Plotting out the summer

Will it be this?

Or this?

I think this past week of spring break was a mini preview of summer, a way to suss out what the dynamics may look like when it's the four of us together once again every day for a three-month stint.  It's gotten me pondering the boys' activities. And since it's me, I'm obsessing a moderate to large amount about whether I'm making the right decisions about the volume of the kids' summertime daily doings.

The way I see it, it's a little complicated finding the right balance. It's an intricate dance trying to hit on the sweet spot between choruses of "I'm bored!" and "Do we have to go somewhere again?" In addition, there's a stigma about being that mom, isn't there? You know, the one who over-schedules her children. Choose one or two activities, but otherwise, just let them be, some experts admonish. The problem is, my kids get along great. Until they don't, which usually sets in sometime around 8 a.m. or so. Soon everyone, including me, is whiny and crabby. Getting one or two kids out of the house for a couple hours seems a good remedy to that.

Now, each of the boys is different. Ben seems to thrive on being active. This summer, he's got a lot on his agenda. Prepare to think of me as one of those moms as I detail his schedule: two summer schools classes, baseball, kickball, It's Game Time! (exclamation mark included), swimming lessons and a one-week, all-day science program in July. My justification to what you may fairly call insanity is that No. 1, Ben chose the bulk of these activities, and No. 2, while it may sound like a lot, park & rec activities like game time and kickball, and even summer school to an extent, are both inexpensive and rather informal. On any given day, especially with park & rec, I figure Ben can go or not go. And summer school only lasts six weeks.

Paul is another story entirely. He'd rather be at home. I had to compel him to choose one summer school class. Every other activity I offered got the big thumbs down. T-ball? "Nah." An art class at the Y? "No thanks." For my middle son, we're keeping it very simple: one summer school class and swimming lessons. See, I'm trying to meet their individual needs.

So my answer to the question at the top of this post is I hope it will be a combination of both. We'll see in a couple months how it all shakes out. Wish me luck. Here's hoping all of you with kids and I will find that perfect balance between a summer that's scheduled and one that's carefree.