I don’t know about you, but I have zero interest in “hot mom” summers or “productive mom” summers, but if we could make “lazy mom” summers a thing, I’d totally be on board!
Enjoying my best life (for a few uninterrupted moments) on a beach on Lake Michigan!
So to help get the movement going, here are some tips I have for making life easier, plus super simple recipes, and affiliate links to things that can help ease up your own involvement in the kids’ activities for the summer…
Sweet Treats for Summer-
I love these popsicle molds and if you need a bigger batch, these work great too!
Making popsicles does not have to be a time intensive Instagram worthy endeavor. It’s hot, you’re tired…. Here’s how I Lazy Mom Hack it:
🍓 Use chocolate milk (we prefer almond because we have a kid with dairy issues) and pour over frozen strawberries you’ve put in the popsicle molds.
🫐 Use fruit, loosely blended with vanilla almond milk (cup of each) for creamier ones
🥥 Coconut water is super hydrating, so just add a bit to frozen fruit, stir & pour in.
Popsicles don’t have to be fancy… my kids love them because they are sweet & cold!
This batch of popsicles was just 1 cup of frozen strawberries blended with one cup of vanilla almond milk, then frozen for an hour! Easy peasy!
Water work inside or out-
My kids are all sensory seekers, and water play is very helpful in keeping them active, and it’s easy and cheap. Plus if the weather isn’t great or they don’t want to play in the rain, we can move water play to the tub!
💧We added this new water table to our toys this past year, and the kids have been connecting it to our kiddie pool to make a “water park”! Don’t let the small size fool you- this can fit in the tub, and my 8 year old still plays with it!
☀️If it’s too hot or you need to recover from sweaty play, when you move to the tub inside, be sure to add a 1/2 cup of these magnesium flakes to help restore mineral balance and relaxation!
🌛Another favorite is adding SleepyIze oil blend to the mag flakes, if bedtime is coming up!
🌟If you want to make the bath more “Partysaurus”, as my kids call it, then GloPals are what you need!
This water table that has blocks to funnel water has been a big hit with all my kids this summer!
Sensory play, all the day-
If you have kids who are seekers, you already know the non-stop action they will create as they crave new experiences and input.
🏝I don’t generally do kinetic sand but if you need an indoor activity & don’t mind the clean up, you might give it a try!
🏖I prefer real sand, and we’ve found that one way to keep the kids interested is grabbing a variety of tools, like this set, which comes in a mesh bag so the sand doesn’t follow you around!
⛱ I also love these tools for small hands!
🧼 If you are looking for something with zero clean up, these sensory art toys are simple & no mess! We played with them when I was a kid even!
My kids are equally happy in the backyard or at the beach, but since sand is such an important heavy work tool, these mesh sand bags are a must for our home now!
Extra fun ideas-
These are just a couple random ideas that didn’t fit the other categories, but I’ve found handy for keeping kids busy.
🐄 A survey of moms I did labeled these magnetic tile toys as one of the top toys their kids consistently played with! If you can’t have any, maybe swap them for a toy that doesn’t get used.
🎉 Another hack I like to use is grabbing a party favor set, like this one, and surprising the kids with a “play party”!
My favorite hack is really just letting my kids get bored, and giving them the space to create play scenarios that involve them all. It takes kids an average of 45 minutes to create an active play storyline, so giving them time & space is key. I step back and just let them figure it out- and often that space was something they needed!
I’d love to hear how you are making Lazy Mom summer work for you this year! Let me know! ~Naomi
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