Ideas for Summer from Raising Arizona Kids Magazine Community

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That sigh of relief that follows the kids finally being out of schools and your schedule being just a bit less frantic, only seems to last a moment doesn’t it? All it takes is that one little phrase, “Mommy, I’m bored!” to turn your world back upside down.

Raising Arizona Kids magazine understands how tricky it is to keep kids entertained during triple degree heat, so we’ve collected a number of resources over the past, oh, twenty years of printing to help your summer run smoothly without breaking the bank.

Kids love playing with food as much as they enjoy eating it. Therefore, having your children participate in making a meal can be easy and fun activity. Here are some summer snack ideas to get you started. My favorite is the ‘Disturbing Stuffed Apple’, filled with peanut butter!

Harkins Theaters offers a unique season pass program for families each summer called ‘Harkins Summer Cinema’. For seven dollars, families can see 10 movies over the course of 10 weeks. Selections for this summer include Planet 51, Charlotte’s Web and Shrek the Third.

Summer gives your kids an opportunity to be creative with everyday items they would find around the house. Perhaps a rousing game of sock baseball? Or maybe start a publishing house out of your dining room? Here is a list of summer survival tips from moms and our writers.

Of course, activities can only go so far. Children need interaction with their peers to continue to build social skills and moms need a break from time to time to get work done. Arizona offers a plethora of camps and programs that get your child out of the house for with their peers for educational and fun group activities. Check out our list of Arizona day camps and summer classes, as well as a swim program resource guide.

There are also some fantastic programs over the summer for special needs children.

Lastly, don’t forget your local public library. In addition to the story times and young adult areas, most libraries have summer reading programs with incentives for kids to participate. The Phoenix Public Library has the ‘Read Your Way to the Ballpark’ summer reading series. Participants can receive Diamondbacks ticket vouchers.

The Scottsdale Public library system will be starting their ‘Scottsdale Reads!’ program on June 1st.

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Katie Charland is Community Relations Manager for Raising Arizona Kids.  She is heavily involved in the Phoenix nonprofit and creative communities. She volunteers at the Phoenix Art Museum, St. Mary’s Food Bank and Valley of the Sun United Way Project Homeless Connect.  She has contributed and volunteered at Ignite Phoenix and a regular attendee at Social Media Club Phoenix, IABC and the Geek Girls of the East Valley.  Katie is an honorary Scottsdale Mom;-)