Last week, I worked for an hour here and there at the Panera at Barracks Road. The boy is taking behind the wheel at the school and while he drives, I fire up the laptop and take advantage of free wifi while sipping a latte.

Enjoying this rare opportunity to be out in public during the day, I’ve enjoyed observing the summer nannies, strolling with their charges, armed with giant bags of Cheez-its and juice boxes. Moms are there, too, buying bagels with their babies and squeezing in a bit of shopping before tackling the long afternoons.

I’ve talked with co-workers about their summer game plans for school-aged kids. One friend has hired a summer nanny to cart around her four kids, planning activities and outings so that the TV and the swimming pool aren’t the summer’s sole entertainments. Another is leaning on grandmas to pinch hit through the summer days when she works. She manages to work from home on swim meet days, so she can steal away and catch some of the action. We, as a group, enjoy “summer Fridays” once a month during June, July and August, closing down the office at noon by fitting in extra hours the first four days of the week.

The boy is taking advantage of his last summer as a slacker. He’s sixteen and does not yet have his license (as noted above). Next summer, I imagine he’ll be working and hopefully saving for some wheels of his own. He sleeps as late as he can, eats often and watches as much TV as he can stand. The latest occupation of driving class has cut into his slacker time and this week, he will start weekly music lessons.

The girl needed daily structure and a place to go. We enrolled her for eight weeks at a day camp that, it turns out, she loves. They swim daily, have special activities that the children choose (she’s focusing on Art and Drama for a few weeks; Sports and Games for a few more). She rides the bus from the mall and from 8am until 5:30pm is occupied and happy. It’s a relief for us all.

This is the girl’s first ten-week summer. We came from the Francis Howell School district in St. Charles, Missouri where we enjoyed year-round school through the elementary years. This means the kids go for six weeks then have three weeks off, all year ’round; they had a six week break for summer, usually part of May and June. This school year, due to the move, the poor kid went to school from July through the early part of June. She needed a big break. Since she was enrolled in the vacation program, she would also spend her breaks at the school — including summer, where they had a variety of activities, but no pool and certainly no camp.

We’re pretty happy that she’s enjoying a whole new kind of summer and the camp has really come through with all the organization and fun we desired.

What are you doing with your kids this summer?

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