Looking for Help or Humor: Find Balance B/n Boredom and Planned Kid Activities

Mine have been driving me batty most of the summer. Like I posted a few minutes ago, I am doing the freaking HAPPY DANCE that school starts in a few days.

My older kids (10 & 6) took four weeks of swim lessons, and the 6 year old did Lego camp. Other than that, we've gone on a few outings, one family vacation, and a few days at the pool. We can't afford to do tons of camps and outings. Any day that we haven't had plans, has been long and frustrating. You can't send kids out to play anymore for fear of pedophiles, so it's been boredom city!

Oh thank God school is starting soon!!!!!!!!!!!

no, my favorite is while doing something (at the beach, pool, playmate, library, shopping, lunch etc) my kids ask: what are doing next? i usually say, well i am going to cry if you don't stop asking that, how about you?
i try not to schedule anything during summer. the only camp they go to is the first week after school is out they go to a church camp from 9 to 12 but that is only to easy me into summer. then we take lots of trips, planned and unplanned. i don't register them for classes or anything of the sort. i am more of let's roll last minute person. and they like it that way.
they are not driving me mad so to speak, but i am ready to see the teachers and hand them over because i am exhausted.

My pet peeve is when my kids expect me to plan entertainment for them. I have BANNED their annoying question, "What are we going to do today?" Because it really means, "What are YOU going to do to entertain ME today?" I think they should be able to entertain themselves a large portion of the summer, but my oldest struggles with school friend drama and is just wanting to take a break from contacting everyone but her one best neighbor friend. And my youngest is more of a natural homebody. I have vowed that next year, they are going to do more camps and structured activities, and I am NOT buying a pool season pass because they aren't taking advantage of it. In the past few years, it's been even tougher because if I DO suggest taking them someplace, they never both have interest in the same place.

We have year-round school in our district, but my kids are on the track where they have mid-June to mid-August off, so they kind of have a summer vacation like normal schools. Anyway, I learned during their off-track month of March (when there is NOTHING kids can do - too cold to swim, no activities to be had during the day), that I was going to go completely insane unless I planned tons of stuff for them to do all summer. So I did what I do best... scheduled the heck out of them!

So... 9 weeks of summer vacation:
Weeks 1 & 2: Summer Ballet Workshop (8am - 3:30pm M-F)
Week 3: Camping with grandma and grandpa
Week 4: Kid #1 left for sleep-away camp, Kid #2 went to visit grandparents 2 states away
Weeks 5 & 6: Kid #1 still at sleep-away camp, Kid #2 in kids' ballet camp (9am-noon M-F - and yes, she was BORED all afternoon!)
Weeks 7 & 8: Both kids at Musical Theater Intensive camp (8am - 5pm M-Sat!! woohoo!)
Week 9: They are sitting at home, bored. LOL I'm making them fold laundry and wash windows. They think I'm Cruella DeVille.

Thank god school is starting on Monday!!

I guess it all depends on their ages....
I have a 5 1/2 yo and a 21 month old. Structure helps, but fighting over toys and screaming/arguing over the same toy, i think, is unaviodable. I try to take them to the park and library at least one a week in AM, or to store/grocery shop. PM is for 1-2 hours quiet time/nap time followed by snack, possibly another trip somewhere....
On days we cant go out, they have TV, toys, WII, art, books. It is summer time in FL, and were it not for the heat, they would be out, in the backyard, more often.... its important for them to have a physical outlet and exert all that energy!

Well, how old are they R.?

I have a mercurial little guy who sometimes really needs a lot of company, so I've found that having some routines really helps. Especially in the afternoons- we usually play together for a while, sometimes a video or some games or I join him in imaginative play, then he has a snack around 2:45 or so and I read to him, and then there's a Quiet Play time everyday, for at least forty-five minutes.

I would also set out invitations to play: some playdough on the table; some art supplies and paper, glue sticks/scissors; a fun area for water play outside.... or helping with dinner. I tend to do less outings with the heat, but we are having a lot of fun with a walk in the mornings when it's cool.