One small example is the arena of organized sports. My kids are too young to be involved in things like baseball or soccer, but I hear stories of peers who are looking down the barrel of a summer in which the majority of weeknights and weekends will be spent at the ball field. For some families, this is a cause for joy, but for most, it brings a feeling of dread. Apparently, it’s a necessary evil required to make sure our children are well-adjusted, socially competent and attractive to institutions of higher learning.

And besides, everyone’s doing it.

I myself spent many summer nights of my youth at the ball diamond, as did my brothers and my parents. It was a good experience for me and I grew a lot through it. But I have to be honest: the idea of spending the bulk of my future summer nights at the sports field is as appealing as a Spam sandwich. Especially because in the years that have past since my ball playing days, the games and practices have gotten more competitive and more numerous, as if we are training children to become pros. I do want my kids to learn how to compete, get some exercise, and have fun, but the cost that comes with the “beaten path” seems too high. I fear the busyness will exhaust and strain our entire family. Is there another way?

It seems that there may be, thanks to an email I got last fall from a guy named Jay. He wrote to tell me about “Dirt League”:

It all started when Ted, the Dad of of three kids ages 9, 8 and 6 found it overwhelming — if not impossible — to keep up with all the scheduling of t-ball and the other programs the kids wanted to sign up for. He decided summer should be FUN, not scheduling. He rapidly found many like-minded parents and decided we should get together for some good old fashioned pick-up games just like when we were kids. We decided to get together at St. Dennis field in Madison every Thursday night. Everyone’s welcome: parents, grandparents, kids of all ages. The parents respect the kids’ size, the kids respect the parents age and slowness;) If someone drives by looking, we wave them in and invite them to play.

We played baseball, soccer, gatorball (also called speedball, a combination of football, soccer, and basketball), and quidditch with the help of a hula hoop and some duct tape. We also played kickball in 90-degree weather, in which you had to go through the slip-n-slide from third to home. We make up a lot of little twists.

The rules are very loosely interpreted. We all bring something to pass to eat and drink or just order 10 pizzas. Everyone comes and goes in and out of the game as they please. Sometimes it ends up mostly parents out on the field and the kids watching us and laughing. The one major rule is: No electronic devices!

On any given night we had anywhere from 6 to 10 families. It just kept growing. All of us agree it was the awesomest part of our summer! The funniest thing is that now we tell people “Is that on a Thursday night? Can’t make it. Got Dirt League.” We also call ourselves The Dirtballs now ;)

Holy. Freaking. Cow.

Now THIS is how I’d like to spend my summers with my kids. It’s truly a small rebellion of epic proportions.

I love how all the ages are included, as normally, kids have their own leagues and adults have theirs. To me, this makes the experience much more rich. And I also love the little twists they add, which reminds me of Calvinball from the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes.

When my kids get a bit older, I’m going to look into joining this Dirt League or starting one of my own. Perhaps this is the summer for you to do the same.

It takes a brave person to break free from the interstate and head down a road less travelled.

But it’s often the roads less traveled that end up being way more fun.

I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s six weeks long and I don’t know what to expect and I’m afraid I might have just plunked down seventy-four dollars on something I might not follow though on or get much out of and will I be the only guy (I’m pretty sure I’ll be the only guy) and do I even have the time for this anyway?

Stupid inner voices. Even though it looked really cool, I almost didn’t sign up.

But you know what?

I’m tired of always wanting to have more fun with my new fancy schmancy digital SLR camera and imagining all the killer photos I’d shoot — and then not doing it.

A good friend of mine likes to say, “Talking about writing is not writing. Only writing is writing.”

I guess that’s also true of photography. Or art. Or traveling. Or cooking. Or gardening. Or doing more fun things with your family.

Or whatever it is you’re always wanting to do (but not actually doing).

So I’m going for it. Perhaps the accountability is just what I need.

And summer seems like as good a time as any for experiments in doing something you’ve always wanted to do.

Actually, it’s quite the opposite.

In fact, this is what one woman said after one of my speaking programs: “My kids are growing up so fast. We’re busy, but we’re not doing anything fun. We’re just existing.”

The truth is, most people WANT to have more fun with their families. They want to create a treasure chest of memories before their kids grow up and leave the nest. But these good intentions often go unfulfilled, leading to a boatload of regret when it’s too late to do anything about it.

I think the reason people miss out is for one of two reasons (and in some cases, both.)

For one, it’s a lot easier to create memories when you have money to burn. Now I didn’t say it’s mandatory, just that it’s easier. A trip to a baseball game or a water park is easy. With very little effort or thought, you can be assured that your family will have fun and create memories. But regular jaunts like these are not within most people’s budgets.

Other people might struggle more with the aspect of time. Even if they have the budget for baseball games and water park weekends, it’s a challenge to find the time to enjoy them amidst the madness that has taken over their lives. For them, it might be nice to have some ideas for having fun amidst the daily busyness, without having to set aside big chunks of time.

