Inside: How to give your kids a low key summer filled with old school summer fun like we had when were kids.
With summer fast approaching I’m already a little worried about how my kids are going to spend their days.
They’re going to want the screens.
And I’m all for a little screen time. But all day, every day is not going to happen.
This summer, I want them outside. Doing, creating, playing.
And I want to help them prevent the dreaded summer slide where they forget what they learned all year and fall behind in the fall.
We do a little summer camp here and there, but mostly it’s Camp Mom around here.
So we do these 6 things every summer day so I don’t go crazy with them home with me.
And part of that includes choosing things off this Kid-Friendly Staycation List.
But I also want them to have downtime.
Bored time.
Time where they figure out what to do all day like we all did in the 80s.
I always joke that I wish I could give my kids a 1980s summer like we had.
Where we would spend all days outdoors and wouldn’t come home until the street lights come on.
Where we drank from the hose and ran through the sprinklers and lemonade stands were on every corner without a parent in sight.
Not all things from the 80s were so great (It’s actually a miracle we all survived it).
But I gathered the best of our generation’s childhood toys and games and books so we can recreate the low-key, awesome, old school summer fun we had when we were kids.
These items will give our kids a little taste of a 1980s summer (sans lead in the water and friends being our “seatbelts” in the back of a truckbed.)
So these old school goodies are perfect to stock up on before the kids come home from school.
Old School Summer Fun: Arts and Crafts
Related: Get more Melissa and Doug Gifts here (they’re almost all classics!)
Update Friendship Bracelets to this Century- Kumi Kreator
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Old School Summer Fun Games and Toys
Oregon Trail (now a card game)
Choose Your Own Adventure Game
Check out these 20 Forgotten Summer Games from One Crazy Mom
Old School Summer Outside Play
Related: Gifts to Encourage Kids to Play Outside
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Radio Flyer Tricycle with Bell
Water Balloons (updated version)
Related: How to Use Chinese Jumprope as a Cat’s in the Cradle
Chalk for the new century- 3D Glitter Chalk
Related: More Crayola Gifts for Creative kids
Glow in the Dark Capture the Flag
Old School Books From Our Childhood
EB White Collection: Charlotte’s Web, Trumpet of the Swan, Stuart Little
Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends
Highlights 1 Year Subscription
1980s Summer Food Play
Related: Best Pretend Food Gifts for Kids Who Love to Play Kitchen, Store, and Restaurant
Related: More Gifts for kids who love to Cook and Bake
And just one old school goodie for fun:
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