Staying Sane in Summer: Children's Activities in Fenton Area

Children have been out of school for a month.

Their elation may have started to fade into bickering with siblings or choruses of “I'm bored."  

What's a parent to do with almost two months left of summer vacation?

Library activities

If you're looking for some free events, start with your local libraries.

The Jack R. Winegarden Library in Fenton offers Drop-In Craft Day at 10:30 a.m. every Friday in July.

The Fenton library also offers:

• Young Entomologists, 11 a.m. Wednesday. Learn about insects, spiders, scorpions, millipedes and more.
• Furred and Feathered, 4 p.m. Monday. Check out a variety of birds of prey and mammals in Michigan and the habitats in which they are found.

Holly Township Library has programs on Thursdays in July featuring a different theme each week:

• Young Entomologists, 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
• The Storytellers, featuring music and stories from around the world, 2 p.m. July 21.
• Dave Herzog's Marionettes, 2 p.m. July 28.

Let the children explore their creativity or learn something fun while you delve into a book that you haven't had time to get to at home ... and enjoy the air conditioning!

Summer camps

Summer wouldn't be summer without summer camp, and Fenton has plenty to offer.

World of Wonder is running a Summer Camp Inquiry from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. daily at the Ellen Street Campus of Andrew G. Schmidt Middle School through Aug. 19. There will be a different theme each week for children age 4 to 12 to explore, such as The World's a Stage, Auto World and Arts of the World. Call 591-8349 for information and registration.

For some local family bonding, Camp Copeneconic offers a Good Old Summertime Family Camp weekend Aug. 12-14. Everyone in the family should find something to enjoy with a water slide, fishing, zip lines and horseback riding being just some of the things offered.

To view a full list of

Church programs

Several churches are offering summer programs for children, too.

Fenton United Methodist Church has a children's music camp from Monday-July 22. The fee costs $25-50, depending on the age group, and includes lunch and snacks.
 St. John the Evangelist Parish and Tyrone Covenant Presbyterian Church have vacation Bible schools as well.

Keep them moving

If a physical outlet is what your children need, try Ethos Yoga in Holly. It offers an upbeat Kids' Yoga class from 4:15-5 p.m. every Thursday. Drop your children off and spend some time checking out the antique stores nearby. Cost is $5 a class.

Or join from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. weekdays at . Cost is $50 for the week or $10 per class.

If you're tired of children making a mess in your house, then join Mess Makers program, which includes finger painting, gooze goop and other sloppy activities. The program runs from 11 a.m.-noon Tuesdays from Aug. 3-24 at . Cost is $39 for residents and $51 for nonresidents.

View the attached file for more information or for more Southern Lakes Parks & Recreation programs.

Activities at home

If you can't make any of these events, you can always try staying home.

Send the children off in search of wild berries, if you happen to live near a wooded area, or have them build a fort out of fallen or dead branches in the yard.

If you have a big group, divide them into teams to create scavenger hunt lists for each other. Or put them to work in the garden, pulling weeds or watering. You may find the boredom magically disappears.

Little ones might enjoy the well-known and loved mud-pie making or creating a table full of dandelion “cakes,” stick “sandwiches” and leaf “salad.” They can even come up with a menu for their “restaurant.”

For other nature-inspired (and mostly free) project ideas, check out a book from the library such as Nature Smart: Awesome Projects to Make with Mother Nature's Help.

And most of all, hang in there. September will be here before you know it.

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