Fun in the summertime
By Karyn Bowman
I am not sure what happened this summer but it seems as if we are on wish list overdrive.
There have been so many things I wanted our family to see and do over the years. But it feels as if this is the summer we will truly do it all.
We started the first week of summer vacation by going to LEGOLand Discovery Centre in Schaumburg. The kids really enjoyed building and creating. Plus my 12- and 8-year olds loved the new technicycle ride.
Another week we went to the Circus Shanghai performance at Navy Pier. I found the silk rope performers and contortionists graceful and beautiful, poetry in motion. Then the tyre riders and hat jugglers made us laugh. Even the four-year-old seemed to enjoy the show.
Closer to home we have spent a few hours at Exploration Station, took in a week-long day camp at Recreation Station and camped out in the back yard. There have been cookouts and s’mores over the grill as well as Vacation Bible School. Fireflies have been captured and placed in a jar.
Now in case you are thinking that I just run my kids from place that is not the case. If we have a day that looks like it is never ending, the next day is stay at home and play in the backyard with friends. I have found that sooner or later you will hit a brick wall if it is wall-to-wall activities. Plus I am a firm believer that kids need time to imagine and make up their own fun.
Which explains the day my daughter and her friends all dressed up in outfits from her costume box and why another child is constantly writing a movie script. My neighbors on both sides of our house have kids who play with our kids and that’s a great thing. They will run around the three open yards yelling and screaming and having fun as they play in a world of their creation.
As much as I might love a day at the beach or a museum or a night at a drive in theater, I also love the thoughts that stay in the minds of my kids which come out the moment they get downtime to just play.
Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for the Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.