I suspect that most people can relate to aspects of both scenarios. To top it all off, if you are interested — for whatever reason — in an alternative to the ballgame or water park, chances are that you are too tired or don’t consider yourself creative enough to dream up what those alternatives could be.

Over the years, we’ve had the wonderful opportunity to collect a vast number of these sorts of free and easy alternatives. And as I mentioned in a previous post, we’ve been working on compiling the best ones into a product called The Kim & Jason Guide to Cheap Family Fun. With it, you get an email a week for whole year that includes a link to a short and entertaining video in which we share a fun, completely free (or dirt cheap), easy-to-implement activity that will involve the WHOLE family. Every idea is not only a recipe for easy fun, it features items you probably already have around the house.

A World Premiere Video Debut…

We are pumped to be able to share a sneak peek of what we’ve been working on over the past year-and-a-half. Here is the world premiere debut of one of the videos, featuring one of our beloved, most-shared ideas:

Pajama Runs are great, because they fit into busy schedules, allow you to break a few “rules,” and for the price of a few simple ice cream cones, you get to create a memory your kids will never forget.

One of my favorite stories of someone taking this idea and “running” with it comes from Rita Dahl, who was an audience member at a PTA conference I spoke at:

No Adultitis in our neck of the woods!!  We had a blast on the eve of the last day of school!

At our weekly PTA Coffee and Conversation, a group of us were talking about getting together for a “mass” pajama run (a great idea that came from our newly elected VP Tyler Edwards).  It was an impromptu idea that spread through our group, was posted on our PTA Facebook page, and by 9 p.m. that same day, we had almost 40 pajama-clad moms, dads, teens and kids swarming McDonald’s!  One of our moms even brought the book, “T’was the Night Before Summer Vacation” and read it to all of us before we went home.  What a great night and the perfect way to end the school year. Thanks for some fun ideas!!

And happily, she even sent along a photo…

If you’re in the camp that would like to create more fun experiences with your family but find yourself too cash-strapped, time deficient, or creativity-depleted to turn those good intentions into family memories, maybe Cheap Family Fun will be right for you. We’re letting it out into the world at the end of April, and if you want to make sure you’re the first to know about it, make sure you are a Kim & Jason Insider. (Those just happen to be the folks who’ll also get a special deal.)

Have you ever been on a Pajama Run? We’d love to hear about it. (Here’s a link to one we did when Lucy was tiny.) If not, maybe this week would be the perfect time to plan your own Pajama Run!

Photo Credit: Evil Erin

Amidst many recent moments of second-guessing (the norm for first-time parents of a toddler), I am excited to report that I had a major breakthrough last weekend. You see, it was a perfectly beautiful summer afternoon in Madison. Days like that are the reason I endure Wisconsin’s never-ending month of February.

Jason, Lucy and I followed the sun down to the edge of Lake Mendota, more specifically to “The Union,” aka the living room of campus for UW-Madison, which overlooks the biggest lake around (except for that “great” one just right of Milwaukee.)

After saying hello to a number of duckies, a stroller ride down the path towards Picnic Point, and some fun conversation, we found ourselves in the SUPER DUPER long line for some of the best ice cream around. Well worth the wait.

[Side note: Lucy is showing all of the signs of a future chocoholic. (And I am secretly thrilled!) You see, for the last 10 years, I have been living with a man who simply tolerates chocolate. Ouch. All of you cocoa-lovers out there know the pain I’ve endured. After spending the previous 22 years living in a household dominated by estrogen (4 daughters, mom, and Princess our dog — oh, my poor dad!), chocolate cured all. Marrying a cherry pie/carmel cashew lover has been quite the culture shock. Our weekly pan of brownies growing up was a ritual that was about as sacred as our weekly visit to Mass. But, my patience has payed off. Our little Goldilocks is going to be sharing a 9 x 9 pan of chocolate heaven with her mom soon enough. And all will be right in the world, once again. Alas, I digress…]

So Lucy and I shared some chocolate ice cream and Jason enjoyed his lame, um, I mean lime sherbet.

I decided it was time for Lucy to have FULL control of her own ice cream cone. No micromanaging, as had been standard practice in the past. I handed it to her and we exchanged a look that I will never forget. It married surprise and wonderment. Her hazel eyes shined pure joy. She licked. She smiled. She concentrated. She beamed. And she ended up with the cutest brown ice cream goatee I have ever seen. Ice cream was up her nose, on her toes and everywhere in between. She undeniably enjoyed every. single. bite.

And here’s where the breakthrough came in.

I let go of the messy shirt, the sticky fingers, and crazy sugar buzz that would follow the inevitably mammoth clean-up.

I LET IT ALL GO.

“Never let making a mess get in the way of making a memory.” — Kim Kotecki

For all of my over-thinking lately regarding time-outs, whining, and our anti-veggie Lucy, letting go felt pretty darn good. I let her “be” and thoroughly enjoyed her bliss. In the process of savoring her joy, I recongized that there are moments like these just waiting in the wings all the time. All I need to do is to open my eyes to them and slow down long enough to let them happen.

How about you?

Can you do it?

