their lesson.

·         Use a point chart. Even if you find such a chart difficult to maintain all year long, it might be easier during the relaxed vacation schedule. It’s sure to add excitement to the day.

·         Let them earn a late night, either once a week or as a one-time event. This can be a big treat, especially if you are usually punctual about bedtime. Of course, it can be based on behavior, and it will be more fun if there is an activity planned; put on some music and dance or exercise! Pop some popcorn and play a game or review photos.

·         How about earning half a day or even an entire day off from school? The child gets a card to hold onto and turn in when desired. This is a thrill for any student! To avoid disappointment, make sure to clarify any restrictions: e.g., that they need to ask at least a day prior, it cannot be used on test days, and there may be some unpredictable off-limit days.

·         New recipes: Your children will delight in exploring new recipes and learning how to set the table. Let them participate according to their ability. Serve some foods that are new or special. If applicable, let them prepare a menu. Or play restaurant and let one child be the waiter/waitress. Use a special apron and give him/her a notepad. Make it look real with a check-off list; use pictures for those who cannot read yet. We did this with a falafel dinner; each child was able to pick how many balls, how much techina, and which vegetables to use. The children enjoyed the entire process, down to the last falafel ball.

·         Rearrange furniture or rooms, even something as minor as switching drawers, shelves, or beds, or letting someone sleep on the couch. Children really enjoy this. We have set up beds under the dining room table; another time we lined up chairs and put a mattress on them to create a bed.

·         Collect a supply of toys, books, and prizes to use as incentives from bargain outlets, second-hand stores, or yard sales, and present them as needed.

·         Offer to trade toys, games, recordings, or books with a friend for a few days. Just make sure you agree on how to handle loss or damage.

Project Ideas

·         Play dough: This is the easiest recipe: Mix one cup of flour, a quarter cup water, two tablespoons salt, and a tablespoon of oil. Knead into a dough; add more oil or flour if needed. Separate into a few balls and knead a different color of food coloring into each. Give your children rolling pins and cookie cutters and let them have fun. The dough can be stored in a bag for about a week; just refresh with a few drops of water or oil. This can entertain for hours.

·         Baking: Make cookie dough and give your children cookie-cutters and chocolate chips, sprinkles, or ground nuts to decorate them. Or make challah dough, and let the children form rolls of all types, even pizza.

·         Snowflakes: If your children are old enough to handle sharp scissors, get the thinnest paper you can find and fold it in half three times to form a triangle. Round off or scallop the open unfolded side. Now cut shapes along either side or at the point; open it and discover a dainty snowflake. Display as is or on a pretty background, also suitable for a sukkah decoration.

·         Cutting: Give them old magazines, and instruct them to cut out pictures of food, babies or any type of category. If they are a little older, they can cut out individual letters or words to write messages, decorate notebooks or scrapbooks, and address envelopes. Or find some old baby sheets or thin blankets with adorable designs on them. Any characters can be cut out to play with on a felt board. Or, they can be easily made into little bags or pillows, doll blankets or toys. They can be sewn, glued or stapled, or used as is.

·         Magnets: Reuse those business cards and old calendars that are magnetic sheets. Glue pictures or letters, or stick on stickers and cut them out for adorable magnets!

·         Coloring: Children love to color. To maximize the excitement, supply them with something different each time. Color by number, tracing, geometric patterns, stencils, crayons, markers, paints, and colored pencils afford variety to this basic idea. Color salt with chalk to make colored “sand”; spread glue on a picture and fill it in with this sand. Give your little ones small amounts of clay and they can color with that. Rubbing the clay onto paper has quite a nice effect. Or they can fill in a picture with tiny balls of clay. Pictures can be sent to Zaidy and Bubby or other interested people, collected in an album, displayed at your end-of-vacation banquet, or hung in a sukkah.

·         Sukkah decorations: Summer vacation is a great time to get started. Make chains out of all kinds of paper; you can even cut up your local advertising magazine! Children love stapling, taping, or gluing the chains together. Take care to have good storage so that their works of art will look fresh and beautiful. Empty suitcases are perfect.

·         Fish tank: Put blue-tinted water in a jar with glitter and let children cut foil into fish and other shapes. Use super glue to seal the bottle and shake it up; watch the fish swim.

·         Portrait: Have your children lie down on a sheet of shelving paper. Trace an outline of them and let them color in the picture.

·         Design jewelry: Use fishing line or yarn to string beads. Buy the beads or create your own, using plastic straws, clay, and other craft supplies. Make paper beads by cutting thin strips of paper. Smear with glue and roll around a toothpick. Slide the bead off and let it dry; use as is or paint. It’s also fun to create edible necklaces with Cheerio-type cereals.

·         Make your own “little people”(menchies): Use clay to create and decorate. Hours of fun!

·         Record: Over a period of a few days or weeks, turn on a recording device whenever you read to your children. Add a few singing sessions and whatever else appeals to everyone. Your children will enjoy listening to the recording for years. Hold on to them for long enough, and your grandchildren can enjoy!

Miscellaneous Ideas

·         Workbooks on all subjects can be entertaining and useful in summertime. During the year, clip and save any for-children activities from newspapers and magazines. Your local library has all kinds of educational material that you can do with your children or that they can delve into on their own. Review and build upon math, spelling, and vocabulary skills. Books and magazines contain a variety of science projects and all types of logic puzzles and experiments. Ice cubes, for example, can be made in a variety of shapes, and toys can be frozen inside; it’s easy and so educational to set up experiments. You may want to set aside a certain time each day for studying, or just have the books available and remind your children to use them whenever time allows. Books can be cheaply obtained from yard sales, thrift shops, and library discards.

·         Having company and visiting neighbors: Invite a friend whom you do not see often and her children to your home. Everyone will have fun playing in a different setting, and you two can catch up on news or trade-off babysitting. Are there some elderly or lonely individuals in your neighborhood? Bring some of the cookies or another project you made with your children and plan a short visit. You may want to bring along some toys or books – children can get bored quickly and you don’t know how the visit will unfold.

·         Turn your home into an amusement park: This can be a lot of fun and just requires some imagination. Have a blindfolded taste test, search for chocolate chips in beans or flour, ball up some socks and hit a target. Make a version of pin-the-tail-on-the donkey, or arrange a maze with furniture and have your children traverse it blindfolded. Use your play equipment for rides; decorate a wagon, stroller, or bike. The children can dress up as well! Sit back – perhaps with some comical attire of your own – and watch them have a blast.

·         Mitzva fair: A fun project for those who are really ambitious. Older children can really get into this. Everyone will both have a good time and make some money for tzedaka. Include any of the above ideas, get some prizes donated, and sell tickets. Whether you raise a lot or a little, it’s surefire entertainment. Of course, this takes a lot of planning; it can occupy your entire vacation time.

·         Lastly, brainstorm with creative friends, especially those with children older than yours, who have been successfully occupying their offspring throughout the years. Most probably they have lots of ideas to share with you, but you have to ask. Just don’t forget to begin each activity with a tefilla to Hashem for hatzlacha! And enjoy your vacation!

Excerpted from the book Hands-On How-To’s for the Home and Heart, by Tova Younger.