What things are your kids doing?

[nitascool]

When your children aren't busy doing the school you require above grade level what do they do with their free time?

 

I know some do music and/or sports, but what other things occupy their time?

 

My 8yo is busy this week building a Lego theme park and working on a colage for his room

 

My 6yo is collecting bottle caps and categorizing them by shape, color, size and materials that they are made of.

[Jumping In Puddles]

My kids have swimming lessons at the local lake monday through thursday so we spend a good part of the day there where they have a lot of friends to play with and keep cool in the water.

[Mommy22alyns]

Oh goodness... Becca is taking gymnastics once a week. She has a weeklong art class at the Ren. Center next week. She loves to play outside on the swingset or in the wading pool with our neighbor, a little girl who's also 5. She likes to read, write lists, make plans, and she does a ton of imaginative play with her sister. We also go to the library a couple of times a week.

[Jenny in Florida]

. . . keeps busy during the academic year with dance classes (4 or 5 a week), choir rehearsals (1 or 2 per week), assorted theatre stuff and preparing for and attending a once-a-month model rocketry club. He also does a variety of performances with both ballet and choir, which require additional rehearsals and sometimes travel. For example, last year he was in The Nutcracker (his third year), which meant two months of additional rehearsals once or twice a week and then performing in about 15 shows, including one weekend out of town. His choir did two weekend trips and then a week-long tour at the beginning of the summer. Just before school starts, he'll do another week of choir camp.

 

Over the summer, in between the choir tour and choir camp, he's mostly hanging out at home. He reads a lot, plays outside (the Slip-n-Slide has been a big hit), builds assorted interesting contraptions with PVC pipe and cardboard and whatever else he can get his hands on. He also spends more time than I'm really happy about playing on the computer and watching DVDs.

 

His big sister, who is home for the summer, has returned as an alumna to sing a concert and record a new CD with her local choir, rehearsed and performed in a community theatre production, attended a Red Cross babysitting certification course and sung for a couple of services at our church. She's currently on a break, which will last another week or so, before she starts rehearsals for her first "professional" show. (The stipend is really tiny, just about enough to cover our gas to get her to and from rehearsals, but she's excited, anyway.)

 

When she's not doing any of that stuff, she mostly reads and noodles around on the computer and plans and re-plans her life and academic career.

 

All three of us spent a week earlier in the summer doing our church's version of VBS. My son attended, while my daughter volunteered and I coordinated food and helped with crafts. It was exhausting, but we all had fun.

 

During these three weeks when nothing much else is going on, we've been hitting the library and the beach and have gone to the local community water park a couple of times. They also spend a fair amount of time just goofing off in various ways, especially singing show tunes. Heck, today they spent well over an hour playing with Silly Putty. We've gone to a couple of movies, too. One big hit was the HD film version of La Scala's Aida we saw a couple of weeks ago. We get to go see La Traviata this Sunday, which should be cool, too.

[GSMP]

They are either drawing, reading, playing with the 80 gallons of legos we own, swimming, playing board games or bugging me.....:lol:

 

This is the fav snack......:lurk5:

[nmoira]

The activities are in my sig.

 

My girls have been spending about an hour a day on clomper stilts. Today we made bows (they used pretend arrows) from dry branches and dental floss which were summarily turned into fishing rods. After fishing on the

deck for about a half hour, they had a big bloody feast, then swabbed the deck of entrails. Next it was slug watching (we get some doozies here).

 

A typical day sees them playing together -- good, hard, lost to the world playing -- for 2 or 3 hours. I'm so happy they get along well most of the time.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

Dd is taking tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, and acro at dance this summer. She was invited to participate on the dance team, and she's very excited. She starts piano and soccer up again in the fall as well.

 

Most of her free time is spent in her own imaginary world, or being a pre-teen girly-girl that gets on my every last nerve (lol).:tongue_smilie:

[Plaid Dad]

Dd is currently building a Lego amusement park, reading books for the library's summer reading program, swimming in the river, and riding her fancy new princess bike. Not a bad life, eh? :)

[angela in ohio]

My 12 yo dd is on a mission to read Twain this week. She is bugging me to go to the library to get one we don't own, where she will proably find another book that will start her down a trail... She is also making a doll and clothes to go with it for my niece for Christmas and helping me sort out the craft/game room. She is also writing a bunch of reports on composers for extra credit for a contest at her flute instructor's, and filling out a bunch of worksheets on musical theory for the same.

 

We just alphabetized our fiction library, now that it is all in one place, and 10 yo dd is starting at the beginning and reading books she hasn't read before. She is also making doll clothes, as well as sewing (secret) Christmas gifts. She is also writing religious poetry these days, and will leave a psalm-like poem on my desk now and then.