How have you let go of a mess in order to make a memory lately?

1. Upside Down Frown
There are countless scientific studies out there proving that the simple act of smiling will lift your spirits. Somehow your heart gets convinced by your body that yes, indeed, you are happy. So, even if you feel like Grumpy Bear, smile and you’ll soon feel better.

2. Dress For Success
Commit to wearing something you’ll look forward to. This could mean your favorite comfy pair of shorts, a baseball jersey, your swimsuit, a Halloween mask, a crazy hat… whatever makes you happy. When you look like you’re having fun, it will soon translate into your reality.

3. Guilty Pleasure
I have fond memories of wearing a paper cigar ring on the days my dad mowed. Why? Because he would treat himself to a cigar when riding the mower. I’m not advocating smoking, however I think it’s a great idea to reward yourself. Classic Pavlov’s dog. Associate yard work with something you enjoy.

4. Share and Share Alike
Combine households with friends or neighbors and spend time together working with each other on your yards. This is especially fun on those days you have to trim bushes or work on an extensive project. Sharing laughs and lunch will make the day go much faster.

5. Bless Your Mess
Revel in the messiness of your tasks. If you’re working with dirt, don’t use gloves. In fact, add a little extra water and enjoy the childlike enthusiasm found in making a tried and true mud pie. Enjoy getting dirty!

6. Hot Spot
Create a spot in your yard that you especially enjoy. It could be a corner filled with sunflowers reaching up to the sky or a bird feeder that brings your favorite feathered friends. It could also be a tree planted in someone’s honor. Whatever it is, it will help you enjoy your yard that much more.

7. Tool Belt Trickery
Wear a tool belt filled with whimsy. When you have fun at your fingertips, you are more readily available to indulge thyself more frequently. Some ideas include a water gun, a yo-yo, bubble gun, bubble pipe, silly string, and Skittles (Hey, who doesn’t want to have Skittles on your person?).

8. Field of Dreams
Spend the mundane parts of mowing or trimming your yard dreaming. Vividly imagine your goals coming true with lots of details. Practice the law of attraction. (This IS “The Secret” after all.) It’s a great opportunity to make a boring task worthwhile and meaningful.

9. Ladybug Lookout
Spend your yard time looking from a new perspective. Try to find the tiny treasures that lie beneath the surface. This is something kids are experts at- delighting in the little things. You’ll be surprised how many shiny rocks, caterpillars and bird’s nests you’ll find.

P.S. Here’s a list of tips on how to make yard work more fun for your 3-18-year-olds.

Share Your Thoughts…
Are you childlike enough to try this week’s prescription? We’d love to hear from you — and might even feature you in an upcoming show (we’ve even been known to give out prizes as well!) Leave a comment below or in the video itself by clicking the little plus sign in the player. Got photos or videos? Send ’em to eashow@kimandjason.com
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Linkety Links

• Check out our new line of t-shirts. Buy 2 and get one free!
• Everything you need to know about water balloons.

In an episode of Seinfeld, after discovering that a severance package from the New York Yankees should last him about three months, George Costanza decided to take the summer off, declaring it the “Summer of George.” Some of the activities he engaged in were playing frolf, purchasing a new recliner with a refrigerator in it, and reading a book, from beginning to end (and in that order.)

My buddy Chip Lutz has declared 2009 the “Summer of Play.” Rather than focusing on the things you can’t control, he implores you to control the things that will help you focus on living your life by making time for play.

Apparently the media has decided that this should be the “Summer of Michael Jackson.” Which I guess is a better alternative to their first draft: “The Summer of Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth Over the Economic Meltdown.”

What’s your theme for the summer?

We’re already well into July, and the summer is speeding by. Declaring a theme for yourself is a tangible way to take control over the direction your life is headed. There are many things we can’t control –like the economy, the weather, and the recent phenomenon of celebrities dropping like flies — but dwelling on those things is an open invitation for Adultitis to take over.

I quite like Chip’s “Summer of Play” idea. So far, I have Shamwowed my neighbors, triumphed over my wife in a dizzy bat race, grilled Twinkies and Twizzlers for the 4th of July, enjoyed a pontoon boat ride on Lake Michigan, and competed in a four-course mini-golf tournament with my dad and brothers (finishing second). In a week, I’ll be heading out to Arizona to hang with my speaker friends and visit the Grand Canyon with Lucy and my parents. I’m wrapping things up with a U2 concert in Chicago. Rock on.

Here are some simple steps for creating your own theme in order to annihilate the Adultitis in your life while having the best summer ever.

