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I'm planning to put her in summer programs. A different kind of each summer. I definitely want to do a Waldorf style one summer. It's not my style for day to day education but I think it will be great for a summer program.

Summer programs! The YMCA has a great one that includes outings like weekly trips to the library or museum. I also worked a summer program for the school district, we were open 6am-6pm and from 9am-3pm there was a structured curriculum. Once a week was field trip day, included in the cost of enrollment, and that included the beach, museums, zoo, etc. It was a great program!

I think having a babysitter is great - but you have to have a really great babysitter

My nephew (14 now) has always been in summer programs, usually run by the local parks and rec. same program that did his before and after school care when he got too old for daycare. They would go to the pool several times a week, do crafts, play basketball, go to the playground, etc. it was held in an elementary school most years.
When he got a little older my sister would sometimes do weeklong camps, $$ pending, also through parks and rec. his fave was adventure camp. Basically for a week they bused the kids to a river place to raft, kayak, zipline, etc.

I went to summer camp (day camp, not overnight) and I loved it!! My DH is a professor so he's off but I still want to send her to summer camp for part of it. I feel like she'll get bored at home every day.

I don't know how we will handle it yet. It may involve a career change for one of us.

If I am working when LO is in school, she will likely alternate weeks with her grandparents & summer camps/programs. Hopefully we can take at least 1 week off to spend at home together, and then another week or long weekend for a family vacation. Summer breaks are getting shorter & shorter anyway - with an 8 week break, we'd just need 2 weeks vacation, 2 different week long summer camps, and 2 weeks with each set of grandparents.

My mom was a SAHM and we were bums in the summer. We took trips & played outside but we also watched a LOT of TV. I hope to keep LO a bit more active! Even if I SAH, we will probably still do the above plan. I know my ILs will be anxious to have her as much as we will let them.

When I was young (up until 10th grade when I got too old for it) I went to day camps during summer and loved it!

Like others have said summer camps run through the Parks and Rec department are really popular in my area. I work at the public library and each camp has a set day/time they visit the library each week. The kids have like an hour of reading/finding books time and then can check out books before they leave if it is ok with the parents. I know the camps also have a day they go swimming at the pool. The library/pool/rec center are all near each other so the kids walk every where. They also go to the local parks daily. I think most of the summer camps are continuations of the various schools' after school programs. The people who work the camps are all college aged (or just graduated w/ degrees like teaching but have yet to find a FT teaching job).

@blackbird: if I could go back in time - I would have done more with my summers! there was this writing program in England I desperately wanted to apply to in HS and I wish I would have done it!

I want my LO(s) to have crazy fun summers even if I'm working.

Both my husband and I have work from home days... so we plan to coordinate it so every single day of the week is covered, so we can easily do pick ups and monitor them at home while we work. We also want to take a couple weeks off for vacation, and do some sort of summer camp or activity here or there.

From kindergarten until I was about 12, our former daycare offered a summer program for elementary added kids. I remember we did bowling once per week, swimming three times and movies at the movie theater on Fridays. I kind of have meh memories of it because none of my school friends went to the daycare program.

@mrs. pen, I know! i had no idea these existed. My mom used to take us to her high school and sit us in the corner to quietly wait out the day. TORTURE. I wonder if she didn't know or if she just didn't want to 'waste money'.

Our current DCP does summer day camp thru age 8 and after that we will do summer camps and maybe hire a college student to help out some too!