Summer Cabin Fever

Go out early for play time. Come in for lunch. Go back out in the sprinkler, wading pool, anything wet to cool you off. Then come back in for some quiet play time...puzzles, books, movie. Let them play on their own for a bit before dinner. Go back out in the evening.

In addition to Sara's great answers:

- Go the pet store. Give them an assignment (depend on their age) to count how many tanks there are or how many kinds of fish they sell. Enjoy watching the birds/cats/mice.

- Go pet the animals at the animal shelter. You get out of the house, it's free, and the animals get 1/2 an hour of children's giggles.

- Make your own play-dough!

- Buy clay and paints. Have them make something one day, bake it, the next day they can paint it ....

- Have a 'letter of the day' theme. Foods and activities can revolve around that letter (or word, or color maybe?)

- again, depend on their age, research a new recipe and have the kids figure out what you need at the store and have them help make it.

- get some new books at the library and tell them that they need to take 1/2 an hour of time to themselves. Mommy needs HER half hour to herself.

we love the sprinkler. if you go out before lunch, it's usually not too unbearable for the mom, although I get in the sprinkler too! :-)

We've also gotten into puzzles lately.

And storytime at the library is a great way to break up the week if your library offers it.

do you have a basement? when mine where little, the baby is now almost 8, well until number 4 arrives in december, lol. we did all sorts of crazy outdoor things in our unfinished basement. Sand boxes, water tables, sidewalk chalk, their little bikes even wiffle ball. first and foremost it was cooler down there, and concrete cleans up pretty easily.
the bathtub also makes a great swimming pool, put on the suits, get some washable paint, and let them have fun.
Even my big kids are bored, and being very pregnant the heat is killing me. We do a lot of arts and crafts, swim, set up the sprinkler or out homemade slip and slide, we've made playdoh and flubber and finger paints.....
If you can get out of the house most malls have a play area, or you can be completely annoying and take them to like walmart and let them try on hats and sunglasses and be silly, or even goodwill. take a scenic drive with some favorite music and sing along, go shopping and buy a bunch of cold picnic food and have an indoor picnic.....
hopefully, the weather cools soon. good luck!

make homemade playdough you can even flavor it with koolaid so it smells good. Have them help you make a couple of batches and pull out all your cookie cutters and rolling pins and go to town. i don't have the recipe handy but you can google it

Our actual temp today was 105...I think I heard that the heat index was 112...so we know all about hot. Some things we do to beat the heat and save our sanity - water play...sprinkler, pool, water balloons, splash parks...anything wet!!! Don't forget the sunscreen.

Play early. It's still hot, but not unbearable. We went to the park the other day at 8 a.m. so they could play and run around.

A few of the malls around here have indoor playgrounds...yay. But we have been know to go walking around malls with no play ground, just to get out of the house. :)

Do a search for indoor playgrounds in your area. I was quite surprised to find so many in our area...a lot of them are sponsored by churches and they are usually a dollar per kid or free.

I keep an eye on chuck e cheese coupons. Sometimes they have fantastic deals. And although it's definitely NOT my fave, sometime you do what you gotta do. :)

Pet store can be air conditioned fun. MY kids love to look at the animals. We also visit some of the sporting goods stores (cabelas and bass pro) to watch the fish and look around.

Play dates. I have a few friends and we trade hosting. Sometimes playing with different kids can break up the monotony.

Story time...we have been known to visit multiple libraries during the week. Some libraries host a craft with the story and have a child play area.

Check out museums. We wound up buying a membership to our local science museum. It's very reasonable and we love that we can go for just a few hours and not feel like we have wasted anything. One of our art museums used to be free on Wednesdays. It was all modern art...so my little ones enjoyed some of that too.

Boxes have also saved me more than once...my kids will play in a large box for hours. Sometimes an old empty diaper box is all they need. :)
GL!
Stay cool!

get a slip n slide (without a board) if you have a yard. put it up a night before. so it's ready to go first thing after breakfast. put sunscreen in the kids, and you let them play in it for a few hours. water will keep them cool. then come home for lunch. put a movie on for 1.5 hrs. then let them play with their toys for a while. around 3-4 take them out again. my kids can do slip n slide for hours at a time if i allow them.
-barnes and noble has a kid play area, usually with a train table. you can easily spend a few hours there. read books to them, get coffee for yourself, and drinks for the kids. another day done.
-sprinkles are a good idea too.
i am so sad to see the summer gone. i can already tell by temps cooling down. this was the first summer i was able to take the kids out almost every day...beach, park, zoo, aquarium, playdates etc.
my husband works long hours too. he's home after 7, which is usually my kids bedtime so i don't get any help from him. but i have noticed the days when i want to take it slowly are the hardest days. but the days when we're up and running or doing stuff are the best days. by the time we come home from an outing, my kids want to lie down, read books, watch tv or just veg out. good luck

You don't say how old your kids are, or if they are going to school soon. But I can say.....I'm with you. It's HARD. The end of summer is always like this. It's hot and annoying.
I think the best gift we can give our kids is the ability to be bored. Don't even try to give them things to do. Get them to spend time by themselves (if they are old enough). And above all, hang in there.

I feel your pain.

We go out in the mornings right after breakfast, and then again after dinner if possible. We carry water to drink and try to play in the shade. If you can drive to a park with some good shade, it's worth it.

Try taking them to the pool or check to see if there is a "splash park" near you that you can go to. Or, if not, get out the hose and/or a sprinkler and get out there playing.

If you don't want that option, get 'em in the bathtub, and let 'em splash around in their bathing suits (we take pretty much everything out of the bathroom, and then just wipe down the walls/floors afterward if it gets too wet). If they are little (toddlers) you can make an indoor "sand table" with a sturdy cardboard box and some bags of rice -- put it in kitchen and have them help sweep up afterward.

Sprinkler in the yard!

check out your local library the ones around here have free day passes to museums that you can take out w/ your card. sunscreen your kids and get them out in a sprinkler. we go outside right after breakfast and right after dinner when its hot so that they at least get some fresh air. we go to story hour at the library our town's local beach/pond is right at the end of our road and it always feels cooler there so we go there quite a bit. My boys are 8 and 3 and when they get to the point of fighting I tell them find something you can play nicely or I will find something for you to do which is usually dusting, vacuuming, etc.

One of our malls has a play area for small children/toddlers. If there is one there you could all get out for a couple of yours.

Libraries with kids sections and story times are good for a change in scenery.

One of our theatres has a kids movie every day that is very inexpensive.

And a chain of restaurants also has a kids movie matinee during which you can eat pizza. Pay only for the pizza.

Also neighborhood parks run by the City Parks and Recreation with an air conditioned gym and pool. We have a couple of great ones that have indoor pools with slides, a whirlpool, water games, etc. They're nearly as good as the commercial water parks. Fees are minimal.

My kids are 3 toddlers, and they too fight and hit. It's been hot outside, as well. My husband gets home late. I cannot stand to stay home! So we go to park district programs, 1 to 3 a day. It is expensive, doing all that. But, it's not a lot compared to the peace of mind. We rush place to place but we are busy, at least. I think winter is worse, LOL! At least now we go in the pool.
The baby is up until 11pm, so it's a long day.

I hear ya! It hit 110 today where I live I cannot take my daughter out in that! Not to mention I am 7 mos pregnant I have to be very careful in the heat. *sigh* we do what we can though. My hubby has a schedule JUST like yours, I feel your pain, lol...I am interested in what others have to say. Hang in there!!