1. Decide on a theme. It can be anything, as long as it’s fun. Consider tying it to an interest or hobby, like reading, biking, cooking, or local travel.
2. Make a list. Generate a list of different things you could do. Come up with more ideas than you can possibly get to; it’s always good to have options, and you never know, maybe your summer theme will stretch into the fall. Load up on little things. A big fat two-week vacation is nice, but a series of small things spread out over the summer is more effective when it comes to consistently keeping Adultitis at bay.
3. Schedule it. Everyone knows that if something doesn’t get scheduled, it doesn’t get done. Don’t just wait for a random free day. Nature abhors a vacuum, and if you’re like most people, those “free” days have a habit of being filled in with chores and unappealing invitations. Give yourself the opportunity to say, “I already have plans.” Reserve little chunks of time for yourself and maybe mix in a meekend or two.
4. Share your adventures. Adultitis is very contagious, but so is a childlike spirit. Let your enthusiasm spread to others. Join Chip’s Summer of Play Group, share your stories in the comments below, or post photos on the Kim & Jason Facebook Page. Putting your adventures out there not only can inspire others, but it also gives you the confidence that comes from knowing that you’re living your life on purpose and having fun doing it.

So, what’s your theme for the summer?

Photo credit: dreamymo

Share Your Thoughts…
Are you childlike enough to try this week’s prescription? We’d love to hear from you — and might even feature you in an upcoming show (we’ve even been known to give out prizes as well!) Leave a comment below or in the video itself by clicking the little plus sign in the player. Got photos or videos? Send ’em to eashow@kimandjason.com
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Linkety Links

• Check out some more photos of Gary on our Facebook page.
• Everything you’d ever want to know about Teddy Bears’ Picnic
• Dublin’s Teddy Bear Picnic

1. Sparkler Signatures
Sign the sky with your name using sparklers. The smell alone will instantly bring you back to childhood. It’s physically impossible to hold a sparkler with a straight face. In fact, you might want to pick up an extra box or two for future days when Adultitis is reeking havoc on your household. If you’re up for being even more creative, check out these photos (here and here) for some inspiration to take sparklering (yes, it’s a word) to a whole new level. Sparkle on, friends!

2. Spaghetti and Meatballs
This is what my sisters and I would yell (at the top of our lungs, mind you) during the city fireworks as kids when we would see fireworks that looked like, well… spaghetti and meatballs. You’ve heard of cloud watching? It’s the same concept, except using the fireworks. Have fun calling out what you see above you… Rain! Cousin It! Frisbees! Elbow pasta! Sometimes we’d just yell out the colors all together. Honestly, any kid will attest, it’s just fun to yell in unison. Give it a try!

3. Spit for Sport
What would you like to spit? Watermelon seeds, cherry pits, Lemonheads, olive stones, or even crickets?! (They’re dead, but does that make it any better?) You can spit at targets (Bozo bucket style), go for speed, or for the longest distance. You could even create a dart board on the ground with chalk. If you decide to go for distance, you might find these numbers inspiring: The world record for the longest cherry pit spit is 100 ft., 4 in. The longest watermelon seed spit is 68 ft. and 9 1/8 in., and the longest cricket spit is 32 ft. and 1/2 in. held by one of our fellow Madisonians, Dan Capps in 1998. Go Madison bug man!

4. U.S.A. Sundaes
Create a red, white, and blue sundae bar. Pick up some patriotic bowls and those mini flags to top ’em off . Go all out with the red, white and blue yummies. Red: raspberry sherbet, strawberry ice cream, strawberry syrup, cherries, raspberries, strawberries. White: vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, white chocolate chips, pound cake. Blue: blueberries, blackberries, blue raspberry topping, m&m’s. Feel like a patriotic piggy as you fill your bowl with goodies that would make Uncle Sam proud.

It’s officially summer. (cue kids cheering) Life slows down a bit in the summer, at least it should, leaving you with more time to spit watermelon seeds, dip your toes in a swimming pool, and savor the sweet refreshing taste of freshly squeezed lemonade. Mmm! If I had to pick out a centerpiece of summer, though, it would have to be the campfire. They have a magical way of bringing people together, inviting them to laugh, sing, and tell secrets. The sparkling golden hues of the fire, the crackles of the wood popping, the bright constellations above, and the warmth of people gathered around a central focus… I love campfires. (And let’s not forget about this yummy S’mores!) So much of our life is spent moving in different directions, but the summertime campfire grabs you by the hand and asks you to sit and relax… together. Enjoy these ten campfire games you have to play…

1) Truth Or Dare
Back in 1712 a game was played in which a commander would bid his subjects to answer a question that was asked. If the subject refused, or failed to satisfy the commander with his response, he’d be forced to follow a command or have his face “smutted” (aka dirtied).

A few centuries later, Madonna made this game more popular than ever. These days, the game involves fewer smutted faces, but players are still given a question to answer. If they don’t want to answer it truthfully, they can perform a “dare.” The questions are usually embarrassing, and the dares can be equally so. After answering the question or completing the dare, that person asks “Truth or Dare?” to another player and the game continues. (Source)

2) Telephone
Telephone is a game played around the world in which one person whispers a short message to someone else. Easy peasy. The fun begins when that person quietly whispers the message to another person. This secret message is passed from one person to another until the last person announces it to the entire group. Thanks to the errors that usually arise in the retellings, hilarity usually ensues. An oldie but a goodie! (Source)

