Edmonds Kind of Play: Activities for your summer bucket list

summer readingNow is a great time to get a head start on summer. For some it means starting work on your summer bucket list, a list of fun activities meant to all be done by summer’s end. For others, it’s booking a campground or planning a road trip. When I was younger, that may have meant buying a bathing suit and laying out in my backyard or just getting my friend’s phone numbers in my yearbook to meet at the mall or the movies. Now that I have kids, “getting a head start on summer” means first signing up for camp and then getting all the info on a summer reading program.

I wish I was more of a summer-bucket-list Mom but I can’t handle that kinda pressure. I picked up all the info on the program at the Edmonds Library, 650 Main St., and I am going to pass it onto you! I also have the info on the latest Kidz Love Soccer and a link to info on all the FREE events through Edmonds Parks and Recreation.

First, I wanted to share information sent home from school explaining how to get free summer meals for kids in need. There is a Summer Meals Program that provides “free meals and snacks” to kids during the summer months. For more information on all the resources available, call 888-4-FOOD-WA (888-436-6392) or find information online at www.ParentHelp123.org.

Now, the Explore Summer program through The Edmonds Library is much more than just a summer reading program. In order to get the prizes, a free book and a chance at a free bike, you have to do more than pick up a book. Kids read 10 books or 1,000 pages, but must also finish and log two learning activities and two discovery activities before entering to win. If you read an additional 10 books or 1,000 pages, you get another crack at winning the bike. Information on The Explore Summer program can be found at the Edmonds Library. There is a little table on the way to the children’s book section with the reading logs and a schedule of fun summer events that I will also keep you updated on. You can also visit Sno-Isle.org/explore-summer to download the details.

A recurring fun event at The Edmonds Library is Reading with Rover. This Saturday at 11 a.m. readers of any age and level can practice reading with a furry friend as their audience. The program, meant to help little readers gain confidence, is a staple at our library and also counts as a “learning activity” for the Explore Summer program.

Edmonds Parks and Recreation has created a flier detailing fun, free, family events on tap for the summer HERE. There you can find all the info on Ranger-Naturalist led public beach walks, “family-friendly” concerts at Hazel Miller Plaza, Edmonds Outdoor Movie Nights, and the Moonlight Beach Adventure in August. No need to remember each event, as I will be bringing you all the info week by week!

Another round of Kidz Love Soccer starts up this Saturday at the Civic Center Playfield, 6th Avenue North. Kids ages 3 to 10 can find classes that are right for their age and ability and parents can find a pressure free soccer environment. This program has been great for our family and both boys have loved it. The next session runs from this Saturday, June 7 to Saturday, July 12 and you can sign up at reczone.org or by calling Edmonds Parks and Recreation at 425-771-0230.

I have seen friends on Facebook with kids graduating 8th grade, driving, and a few with posts about college (I can’t fully read those yet). While I understand that those are real things that happen to kids just like mine, I can’t imagine it. My youngest is about to “graduate” from preschool and it’s all I can do to not wear a veil full-time and live with crammed tissue up my sleeve. So while we prepare for summer, write thank you cards to teachers, and really march through the last few days of this school year, I want to take a second and acknowledge all the feelings we Moms, Dads and caretakers have associated with the kids moving onward and upward. I think it is totally normal to be sad, freaked out, or even just fine with it.

– By Jennifer Marx

Jen Marx

Jen Marx, an Edmonds Mom of two young boys, is a traffic reporter by dawn and writer and PBJ maker by day. She is always looking for a fun place to take the kids that makes them tired enough to go to bed on time. You can find her trying to make sense of begging kids to ” just eat the mac n cheese” at SnackMomSyndrome.com. If you have a kid-friendly event you’d like to share, email her at play@myedmondsnews.com.

 

 

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