 

6 yo ds is still fascinated by knights. He studies all of his books on them, plays with them, talks about them... He is also reading through the Gospels, which is slow-going. No normal chaper books here. :001_huh: He likes to write sermons (he gave one at a Bible study we go to this past year, and so has been encouraged) which are a little Puritan in nature, LOL.

 

They all spend a lot of time riding bikes in the yard and climbing trees and running through the sprinkler, too.

 

When the regular schedule starts back up in September, they will have all sorts of other things, but this is it for the summer.

[Renai]

Dd spends her school year in dance (2-3 times a week), then does soccer in the summer. She always has her own little world going in her free time and creates puppets to go along with it. This week, she's in Camp Invention, which I hope re-sparks the mechanical imagination that burned out a couple of years ago because she had no one to share it with :sad:. She's thoroughly enjoying herself this week!

[KAR120C]

We don't sit still well here... LOL

 

DS swims (neighborhood pool), he goes to open climb at the Parks & Rec rock climbing gym, he has flute lessons and has to practice for that, he reads, watches TV, plays games (computer games, card games, board games, running around with other kids), has friends over or goes to friends' houses, builds various Lego things, helps around the house... does chores.... That's all I can think of off the top of my head!

[Nissi]

In the past week, the whole family watched Lotr Trilogy, reread the books and had good discussions about these books using Omnibus II textbook. The kids spend long hours at the pool in the afternoons. We are also learning Shakespeare. We have watched Richard III, and Laurence Olivier version of Henry V. We plan on watching K. Branaugh's Henry V and Royal Shakespeare Company's Midsummer Night's Dream. In addition we have attended a church conference and plan on reading and studying the Bible. We are trying to cover most of the Omnibus II secondary readings this summer and doing it in such a relaxed fashion has been most enjoyable. My ds. does not think of it as school at all. He loves it.

[Nissi]

Oh, I forgot to mention that piano classes and daily practice continues. Dc. also have a summer music assignment from their teacher that they have to complete.

Nissi

[Targhee]

climb trees, dig holes, jump on the trampoline, swim, hike, gymnastics, visit cousins... but I have to admit that we school-lite in the summer, so there's math, reading, and read-alouds too.

[Jill]

Even though I mention it in my signature, I'm slightly hesitant to say that my ds plays Civilization a lot. But as an example, it is family time for us part of the time too. We all gather around the computer, we discuss the leaders of various civilizations, the religions as they develop, the technologies and wonders - it has really turned into quite a big part of our lives.

 

There are also days when he builds lots of Lego contraptions and goes outside and fills up some holes with water and plays that the lego minifigs are explorers crossing oceans, or rescuers, or searching for buried treasure, etc... Playing with his cousin for a few weeks during some visiting they were pirates non-stop for a couple days (till cousin tired of it) - and he had been a pirate for days before that - and then they were a family and she was a vet and he was a mining engineer. fun to watch and listen to!

 

We picked up some plastic practice sabres and he's supposed to start fencing lessons with a friend and his father is a fencer. (a fencer, is that right?)

 

And still along the Pirates theme, he played Sid Meiers Pirates a bit and really got into studying the map of the Caribbean. Luckily, our local Science museum had a "Pirates and Medieval Science" class one week - great fun! - where he got to build a catapult, create a flag, make maps, etc... Our Library is also having "Catch the Reading Bug" themed kids' events - I think it's a national program - and we attend those when we can.

 

some sports and music too of course...

[dangermom]

My older daughter just turned 8, and she's been learning to swim in the deep end of the pool and reading a whole lot. Also we just had a birthday party and a visiting cousin. We started learning to sew earlier in the summer and now I want to pick that up again this week.

 

The 5yo is learning to read and trying to gather the courage to put her head under water. They both do a whole lot of imaginative play together and with friends.

 

Usually we would be spending a lot of time in the creek, but this summer has been difficult because of all the smoke from the wildfires. We haven't spent nearly as much time outdoors, swimming, or in the creek as we normally would. I feel like we're missing summer! :sad:

[newbie]

The older one is drawing, listening to music, reading and now she wants to buy books on graphic design.

 

The younger dd, 12, finished writing a novel, and she is attempting to type it by herself.

 

Jet

[threetreasurs]

We are busy painting bedrooms! Fun, fun, fun!