3) Twenty Questions
Twenty questions is a popular game that starts with one person selected to be an answerer. He or she chooses an object that is kept secret. Every one else is a questioner, and they take turns asking questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no.” If appropriate, “maybe” is also an acceptable answer, but the answerer may not lie. A traditional questions could be something like, “Is it bigger than a breadbox.” Although who knows what a breadbox is these days, let alone how big one is? Perhaps another question could be, “Is it heavier than a davenport?” In any case, if the questioners can’t figure out the subject in 20 questions, the answerer wins and gets to remain in that role for the next round. If someone figures out the subject before the 20 questions have been asked, that person is declared the winner and takes on the esteemed role of answerer. (Source)

4) Make Me Laugh
This game has a simple premise: getting people to laugh while trying not to laugh yourself. Divide your group into two teams and decide which team is “on stage” first. Then choose one person from the opposing team to be on the “hot seat.” Set the timer for 2 minutes. The team that’s on stage has one simple goal: to make the person on the hot seat laugh.

Now laughs and smiles and giggles and snorts can be difficult to distinguish from one another, potentially creating some areas of disagreement, so we like this simple rule: if you show your teeth, you’re out!

The team can work together or individually, but they are not allowed to touch the other team, make fun of them, or be mean. When someone cracks, his or her team has to take their turn on stage. If the player can keep a straight face for the entire two minutes, he earns a point for his team.

5) Name That Tune
If you have a musician in your midst, Name That Tune can be fun. The game show that popularized it had a lot of rules and variations. For a campfire situation, a fun way to play is to just have the musician begin playing a song. The first person who can name the tune wins. Don’t have a musician in the house? Just use an MP3 player with mini speakers. Tip: this game works best when most of the players actually know the songs played. I remember watching the game show version as a child and it was filled with various waltzes. In a word: lame. (Source)

6) Two Truths and a Lie
Everyone in the group shares three facts about themselves. Here’s the catch: two of the things are true, but one is a complete farce. The other players have to try to guess which one is the lie. Now to make this fun, don’t say something like “I grew up in Brooklyn” if you really grew up in Queens. That’s not a big difference and nobody cares. Everybody has had experiences in their life that are borderline unbelievable. Use those. Stuff like, “I used to be a belly dancer.” “I went to grade school with Bill Gates.” “I wrestled an alligator.” The more creative you are, the more fun the game, and the closer you all become!

7) The Winking Assassin
A crisp dark evening around the glow of a campfire is a perfect setting for this game of death and deception. All of the players close their eyes except the one person predetermined to be dubbed the Godfather. The Godfather secretly taps one of the other players on the shoulder. This player becomes the “assassin.” He kills off other players one at a time by winking at them, although he must do it secretly, without others seeing him. As soon as someone is winked at, he or she must slump over and play dead. But if anyone witnesses the assassin winking and says, “he’s the winker!” the jig is up. But don’t be too quick to tattle; anyone who guesses wrong is immediately and metaphorically sent to swim with the fishes and is out of the game.

8) I Can Tap This Stick Just Right
I played this once in college and totally got hoodwinked till the very end. All you need is a stick to tap on the ground or your hand. The person in the know will subtly clear their throat and say the following while tapping the item: “I can tap this (stick, pencil, etc.) just right.”

They then pass the object to the next person to try to perform correctly. The original person acts as the judge, declaring if the tapping was done correctly. The trick is the clearing of the throat first – it does not actually matter how they tap the object.

It is a fun game because people will be watching the positioning of your fingers on the stick or how hard to tap it, and it takes a while for them to catch on to the clearing of your throat.

The game continues until everyone is in on the secret. When down to just a few people that just aren’t getting it, make the “ahem” louder and more obvious. (Source)

9) There Once Was a Skunk
This game is an exercise in silly yarn spinning. Someone in the group begins a story by saying, “There once was a skunk who…” finishing the sentence however they wish. Then the person points to someone else in the group who has to keep the story going with a new sentence starting with, “Fortunately…” Then that person points to someone new who continues the story starting with “Unfortunately…” Continue the story as long as you can, rotating between sentences starting with “fortunately” and “unfortunately,” For instance, the story might unfold like this:

“There once was a skunk who took ballet lessons.”
“Fortunately, he looked very good in a tutu.”
“Unfortunately, he got dizzy very easily and often tripped on his tail.”
“Fortunately, a drink of root beer always cleared up his dizziness.”
“Unfortunately, root beer sometimes made him flatuate uncontrollably.”

10) Guess the Jelly Bean (aka Jelly Bean Russian Roulette
For maximum effect, this game requires the Bean Boozled style of jelly beans made by Jelly Belly. (Fortunately, you can get them here.) These lovely candies feature flavors such as peach and pear and buttered popcorn, mixed in with other gems like canned dog food, moldy cheese, and booger. As you sit around the campfire, pass the box along the circle, with each player selecting one jelly bean, eating it, and trying to guess the flavor. If the person needs a hint, you can examine the back of the box for the color of the jelly bean you sampled. Of course you could use regular old jelly bean, but them the game wouldn’t be as disgusting (or fun!) (Source)

11) Bonus!
This post is getting pretty long, but we still have a lot more to share! You might want to check out our free Escape Adulthood Guide, How to Make Mealtime More Fun. It’s packed with 15 more ideas you can use, whether you’re sitting around a campfire or a dinner table!

