I’ve had “Summertime” stuck in my head ever since school let out:

Summertime
and the livin’ is easy….

I’m going to go out a limb here and say that George Gershwin was not a work-at-home mom. Just a hunch I have.

For those of us working from home with school-aged children, summertime means the Big Scramble is on. All of that glorious, free childcare is gone until school starts up again. So what can we do? Well, we have a myriad of choices:

• Do nothing. Let the kids entertain themselves around the house while we try to work, driving us and them both insane, and trying to stretch ourselves even thinner than usual in order to make some “fun” for them during the summer even though work continues apace. This option may require heavy medication.
• Enroll the kids in full-time camp. If you’re like me, this is a more expensive option than you might be able to entertain. And if your kids are like mine, the novelty may wear off before the session ends, too.
• Hire a nanny or babysitter or mother’s helper (take your pick of terms) and hope it’s someone who can actually keep the kids busy and entertained and out of your hair.

Believe it or not, I’ve actually tried all three of these approaches. I still don’t know which one causes the least grief all around; all have their benefits and drawbacks. So far, I think I like the mother’s helper thing the best in terms of cost/benefit ratio… but the problem there is that I need to leave the house or the children always find me. (”I tried to tell them not to come in…” my valiant teenage helper would apologize.)

This year, my solution is to uproot my family and move a thousand miles to a place where school starts a full month earlier. As a bonus, we’re gaining a husband/stepdad who is a college professor (and therefore has the summer off). It’s a good plan for this year, but I dunno that I want to attempt to top it next year…. And truthfully, I am a bit apprehensive about getting settled in the new place and giving the kids the attention and support they need while attempting to keep up with work.

I might try to find the kids some sort of program where they can meet some kids before school starts, but where they won’t be away for the entire day… but I’m finding such things rather difficult to locate. I don’t know if it’s my new town or not (because I had the same problem in my old town). Somehow, I have to find a way to provide the kids with a bit of summer fun—which, in my book, by definition must include some lazy, carefree lounging and bug-hunting rather than being all going and doing—while still getting everything done.

Maybe we can just play Who Can Unpack The Most. That should keep them busy for the next month or so.