"Summer Vacation with Kids" - Contest for July 2009

Thanks for your acknowledgement and appreciation

Summer vacation when I think of it first, always brings back memories of our holidays as kids - the long days, eating of mangoes, visiting some cousins or grandparents place, playing jump rope till you beat your own record etc. Fortunately for us growing up mom stayed home and it never was a question as to what we would do then.

Being a stay at home mom myself again, I have always endeavored to give my kids time and to teach them it is ok to have free time and that they should learn to just be and enjoy it. So now, summer vacations have really come to mean really long summer days with the sun setting close to 9.30pm and many hours to explore, to enjoy and to have fun. Kids are always thrilled to sleep in late and to wake up later, more so after a bad winter and a hectic school year.

Usually our days are filled with activities like taking care of the vegetable patch, flower beds, rearing caterpillars to see them transform into butterflies, playing in the yard, be it with a ball or a water balloon, enjoying the beauty and serenity around us. Come afternoon, play some games or go to the library, read a book, do some puzzles, take naps, lounge around and wait for it to cool down so that we are ready for evenings which are the most exciting parts of our summer days. Evening is the time to meet up with friends, play some water games, ride the bike, take really long walks and wait for the ice cream truck to come by and finally to eat dinner outdoors. Then, it is time to wait for the fire flies - watch them dance with the flickerings of the light, then jump up and down to catch them and once they are in your hands, keep them the night in a bug catcher and relaese them the next morning - this activity of ours is the favorite of kids and we try and do it on as many days as possible and on a nice, clear day, we sleep outdoors watching the stars.

Ofcourse while this happens most of the days, some days also involve a little travel to visit out of town friends or to see a new place, a visit to the zoo or a museum, attend a small cummer camp, watch a movie, have play dates and all the fun things. Some summers, if we are lucky we travel to India, and some vacations have also involved a visit from cousins, which again becomes a whole different summer vacations and additional bonus to all the fun we have.

Let me pen down my memories of last summer vacations with My Nephew (8 years old).

Every year, my nephew used to spend his summer vacations with us in Chennai. He loves to be here in the hot summer. My twin sister and I enjoy lot of indoor games with him every year. We too prefer only indoor games in the summer. Each day there will be some variations in the pack of indoor games. And the pack includes snakes and ladders, business, chess and all silly games likes finding the thief, bingo, and tic-tac-toe too. And I never allow him to play computer games or any such stuff. In the evening we’ll take him to the swimming class. He is a good swimmer. We’ve one more Michael Phelps with us.

All these things happen every year as usual. So this year for a change we halted to my nephew’s place. We’ve never visited to his place since his birth as we were busy in our studies. So this time we had a nice chance to spend our summer vacations with him. So we had a huge plan this year. It was a ten days trip to Salem.

On May 1st, my mother, my twin sister and I headed to Salem. We left our dad at home to take care of my Jackie. I told to my brother not to tell about our arrival to my nephew. It should be a surprise for him. After one hour travel from Salem station, we reached his place. By the time the clock struck 8.30 am. My brother’s house is an independent house. A typical farmhouse with all facilities we had in Chennai. It’s quite difficult to find such a place in Chennai.

We found my nephew’s bedroom was empty. As my in-law was busy in talking to my mother we moved to the backyard. To my astonishment, I found my nephew planting a sapling (jasmine) with my brother. My nephew loves the jasmine fragrances. He was shocked to see us. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He came and hugged us. Once we finished with our breakfast, started to chit-chat. He showed some of his pencil drawings which I taught to him in his last summer vacations. The whole day ended well. And I went late to bed by 11pm. Next day morning, I was sleeping. I could hear someone waking me up. As I’m so tired, I couldn’t recognize my nephew’s voice. I thought it was a dream. My nephew knows very well that it’s very difficult to wake me up. He was practiced to wake up by 6 am at the age of 5. Finally he succeeded and I’m forced to wake up by 6.30 am. My brother had a big vegetable garden at the backyard. We can find all sorts of vegetables there. I’m really amazed to see his gardening works. He used to spend two hours every morning in his garden. And my nephew was his co-worker. In the evening my in-law will take care of it. They hardly go to the market to buy vegetables. And I had nice time with them. I learned some tactics in gardening and about organic manure from my brother. By 9’o clock he left to his office. He’s working as a project manager. Then my twin sister, my nephew and I started to play crystal maze game. It’s a puzzle; we’ve to reach the destination with small clues. It’s an interesting game. Once it was telecasted in Star TV. And we are glued to that game.