P.S. This isn’t a game, so it didn’t make the list, but here’s a fun site with over 1,600 campfire songs.

P.S.S. Also, not a game, but here’s a cool site to inspire some spooky campfire stories.

Here are a few books on the subject…

The 175 Best Camp Games: A Handbook for Leaders
Camp games are meant to be fun. Here are the very best camp-tested games for boys and girls aged 4 to 16, with easy-to-follow instructions and illustrations. The Frasers include indoor and outdoor games for both small and large groups, with some old favorites and lots of new, soon-to-be favorites. Though written with camp leaders in mind, this book will appeal to youth activity directors, counselors, counselors-in-training, coaches, scout leaders, parents, teachers and any other adult looking for creative group activities for youth that include all participants and require little or no special equipment.

The Kids Campfire Book: Official Book of Campfire Fun
Families who camp, school classes that make treks to outdoor sites, and scout and youth group leaders will find this book to be a detailed compendium for safe, environmentally friendly, and joyous campfire experiences. Guidance is offered for selecting a location; creating wax firestarters (with adult guidance); and building, burning, and dousing campfires. Tips for seating, singing, cooking, storytelling, and conducting science demonstrations are included; fire, hatchet, knife, and cooking safety are given good coverage. Special features include making cooking utensils out of green wood, identifying night sounds, observing and identifying creatures by the shape and glow of their eyes, and both beautiful and silly songs complete with guitar cords. Peppy black-and-white pencil sketches appear throughout. No other current title offers so much information about creating a successful evening in camp.

The Girls’ Guide to Campfire Activities
Encarnacion takes readers on a virtual camping trip. The text starts with a step-by-step guide for building a campfire safely, followed by recipes, games, songs, and stories to share around it. The book concludes with a plan for hosting your own indoor campfire. Graphic-style cartoon illustrations are nicely done and capture the thrill of sitting around the fire listening to the woods and wildlife. The songs are silly fun, and the stories will have the campers squealing with frightened delight. An appealing volume that will give readers ideas for good old-fashioned fun.

101 Family Vacation Games: Have Fun While Traveling, Camping, or Celebrating at Home
This resource brings together games new and old from around the world, creating a wonderful collection for parents to explore with their families. The activities can be used any time parents, teachers, camp counselors, and other adults want to encourage laughing and learning and engage children in a positive and fun-filled way. There are games to play at the beach, while camping, in the car, on the plane, and elsewhere. Sample games include Word Tennis, Treasure Hunt, and Storytelling Starters, and photographs and illustrations enhance the play experience.

Campfire Cuisine
Campfire Cusine is a cookbook for the growing number of hikers, campers, and backpackers who are making healthy, tasty, and satisfying food a high priority in their lives. It offers more than 100 simple but inspired recipes for meals that can be cooked at a campsite or in any other outdoor setting—all made from fresh foods, never relying on ready-made food products. Enjoy Spicy Orange Chicken, Grilled Steak Tacos, Bourbon-Glazed Salmon, Lemony Couscous Salad, Cinnamon Baked Bananas, and more!

How to Make Mealtime More Fun (FREE!)
Throughout human history, sharing a meal has been one of the most important ways to bond with one another. In fact, instituting regularly scheduled dinners is one of the most important things a family can do for the health and happiness of their children. But routines do have a nasty habit of becoming…routine. This FREE guide is filled with simple, inexpensive ideas for making mealtime more fun and keeping Adultitis out of the kitchen. Enjoy!

I don’t remember getting much sympathy.

It’s been a long time since I was really bored. I love what I do, and there’s always an impossibly long list of things that need to be done. And, frankly, it’s kind of hard to be bored in our “always on” society awash in laptops and smart phones and iPods.

Well, sometimes I’m bored when I’m with Lucy.

I get to spend two hours each afternoon with her — just the two of us. I look forward to it, especially if I haven’t seen her much during the day. I love her to death, and I love spending time with her. I could spend hours just looking at her. But five-month-olds don’t do much. The little games we come up with are just as much for my entertainment as hers.

Sometimes my thoughts drift off to other more “productive” things I could be doing. I’ve noticed that left unchecked, life tends to accelerate. Being forced to slow down is a good thing, even if I don’t like it at the time. For one, it’s a great opportunity to collect my thoughts. And it’s nice just to watch her cute little mannerisms, marvel at her little toes and fingers, and whisper sweet nothings in her ear, as God whispers in mine.

One of my favorite things to do with her is just sit. It could be chilling out on the rocking chair, or outside on the tree stump in the backyard. There is something peaceful about that. For me, and I think for her as well.

Sometimes I feel guilty for wishing that I could keep working (to get things checked off my list) and sometimes I worry that I’ll regret feeling this way when she’s older. But I also sometimes feel like I’m being a bad dad (or maybe just not a great one), because I’m not engaging her more, teaching her more, or coming up with and endless array of things to do with her. I only get two uninterrupted hours with her a day, shouldn’t I want to do more than just sit with her? But the doing nothing is actually…nice.