[nitascool]

Sounds like everyone is having a really great summer. I think I'd be worn out with some of your schedules. The only outside scheduled activity we planned this summer was swim lessons twice a week. Of course we do lots of impromptu things whenever the idea hits us, but we made an effort this summer to really take off and relax... as next school year dh will be going to school and working full time... which means I'll be doing child duty full time. We've been really enjoying the slower pace. I hope you are all enjoying your summer too.

[TravelingChris]

almost 15 yo daughter spent a week at marine biology camp where she won a turtle walk for 2 for naming the most species all week, this week she will be doing archery camp/ She is also taking online driver licensing class for her permit and she sings in the adult choir. SHe is enjoying watching movies on DVDs and at the movies including MacBeth with both parents right now. Later on this summer she will go to homeschool sewing and homeschool rocketry camps.

 

DD11 just finished her archery camp. She is doing homeschool American Girl Learning days, a one week homeschool Princess camp which will be spent learning about real royalty of the past like Princess Anastasia and Princesses Mary and Elizabeth and also will attend the Sewing and Rocketry camps I mentioned. She continues to practice her trumpet and continues with her lessons.

 

Both girls are taking karate lessons, will go to Arabian Nights in Orlando, and volunteer at the library. They both like to swim in our pool and go boogie boarding in the ocean a few blocks away. The younger goes to a homeschool bookclub and the older one goes to youth group at the church. Unfortunately, both girls have had more than usual visits to doctors and our youngest is going to Orlando to see a specialist in August. She is excited because we told her we would take her to a fun restaurant after her doctor visit.

 

It has been strange to have no more young children. The youngest was too old for VBS this year. The youngest is now a volunteer for the library reading program.

[JWSJ]

Baseball, art, gymnastics, swimming, rock climbing, socializing, building small theme parks, and being a terror to his little sister

 

He'd like to also be fencing, camping, canoeing, and taking violin lessons.

 

He's always on the move.

 

He does enjoy his school work too.

[danielle]

DD claims she doesn't have any free time! That's because she has more interests waiting than planes stacked up over O'Hare.

 

2-3 hours of harp practicing, working on music composition, fantasizing about writing and drawing a web comic, jewelry making, corresponding with long-distance friends on internet, reading and writing fan fiction about Star Trek (she's born in the wrong decade!), working on starting a Community Wildlife Habitat program, going to political meetings (we drag her to lots of community planning/hearings and Obama campaign strategy sessions), pulling weeds (endless supply in our yard), watching squirrels (hours spent on this!). Excavating, er, cleaning room (under penalty of death). Wants to learn to sew this summer--no idea how I'm going to find the time, so maybe from books.

 

Makes me tired. I wish so many of her interests didn't require a)my help or participation and b)my driving her. After the bragging comes the complaining, huh?:willy_nilly:

Danielle

[Jill]

update: for the last 2 days, he and his father built canoes for lego minifigs. They used packing peanuts strapped together with wire. Then they dug a trench as a river - about a few inches deep by a foot wide by 10 feet long - for the minifigs to explore and sent their explorers out. It's dry out here so I insist that all oceans, rivers, canals and irrigation experiments actually happen near our real live trees, especially the little seedlings. - Jill

[Desert Rat]

We've been studying states and reviewing latin. That takes us all of 40 minutes a day!

I've been reading aloud that Angie Sage Septimus Heap books. They're great!

We've been baking lots of cookies, pulling out the unused craft supplies for some fun and the boys have been playing legos and seeing how far their match box cars can zoom down our newly laid hard wood floor!

Taekwondo is still 2 days a week although we're taking a break in August.

Spending time with friends. Enjoying their pools (we've just got sprinklers!) and watching more tv than we probably should rounds out our summer.

I'm really looking forward to the cooler weather of fall!

Happy Summer, ya'll!

[Donna]

right now. My kids have been hiking, rock climbing, rappelling, white water rafting, camping, and horseback riding, not to mention seeing beautiful sights, keeping journals, spending lots of quality family time, and learning a lot from ranger talks, etc...

 

At home they wrestle, do judo, take their respective music lessons and practice daily 1-3 hours depending on the child and the day, wood working, etc... They are rarely not busy doing something whether it is schoolwork or following their own interests.

[gandpsmommy]

Dd is at gymnastics ten hours a week. In her free time she likes to draw, paint,color, play Littlest Pet Shop, pretend things with her little brother, go swimming, ride her bike, play on our swing set, go golfing, bake, play board games, and play with the neighborhood kids.

 

Ds likes to find insects and toads outside. Look for fossils in our gravel driveway, bring in interesting rocks and sticks to add to his collection, play on our swing set, ride his bike, go fishing, make things from nature objects that he finds, watch science and history documentaries with his dad, and have me read him books about animals, paleontology, geology, etc.