How I Planned Weeks Of Themed Summer Activities
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| National Museum of Transportation |
The summer of 2021 hasn't been as challenging as 2020, but it hasn't been easy either. For one thing, most of the summer camps I looked into weren't taking kids under 5 years old. That's tricky for me because while my daughter was 5 (and then 6) this summer, my son was only 4. He was too young for most of the camps but too old to be content hanging out at home, so as long as I was going to have to fill his days I figured I'd save the camp fee money and keep my oldest home too.
I did find two camps accepting 4 year olds - a two week swim camp and a one week art camp. But that left 9 more weeks of the summer to fill with SOMETHING. I set aside the last week of the summer for back-to-school prep and rest, so that left 8 weeks. EIGHT WEEKS. It felt daunting, so I knew I needed to get organized. If I don't have a plan, whether it's meals for the week or a packing list for the lake, I just can't get things done. So I came up with a process to sort some kid-friendly adventures and activities into various themes. Links to all 8 weeks' plans are at the bottom of this post.
There are so many incredible attractions in St. Louis, many of which we rarely get a chance to enjoy. So one of the first things I did was make a master list of attractions I thought the kids & I would be interested in going to. For this summer, I did focus on places that were outdoors because I don't think I'll be very comfortable taking the kids to indoor destinations until they can be vaccinated. I also made sure to factor in my kids' ages. For example, I passionately love the St. Louis Art Museum, but there really just isn't anything there that my kids are old enough to appreciate. Same with places like Cahokia Mounds or the Missouri History Museum.
Step Two: Calendar
I created an excel spreadsheet with columns for every week that I needed to fill and rows for the dates, theme, crafts/activities, park, recipes, and attractions. Then I slotted in my top choices for attractions... the ones I was most interested in taking the kids to. This also gave me a chance to see that the 4th of July was in there which inspired me to create an Americana Week, something I hadn't been thinking of before.
Step Three: Explore Possible Themes
Once I had my list of target attractions, I brainstormed around each one. Some of them really formed themselves... for example, I really wanted to take the kids to the St. Louis Aquarium. Given how many great ocean themed activities and snacks I knew were out there, that was an easy one to slot in. Others had a variety of possibilities. The zoo, for example, could fit into a few different directions so I wrote several down as options. Others, I ended up kicking out. I had originally wanted to take the kids to the Magic House or Science Center, but ultimately wasn't sure I was comfortable taking the kids to indoor, touch-heavy, young-child focused destinations. So for a couple of the weeks, I decided to start with a fun theme instead of the attraction... The best examples of this were my Americana Week and Rainbow Week. For those two weeks, the theme came first and I came up with the attractions afterwards.
Step Four: Finding Unique & Relevant Playgrounds
Step Five: Rounding Out The Weekly Plans
Assigning attractions, playgrounds, and themes to each week was the tough part. From there it's just details. I quickly brainstormed some crafts, activities, and recipes that fit the themes such as Tie-Dye for Rainbow Week, a Fairy Garden for Enchanted Forest Week, or Wagon Wheel pasta for Transportation Week. For any weeks that had me stumped, I just hopped on Pinterest and did some searching. I also really utilized the Dollar Store for some fun extras. This was a great way to not only find some inexpensive crafts and activities, but I also shopped the party aisle. One way I made each week feel new and special for the kids was to swap out themed paper plates. It also helped me reduce the dirty dishes! I also made lists of kid-friendly tv shows and movies that would work for each theme. I'm glad I did this as there were days when our plans got altered or the weather didn't cooperate and it was nice to have quick and easy access to relevant entertainment.
Step Six: Do It
Lastly, I'd like to share some tips on what really worked for us.
For one thing, I didn't hyper-schedule my weeks. I went into each one with my broad lists from my spreadsheet and from there I was flexible. I would usually look at the week's weather so I could factor that in to which days made the most sense for which activities. I also bought or ordered any special supplies in advance and sorted them into bags and boxes so that each week I could easily find and use the crafts and ingredients. Another thing I found to be true halfway through the summer was that I needed to build in enough down time so that I could rest and also get things done around the house. The last thing I can think of that worked great for my family was that on outdoor days, I worked to get us out the door and to our destinations as early as possible to hopefully beat some of the worst heat. On playground days each week we got up and immediately left the house, grabbed donuts & fruit from the store, and had breakfast and play time in the parks. I highly recommend this approach as it helped both with the heat and the crowds, and it also became part of our special experiences for the summer.
I'm probably forgetting some other tips and relevant info but will try to update this post as I remember things. I'll end with some links to posts that recount each of my 8 weeks of themes in case you'd like to see some specific ideas and executions:
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