For the first 5 days, we spent our days in lot of outdoor games. As the climate was not so hot, we had nice chance to spend our times in outdoor games. I played cricket for the first time with my nephew’s friends. It was an unforgettable moment in my life. Badminton became our favorite outdoor games.

On 6th may, as we planned earlier we started to Munnar and we spent two days there. It’s nearly 162 km from Madurai. My brother already reserved in Tea County Luxury Hill resort for us. The resort is just 500m from the Munnar bus terminal. We booked in regular cottage. It was the first time we spent our summer vacations in a luxurious resort.

I can’t wait to check into the room. I am taken up by the property’s beautiful location and the neat lay-out. Everything looked spacious and green from the resort. And I am smitten by the view from this location at a height of 1600m.in the a1 suite. One side is a rose garden with 100 varieties of roses. At the back, a little sit-out overlooks the green valley dotted with acres of tea plantations. The front has a pebbled pathway with two small manicured lawns on either side. The lush greenery acts like a balm and the multi-cuisine restaurant serves tasty food, 3 times a day.

We all visited the tea factory, museum, Chinnacanal waterfalls. On 8th may, we went to Rajamalai national park and later in the evening we went for shopping. On 9th may we started early in the morning from Munnar to Salem. On 10th May, my mother, my twin sister and I reached Chennai.

It was a nice trip and an unforgettable summer vacation with my nephew in my life.

Summer Vacation with kids - The topic itself is quite interesting. My son is 5 yrs old studying in LKG. Since in KG he was given 3 months of holidays.We were totally tensed how to engage him for 3 whole months.My son is interested in dancing to cine songs and thought of enrolling him in a summer class. Luckily we found one and made him join in Dancing , keyboard and drawing classes. He came out well in his talents and we were so happy to make him join in a regular keyboard class.As a gift for his talent we took him to Black Thunder Theme Park and a trip to Mangalore and Coorg.

Mangalore the word itself is so mesmersing. We went to temples and beaches. We went to Horanadu ,Shringeri, Kollur, Dharmastala, Subramanya, Udipi.
We are fm Tamilnadu, we have nver seen such greenery as in Karnataka as any where else. I have to mention especially about the temples there. No Que for the Darshan,no entry tickets, Annadanam in all the temples equally served for the rich and poor.
You can pray God peacefully there which I have never done in my life so far. It is must place of visit for everyone.
From there We went to Coorg rich in Coffee plantations, to Talacauvery, and then to Bylekuppe which is a Tibetian place.
We enjoyed every bit of our stay and a never forgetting experience.

