Confessions of a 30 Something School’s out for summer School’s out forever. I’m bored to pieces.

BY LEE VOGLER

PHOTO BY LEE VOGLER

When you read that, you likely heard Alice Cooper’s voice from his singsong-y classic. (You’re welcome for getting it stuck in your head all day). There is a key line in that song, that as a parent sticks with me in a way it didn’t when I was younger— “I’m bored to pieces.”

As much as school-age children talk about looking forward to summer break (and the vast majority of them genuinely do), once it comes many do become “bored to pieces.” After being in a structured environment five days a week for nine months of the year, suddenly they’re at home with hours of free time.

The first week is likely a blast. Video games, YouTube marathons, sleeping in…you name it. But then what? We try to keep our kids active in the Vogler household. As frequent readers already know, Kingston (my son) and Ava (my daughter) are involved in multiple sports, dance classes, and other activities. Some of that does carry over into summer break.

We also try to get them involved in different camps during the break, like the Camp Invention Kingston is doing or the Kindermusik classes Ava does. There are other things we can do to keep our kids active. Something as simple as walks along the Riverwalk trail, where they try to point out how many different animals they can find during the walk, can keep them engaged during the summer break. The Danville Public Library also has a really cool summer reading challenge.

My point is: summer break is fun. It should be a time for relaxation and a recharging of the batteries. But let’s stay active and not be “bored to pieces.”