How to Keep their Brains from Melting in the Hot Summer Sun

In case you didn't know, here in Cobb County (Georgia) the 2011 Summer Vacation has been extended by a couple of weeks. For some parents, this is great news. For other parents, not so much. Whatever your opinion, if you are a parent, you need a plan for keeping your kids safe and engaged during those long summer days. Most parents, especially in families where all of the adults work, have already signed their children up for daycare camps, YMCA camps, sleep away camps, sports camps, dance camps, and so on. Many kids are also signed up for neighborhood swim teams, and other summer sporting activities. All of these activities should keep kids active, engaged, and safe, while still having "summer" fun. For kids (and parents, too), having "fun" is the number one goal of summer. For parents, however, second on the list might be keeping our kid's brains stimulated and engaged in preparation for the upcoming school year. The good news is that combining fun with keeping the brain stimulated and engaged is something you CAN make happen.

Places to Go:

• Tellus Science Museum: Check out their Summer Passport Program

This Museum is near Cartersville about 30 to 45 minutes from Marietta and has small group pricing if you want to go with a group of friends.

• Booth Western Art Museum: Check out their summer program, Take a Wild Ride on a Cattle Drive

This Museum is in downtown Cartersville. Afterwards you may want to take a stroll on the traditional downtown square.

• The Library: Check out their Kid's Page which include a calendar of kid friendly events. 
• Atlanta Botanical Gardens: They have an awesome children's garden
• Atlanta History Center: They have a garden (Connor Brown Discovery Trail) designed just for children and a variety of children, family, and school programs for all ages. Another resource they offer is Summer Camp programs. 

The Atlanta History Center provides an opportunity to learn about local history and native plants and animals.
Activities/Crafts:

• Help your kids start a book club: Check out the Spaghetti Book Club that contains book reviews by kids for kids.
• Do some hands on math and science experiments with the help of these free activity guides offered by the AIMS Foundation.
• Reuse fast-food paper bags to make paper bag puppets. Have your child write a story starring the puppet on the back of the paper bag. 
• Does your family drink milk? Reuse the milk containers to make an animal, storybook character, or anything else they can imagine. Check out Danielle's Place for some very creative milk jug ideas.

Tips:

• Don't spend too much time on summer workbooks from places like School Box. If your child has an area of learning that needs work, find activities that focus on that area. However, you don't want your child to get burned out on paper/pencil activities before the new school year begins. 
• Talk to your kids: Talk about different foods in the grocery store, help them count the money in their "piggy" banks, discuss interesting or funny things that happen in TV shows or movies they watch, talk about the plants and flowers in your yard or at the local park.