Summer has started.

And your weekly schedule is already overflowing.  The kitchen counters are a tidal wave of camp sheets that need to be signed off, survival books to be ordered, hiking supplies to find, mosquito repellant to purchase…plus playdates, carpooling, weekly events. Do they need new socks? New shoes? Did they outgrow their pants already? Can they just live in their swimsuit?  Have they lost their shoes already?

Have you lost your mind already??

Sometimes you can actually make eye contact with the young child in your car, and all you can think is: life is way too busy. This isn’t what I intended our day to look like. This isn’t what we intended our family evenings to look like.

Being a parent in our modern world has as many challenges as being a kid in our modern world.  But parents have the opportunity to balance the heavy hectic schedule with the happy: rather than cutting everything out with a hatchet, use a scalpel instead.  The best thing you can do is to teach your kids how to balance work and life, without having to compromise family for ambitions.

Carve out time for your family to connect in little ways, and big ways.

1. Family Party Games for Family Game Night

http://www.simply-fun-games.com/family-party-games.html

I have never been a huge “party person,” so the concept of me coming up with party plans all on my own….is ridiculous. I need some ideas other than musical chairs, or karaoke (not always as fun as it would seem…if no one wants to sing).  This site has fun activities planned out for a bunch of occasions, such as swimming pool games, which could be fun to do together if you have a pool,  or Family Game Night, which can be loads of fun without a pool!

2. Day-to-Day Bonding Ideas

http://www.tipsonlifeandlove.com/parenting/7-great-family-bonding-activities

Tips on Life and Love has a practical and pragmatic view of bonding: they are focusing on daily life. But how do you make breakfast a meaningful time to bond with your family, when the coffee isn’t brewing fast enough, half the people actually awake are still in the bathroom, and the other half are trying to find the 3 year old’s other shoe before PreSchool?  (ProTip: it’s in the car)  Sometimes you need a big vacation to get away together; but most of the time you just need someone to be there for you, every day.  Make those every day moments just as special.

3. Make The Most With The Schedule You Got

http://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/family/parenting/bonding/10-family-bonding-activities.htm

Need some good ideas, but not the time to sort through an entire blog’s worth of information? These guys have a very easy slideshow list to pick through, and can make unorganized spontaneous nights a little more organized, and enjoyable!

4. Good Ideas From Great Parents

http://afineparent.com/close-knit-family/family-bonding-activities.html

A Fine Parent has made not only a good list of ideas for what to do with your family, but practical tips and links to help you pull it off with ease.  Nothing makes a situation harder than not being prepared: so be prepared!  Find out what vacation spots have swimming holes nearby, and get your Huck Finn on with your kids!  Interested in baking with the kids, but not sure where to start! They have that too.  Want to build a family garden, but the green thumb ended with your great Aunt Martha? They have that covered, in full.  You have years of ideas at your fingertips on this site.

5. The Huge List of Family Bonding Activities

http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/family-bonding-activities.html

This page is awash with ideas on what you can do with your family.  From time-intensive ideas, like  starting movie marathons together, to smaller commitments like walking the dog together, this is a great resource to get your relationship time to really matter.  It has ideas like feeding the homeless together, to building an indoor fort…to juggling.  You will definitely find something on here to make a meaningful time more fun!