Usha

Hi friends,
I am ganapriya.nice to meet you again in this new thread. As palle had told, i too dont have kids of my own.
But , as you had told, i enjoyed this summer vacation with
my nephews who are aged 7 and 4 respectively.
I am residing in Dindigul, Tamil nadu. our place is near
to Palani,Kodaikanal,Madurai . All these places are worth
sight seeing places. They had been here on 10 days' leave.
We started the vacation spiritually, of course. We made
a visit to Palani and worshipped the powerful deity Lord
Muruga.The kids enjoyed their riding in winch up the hill.
We also visited palamudhircholai which is not very far from
there. We prayed for world peace and happiness in addition
to our own prayers. We got panchamirtham and other
prasadhams and made the children distribute the prasadhams to the poor children begging around for alms.
The next day, we went for a picnic to kumbakarai, a
waterfalls near PERIYAKULAM. We had a nice bath there,in
the falls and enjoyed the greenery over there.
The next day we went to Madurai.We went to the famous
Meenakshi Temple which is as beautiful as ever,this time
with added beauty due to recent kumbabishekam. The kids
were amazed to run and play in the vast area and were
surprised to know that is was built centuries ago. We also
went to the naicker mahal (you could remember seeing it
in the movie BOMBAY manisha koirala in the song kannalane).
For the next 2 days, we had been to KODAIKANAL which
is filled with natural beauty inch by inch with colourful
flowers,chill climate and greenery all around. There are no
words to express the beauty of kodaikanal. You feel it newer and younger , every time you visit there. There are
lots of places to visit over there like bryant's park,golf club,
berijam,thoppi thookum parai,silver cascade,boating,cycling,horse riding,suicide point,pillar rocks,etc. The Guna Spot ( kamalhasan sings kanmani song
in the film GUNA) has become very famous spot and called
by this name ever since the movie has been shooted there.
it is very adventurous and of course a little bit risky for
kids and oldies to go to this place.
The next day , we visited the places in dindigul like the
famous abirami temple,malai kottai mariamman temple and
the fort where tipu sultan had been hiding with his troup of
warriors.
To highlight with all,we had taken the children to an
orphanage called AMMA ILLAM in our place,where the
mentally retarded and orphan children are being taken care
of. We sponsored lunch for the children of the Illam for one
day, gave them small presents like toys,balls etc. We explained our kids about the children,to develop for others,
to share with fellow human beings and also to love and
respect their parents,kith and kin .
This seems to have made a drastic change in the minds
of my nephews. Previously, they had been quarelling with
one another for silly reasons. Now,they love and share with
affection and they have also begun to learn the value of
family and respect their parents and other elders.
I really felt immense pleasure during this summer
vacation,than ever in my life.
Thanks for this oppurtunity given by indus ladies to
share my thoughts with you.

Fondly,
ganapriya.

Hello Sathya, Srama, Shel, Ushavenky and Ganapriya,

Thanks for your entries to the contest.

Dear ILites,
Rush up with your entries before the contest closes on July 25th. Children and vacation are the two most relaxing and soothing aspects of life. Am sure you all must be having loads of memories to share with your friends here.

Go ahead participate and win Special gifts to be cherished for lifetime.

Hi ILties,

Being with kids is always a fun. That too for a summer vacation is a all the more fun.

We enjoyed a lot in our childhood days which I can share verbally with my kids. I shared one of the incident in my blog section - Oh my father!! Oh my chocolates.

Now I am going to share another superb incident in our summer vacation time again in our Ooty trip.

My hubby booked the package trip with a travel agent and the agent raised our imagination that there will be bath tub, roof garden restarunt etc. WIth a lot of imagination we landed in OOty. But the room we assigned was nothing but a common verandah. No bath tub and not even a dust bin there. But, as we went in a big group, we managed.

But the problem raised with the toilet facilities. It was a western toilet, and my kids were never used to that.

My elder one managed and my little boy keerthi feared to sit on the western toilet even to pass urine. So when we went out we finished all his work on the road itself.

We stayed for 5 days there and all the five days he never went for toilet. His intake became poor and we educated him - nothing wrong in using the western toilet. But he feared that he will fell into the hole.

Its a last day. Keerthi's stomach looked like a full pot. My hubby went to clear the hotel and restaurant bill and i was engaged in packing things. A sudden cry from my daughter - "Amma come here, see what keerthi has done"

I rushed to the hall and my little boy who could not control his urgent call, just filled the whole hall with his ........ it is not over, he went to other rooms and within no time the bathroom is also filled.

Oh god!! what to do!! I just splashed some water, but in waste. That time, the hotel authorities came to our room to get the room keys and just saw the mess we have created. They charged Rs.1000/- to clear the room and the toilet.

The wonder is - one servant exclaimed that how such a mess in all the rooms -- is it by this small lean boy?

After that, my only worry is whether the hotel we are booking has a indian toilet?


My boy will be upset that I shared this incident with you. But it is all for fun and to take care about our kids convenience also while going out.

Bye...


andal

Hi Friends ,

Today, I remember those days, while I am writing this post about my best time I spend with my little nephews. I have never differentiated them and always called them my kids.

