Keeping your kids entertained over summer vacation may seem like a challenge.
However, if you can make sure that you're prepared for a multitude of activities, especially when the weather gets too hot to go outside, you can make summer vacation go much smoother.
Not everyone is blessed with children who find unique ways to entertain themselves like Phineas and Ferb.
For the rest of us, we need to plan ahead to make sure there is lots to do so that the kids don't get bored and decide to taste test the legos or dress the cat in a Superman cape.
It's a good idea to schedule at least one or two outings a week.
You don't need to spend a lot of money to have a fun time outside of the house.
A walk through a local historic district or downtown can be fun, and you and the kids may learn something in the process.
Lunch followed by play time at a local park is always a good way to kill a few hours, and many zoos and museums schedule a free day or two during summer vacation.
Libraries offer story time, and computers for older kids.
Plus, it's a great way to show the teenagers what life was like before iPhones and laptops.
Of course, you won't be able to go out every day.
There are a variety of activities that you can plan to do at home to help keep the kids occupied.
While you can plan out specific types of things to do, the most surefire way of keeping your kids occupied is to have a good stash of school supplies in bulk that you can pull out when you're ready to turn the television off or have them unplug from the internet for a little while.
Specific ideas include making summer wreaths with construction paper and tissue paper, melted crayon art, and the old classic standby, coloring books.
When you order these school supplies in bulk, you're saving money and making sure that you have enough supplies to last until the school re-opens its' doors in late summer.
Keeping school supplies on hand also helps younger students to keep up their skill set.
Many teachers will agree that younger learners sometimes forget some of their skills over the summer, simply because they didn't use them.
If you can use the school supplies to spend an hour or so a day going over some of the basics, then you can help make sure that your children have a smoother transition back to school.
Buying crayons, pencils, writing paper, scissors and glue will help your children immensely.
If you're planning on traveling, stocking up on school supplies in bulk will also help you to put together kits full of activities for the kids to play while you're on the road.
You can encourage them to draw some of the places you pass by, or keep track of letters they see or track the different states listed on license plates.
This will make the trip easier on everyone!