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Summer Adventure Ideas For Families
Summer Family Fun
Summer of course, is a perfect time, no matter how big your family, to take the kids on an adventure. Here are some ideas on what to do when everyone’s out of school and the weather is great.
1) Take a hike
Yes this is an easy one but it’s often overlooked, or put off because “we can do it tomorrow.” But time goes by fast in the summer, so there’s no time like the present. Check your local area for trails, what parks are around? Pack a lunch. Put some decent hiking shoes on, slather on the sunscreen and bug repellent, print out a map and just go. Don’t forget to check the weather.
2) Go kayaking
The world is filled with lakes, streams and oceans and kayaking is a great way to not only get exercise, but access to things you might normally not be able to from a road or even a hiking trail. Check out your local kayak, sports or outrigger shop to get ideas on where to take the kids.
3) Watersports
There are so many take your pick. Rent a waverunner and put your child on the back. She or he will think you are the coolest parent ever. Rent a sunfish and go sailing. Learning to tack together is a great way to bond and get some rays in. Kids will love to be able to be in control of a vehicle. That goes for sailboards as well. Renting a boat and doing some waterskiing is also a great way to spend some time on the water. Check out your local boat shops for information on where to rent or take waterski lessons together. For those who don’t just can’t figure out how to get up on skis, well there’s always tubing.
4) Biking
A family that bikes together, gets out and has fun together. Bikes are just the perfect vehicle. Whether it’s a road bike or mountain bike, it’s a faster way to get where you are going and to see the sites. Now more than ever cities are installing bike lanes and really paying attention to their bike loving visitors and citizens. Check your local city or area online and look for bike trail maps. As for mountain biking it gets your whole family out in the woods, burning up some extra summertime energy that collects when the kids are geeking out on their video games and computers. Just remember the bug spray as Lyme disease is no joke. And neither is getting lost so bring a printed map as back up even if you have a GPS enabled device.
5) Swimming
It’s a great way to beat the heat whether you are at the beach, in a pool or a lake. Just make sure to use common safety practices. Don’t assume the lifeguard is watching your kids. No one will be more diligent about your kids than you. If you are not a strong swimmer, make sure your kids at least are and get them in a water safety program and swimming lessons. And then get yourself in one as well.
photo credits: Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash
Photo by Tower Paddle Boards on Unsplash
Take The Kids to The HighLine in New York City
The Highline has been one of the best things to hit New York City in recent years besides zipcar. It is a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. Check it out. There’s nothing else like it. I don’t know how they keep it so beautiful and clean but they do.
High Line Kids Programs Kick Off in July
Your favorite High Line Kids programs are back for the summer! In July and August, families are invited to build, play, and explore during weekly drop-in programs. Explore the natural world through hands-on activities during Wild Wednesday, Wednesdays 4:00 – 6:00 PM; enjoy a delightful morning of storytelling, sing-alongs, bubbles, and blocks during Lawn Time for Little Ones, Thursdays 10:00 – 11:30 AM; and create sculptures that turn, move, and roll during Arty Hours, Saturdays (except August 30) 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Biking with the Kids in San Francisco
There are some great kid-friendly bike trails all around the San Francisco, California area. Here’s a great round up of ideas. If you are from out of town it’s easy to rent a bike or take a tour. Or if you have your own bikes, by all means, get out on them with the kids and ride.
Adventures in Cool Math: Games for Kids
So OK, you might have a road trip ahead of you, or some down time to kill in the hotel while the weather’s bad. As parents, especially the outdoor loving adventurous kind, we hate to plop our kids down in front of Nickelodeon or PBS Kids (which I prefer), or the TV in order to play the typical kid games, like dress up games, cooking games or other funny games for hours. 
And this is what they will happily to if you let them. But now you can feel especially less guilty with this line up of cool math games and other games and activities you can let the kids do. If you need a car game, and you have your mobile wifi, there’s nothing wrong with an hour or two playing learning games.
1) Addington Kids: has some really cool math games on their site. Save the space aliens from heading into the vortex by clicking on the right ones with the right numbers on their heads. When you get them all in the right combination and place them on the little teleporter table (I think that’s what it is) hit the button and voila, you’ve saved them. Watch though they get grumpy so you need to give them some attention by clicking on them.
2) Math Man: as you will see looks eerily familiar to our our little whacka whacka friend the Pac Man. Only now it has a math twist. But don’t let the ghosts get you before you can eat a question.
3) Super Math Multiplication Game: in typical math nerd form, this super cute game has a very bland title, but don’t let that fool you. Let the laser shooting cow help your child get a grasp on his multiplication table. There are several levels of difficulty but try them all. These kids games are free!
4) Cool Math Games: The whole site is about cool math. Prealgebra, algebra, geometry art and more.
5) Hooda Math You must escape the clock tower. You’ve somehow gotten in and now you have to figure out how to get out. And the great clock is broken. You need to help fix it.
Very Cute: Lindsey Vonn Goes Undercover at Vail
This may not be an adventure for us, but it’s just fun. Lindsey Vonn works the ticket desk at Vail. I think it’s good to hang out at the front desk once in awhile. Although nothing beats being able to just hit the mountain whenever you want I’m sure. Now let’s see her work the snow cats. Then I will be impressed.
School Tube Video: Brothers 9 and 6 Race in Triathalon, One With Cerebral Palsy
This amazing story of Connor Long and his brother Cayden Long, reminds us of what the real meaning of sports and team work, and family, are all about. Sports Illustrated Sports Kids of the Year for 2012, these boys aged 9 and 6 raced together as team mates in a triathalon. A triathalon! Cayden has Cerebral Palsy so his brother helps him along, and together they are invincible.
Watch this School Tube video to really see what the human heart, even a very young one, is capable of.
An Adventure for the Brain. Visit the Birth Place of the World Wide Web at CERN
Not every adventure has to be high octane physical exertion. Here’s one for the brain. If you’re heading off to the Alps for some family fun on the slopes, and come in via Geneva, Switzerland, make a pit stop to CERN, to see where the world wide web was born. There’s an interactive exhibit that talks about the big ticket item under ground, the Hadron Collider, which is helping to research how life began (as in Big Bang theory). Of course, my favorite part was seeing the original NeXT computer built by Steve Jobs during his temporary ousting from Apple. Tim Berners-Lee put up this little pet project called the world wide web on it. My favorite part was “Do Not Power Down” written in sharpie on a very ordinary looking computer tower. I didn’t know if I should say a prayer to it or something. But if you have a burgeoning Bill Gates in your midst, wow him or her with your unbelievable coolness. Keep in mind to score a tour of the actual collider plan a few months ahead. Visit CERN