I’m a firm believer in beating the heat by refusing to participate in it. Sometimes, a little air conditioning goes a long way. I live in Maryland. From June to mid-September, it’s a semi-tropical swampland. There are bugs and mosquitoes, and most of all the wet blanket of heat that makes each dash to the minivan feel like a steam-bath.
So during what I think of as the “Carseat Buckle Burning Months”, my style is less a graceful coexistence with the heat and more of a starlet being chased by the paparazzi sprint away from it. Here’s a few of our top hits:
#1 Museums. Both the old school Smithsonian variety, and the newer “Please touch” kind that are so awesome for families with young children. But it can get pricey fast. Here’s my solution- The Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) Reciprocal Program provides free admission for a minimum of four (4) visitors from the same household to more than 165 ACM museums across the US. To join the ACM Reciprocal Program, visit the children's museum in your community and ask for a Family Membership with ACM Reciprocal Program privileges. Ours is Port Discovery in Baltimore, which never gets old- and when we hit New York or Philly, we have great free options because of our membership.
#2 Movies. Sometimes a dark, cool movie theater is second only to a glacial cave for beating that afternoon swelter. Take advantage of the matinee prices, and throw in some Sno-Caps with your little ones. (Not that I would EVER waste chocolate by throwing it.)
#3 Camp inside. We set up our little Ikea tent, roast marshmallows on the stove, and enjoy the breeze from our retro metal fans, stirring the air conditioning around. That’s how I like my nature. (KIDDING…mostly.)
#4 Put a kiddie pool in the shade and fill it up with thirty pounds of ice from the grocery store and hose water. Plop yourself in the middle and tell your children that you’re the Queen of Sheba and demand to be fed peeled grapes. WELL worth the ten bucks for ice.
#5 Take a nap under a cool, white sheet. Need I say more?
So remember my motto- Enjoying summer doesn’t mean you have to actually go out in it!
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