Back when I was a kid, the boredom that set in during summer vacation was never welcome. But it offered a much-needed break and always resulted in an exciting new initiative. Boredom was actually good thing.

So yes, sometimes I’m bored with Lucy.

The thing is, I like being bored with her.

It might be the best thing for the both of us.

I challenge you to try powering down your computer and turing off your cell phone for a couple of hours today. Do nothing. At all. A little boredom might just be the best thing for you as well.

Now as an adult, I would have to say that one of my favorite things in the world is to hear about other “grown-ups” fighting (and winning) the good fight against Adultitis. Recently we received an email and video from Matt from IL. He combined two things he loved from childhood (flying kites and Star Wars) into some major Adultitis fighting fun. Matt sent us this super cool video…

Matt Kitewalker (an Agent of Adultitis) shared…

It was a lot of fun to put together!!! I was laughing the whole time as I adapted the script for the opening “crawl” and was particularly proud of how “Agents of Adultitis” looked on screen.

Thanks for efforts restoring childlike wonder to the galaxy, Matt (and Princess Sarah, too)!

When’s the last time YOU flew a kite? Pick one up this week and let us know how it goes.

Show Notes…

• The Year of the Staycation (News Examiner-Enterprise)

• Paying the Price For Your Staycation (BloggingStocks.com)

• Staycation, schmaycation. Try these instead (LA Times)

• Show Music: Coyote Sleeps by Ethan Elkind

• Show Length: 31 minutes, 47 seconds

• Shout Outs: Thanks to Judy Irené for the cool e-mail!

If you haven’t done one of these five things this summer, you need to get out your calendar and schedule one in… NOW.

1. Catch a lightening bug and put it in a jar in your bedroom.

2. Grill out and have a picnic. Don’t forget the sweet corn and cherry pie.

3. Go to an ice cream stand and get a treat, the more scoops the better.

4. Lay under the stars with a friend and dream together.

5. Go to a drive-in movie. (There are still 500 operating theaters in the U.S. Find one near you.)

What’s your favorite summer staple?

When we first moved to Madison eight years ago I spent the summer working for a summer daycare/day camp. We had third through fifth graders. The daycare hours were 7AM- 6PM. This was the first time my eyes were opened to the reality of what summer vacation is like for many modern kids. As one of the many “teachers” we tried to give the kids unstructured time, in order to let them feel like they could enjoy the lazy days of summer. Honestly, though, there is only so much you can do. Maintaining sanity and safely in a program with 50- 75 kids on any given day requires structure. Lunch is served just like at school. Activities are planned, in order to keep order and balance. That’s a lot of kids to manage!

The kids were great, but I saw a cloud of disappointment over many of them that I just couldn’t shake. It took me a while to figure it out, but once I did it bothered me beyond belief and I was not able to participate as a teacher the following summer. It all came down to freedom- the freedom of summer, and many of these kids felt resentful of the school-like atmosphere. They wanted to be home… and free to do what THEY wanted to do. I couldn’t blame them!

I realize that the dual-parent career and single-parent households have little choice but to enroll their kids in a summer day camp setting. Many kids thrive on it (I’m guessing kids who are naturally extroverts), but for the introverted kids (at least 1/4 of them), a summer day camp can be a nightmare. By the way, for those of you who think being introverted means that you are shy, please read this article: “The Top 5 Things Every Extrovert Should Know About Introverts.”

So, what can working and single parents do to avoid resentment and allow their children the opportunity to experience the freedom of summer, that many of us look back on with delight?

Here are a few ideas…

1. Talk to your boss. Try to change your work schedule for the summer so that you work longer days, but get a day off each week, enabling your child to have a three-day weekend at home every single week. (Key point: DO NOT fill your long weekends. Keep them low-key and lazy.)
2. If you have a job that can be done from home, ask your boss if you can work from home a few days a week. Start on a trial basis, to show him/her that you will, indeed, accomplish your work. This will allow your child the chance to be in his/her own setting throughout the day.
3. Hire an in home babysitter. Trustworthy high school students are perfect for summer baby sitting jobs. If the cost is just too high, join households with a neighboring family (or two) and have the babysitter trade off which house is the host each day. A group of 5-8 kids is still better than a group of 55 kids. If you don’t know any high school students, talk to the principal of the local high school or the pastor of your church.
4. If you must enroll your kids in the day camp setting, limit the hours so that they are not there at 7AM and picked up at 6PM. Also, make sure their evenings and weekends are empty. No extracurriculars PERIOD. Since their day times are structured, provide for them the freedom of summer in different places.

Finally, a combination of the above ideas may work also. Here’s the bottom line… you need to ask yourself if you are living by rules that don’t exist. Don’t allow society and social pressures to convince you that it just “has to be this way.” YOU are in charge of your choices. Don’t blame others for what your reality is. Get creative.

Your kids will thank you later!

P.T. Barnum (yes the guy from that little thing known as the greatest show on earth) proved in his day was that even in a period as tough as the Great Depression, people will spend their last nickel on FUN. Everyone needs a break… an escape… a vacation of sorts. That doesn’t mean you have to fly down to Disney or go surfing in Hawaii. It just means you have to stop what you’re doing and slow down for some fun.

Our good friend and fellow Wisconsonite, Phil Gerbyshak, shared with us a post from Coach Barrow recently talking about “facation time.” You know what he’s referring to, even though the word might be new to you. You go on vacation, but you leave your cell phone on, check back with the office, and stay connected to everything you were trying to escape from… (fake + vacation= facation)

When you make the time to take your break, do just that. Break away from those things in your life that fill your 40+ hours. They will be there when you return- trust me. Jason shared last July about his experience being completely disconnected to everything work-related for a week, while vacationing in Door County with our family. His “tech sabbatical” was not only refreshing, it brought him new perspective. This level of clarity can rarely be found while you are still connected. It’s only when you step back that you can see the whole picture and make adjustments in your thinking and vision… like viewing your favorite Monet painting.

Instead of viewing your life like a mess of paint all of the time, enjoy stepping back for a bit to see the beauty of your unique painting. It makes life so much more fun.

So, what are you planning for your break from the busyness?

As a kid I spent most of my summer vacation outside. All it took was a simple prop and I would be inspired for hours and hours, engaged in imaginative fun. For instance, one time my sister and I found two potato sacks in our garage… two hours later our front yard was adorned with an elaborate obstacle course. Of course, one of the many elements happened to be a potato sack race. I’ll never forget the scratchiness of the bag against my legs.

Another time my mom gave me an empty jar with holes in the lid. For the next few days I was quite the insect explorer- catch and release style, inspecting my finds in the peanut butter jar with my dad’s magnifying glass. Usually my “props”, as I call them, were quite trivial and almost always on their way to the garbage – like the refrigerator box or an everyday egg carton.

Think about the last few things you did outside?

My guess is many of you are recalling common chores like mowing, pulling weeds, or washing your car. We’re asking for ten minutes this week. The kicker is that is has to be something you’ve never done before. If you need a “prop” to get you started, try exploring your basement or garage… or your local dollar store. We can all be inspired by the way Jason’s dad, Walt, accomplished this challenge a few years ago. If you haven’t read his story in the comments yet about shooting free-throws with a football, I highly recommend it, as it will definitely get you thinking in a childlike way.

Leave us a comment on the Escape Plan Blog to tell us what you tried outside for the first time this week.

It’s time to cross-reference your recent summertime activities with my list of 11 Things Kids Must Do During Summer. If you would like more ideas, I highly recommend the awesome book, “101 Things Every Kid Should Do Growing Up,” by Alecia T. Devantier. These ideas are not limited to the under 18 crowd, so feel free to bring back some childhood memories by tackling these on your own without the company of kids. (I’m not sure about adults sitting at a lemonade stand, though.)

1. Sleep outside. If you missed the Great American Backyard Campout a few weeks ago, grab the sleeping bag and get going.

2. Have a water fight, preferably barefoot. You don’t need those fancy super soakers. We used to soak each other with the hose and empty shampoo, syrup, and dish soap bottles. Fill a few balloons while you’re at it.

3. Make homemade ice cream or popsicles.

4. Create an obstacle course, dragging out whatever you can find in the garage to make one of a kind challenges.

5. Play flashlight tag.

6. Have a lemonade stand.

7. Have a picnic in your backyard.

8. Climb a tree.

9. Be allowed to be bored. The most creative projects are born from “boring” afternoons.

10. Catch lightning bugs.

11. Make homemade chocolate chip cookies and mix the dough with your hands.

By the way, one of the added benefits of providing these activities for your kids (or doing them yourselves) is that the childlike excitement is contagious, helping you escape adulthood, and it builds your immunity against Adultitis.

Which one will you pick today?

[tags] summer, Great American Backyard Campout, Adultitis, overscheduled kids, 101 Things Every Kid Should Do Growing Up, Alecia T. Devantier[/tags]

1. Free ice cream treats aplenty. (Tip: Get your free ice cream here, without having to make it your career.)
2. The jolly tunes.
3. Making kids smile all day long.
4. The freedom to drive around, wherever you want, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.
5. Living the “American Dream,” and embracing the entreprenial mindset.

Top 5 reasons why being an “Ice Cream Man” would be the absolute WORST job in the world.

1. Gaining an average of 3 lbs. a week all summer.
2. The annoying jingle jangles that won’t get out of your head, even when you lie in bed at night.
3. Too many kids! They keep chasing the truck! Enough giggling aleady!
4. Those gas prices!…and did I mention the claustaphobia?
5. No benefits + No paid vacation days = No sleep at night.

Has Adultitis transformed the way you experience YOUR life?

[tags] ice cream, ice cream truck, ice cream man, entreprenuer, American Dream, jobs, careers, Adultitis [/tags]