It was great fun spending time with little kids, Adi & Raj. Both are very naughty. Though we donot stay together but last year we decided to spend some time with them during their summer vacation. So we called them all here in Delhi and decided to spend some time in Manali.

My nephews, husband & I, along with our in-laws planned for a trip. As the distance is not much. It is around 570km from New Delhi. We planned to go by Volvo which is easily available here. After a long and tiring journey in a Volvo from Delhi, it was a heavenly experience to reach Manali.

Truly one of the best hill stations I have been to. I have heard that Manali provides activities for all, ranging from skiing, river crossing and rafting to a bath in hot springs in Manikaran, many temples for religious minded, and a relaxing atmosphere for people not looking for any activity. Lots of preserved forest gardens in walking range to sit and relax. But this was what we were experiencing.


Manali , as we know, is the northern-most town of Himanchal Pradesh's Kullu Valley situated on the national highway that leads to Leh, Manali is also the gateway to the remote and desolate valleys of Lahaul and Spiti. According to Hindu legend, it was named after the sage Manu after he steered a boat of survivors to safety here during a great flood.

This place was none other than heaven. We enjoyed a lot without thinking anything else. Out of worries, just had so much fun.

We were lucky enough to see all, even Rohtang pass also for some extent. Main attractions are Rohtang Pass and Solang Valley. Others are Hidimba Temple, Manu Temple, Vashishth hot-springs, King's Palace, Museum, Thousands years old Shiv Temple and Mall-Road.

Actually we were lucky to have had very good local driver who lives near by our house and took us to the small-small places which are not actually called attractions but really worth to see. We had so many shopping too and we did large bargain shopping from Mall-Road. They are very expensive. For, ex. for handgloves, he said Rs.470 first and finally gave me in Rs.100. Can you imagine? But it is true. I bought for all of us a gloves..

Well, we did many activities there along with River crossing and other river adventure activities. Kids were so excited and delighted. I was just feeling so thrilled and excited too. But our kids were showing so much excitement in each activities.

We went to the best places to hang out in the evening that is called Old Manali. It boasts a great collection of restaurants/bars and shops. It is also not crowded like the Mall Road, with the crowd consisting mostly of foreigners. We had great food and beverages there.

We really enjoyed a lot and will never forget those 3 days we spend together with lovely kids and then we decided that whenever we go to any tourist place we will plan to get together because together there is more fun than alone.

I hope you too have enjoyed my experience.

SUMMER VACATION WITH KIDS
“ SUMMER VACATION WITH KIDS”. The topic itself is very different , interesting and helps us to recollect those days which we spent with our kids two months before.
Actually how the summer vacation should be means – Our kids should never forget about those days and they should come to know how we Parents are lovable and caring towards them as they can’t understand that much our love during their school working days because they will be fully occupied with their homeworks in those days.
During summer vacation only, our kids both body and mind will be free. True to say IDEAL MIND IS DEVIL’S WORKSHOP”. So we should not let them free and at the same time we should not engage them with some boring works or some routine works. So only I decided that my kid should enjoy the summer vacation 100% and he should not forget about it in his days.
First I thought of taking him out after some five or six days from start of his vacation . Then only I thought that if we do like that he may get bored of his summer vacation itself. And there is chance of him to think bad about the vacation itself . So we took him to theme park on the first day itself. We went to LUMBINI PARK. He enjoyed sight seeing , playing in waters , swimming against the artificial waves , sliding in water , playing under fountain , bullock ride, boating etc, etc. At the same he enjoyed the food provided there. Not only he , we all in the family enjoyed a lot. And we returned home in evening and went to bed earlier itself and he took rest for a long time because of tiredness. Next day he woke up late only. I gave him a oil bath as he played in the water before the day. Then again for dinner we went out and he enjoyed all varieties of food with us.
One day we went to LALBAGH . We took with us Ball, Bat , Flying disc etc. We went there with the kids in our apartment . They all enjoyed playing in the shadows of the trees and green lawn.
I let him play with the kids in our apartment during evening hours. We parents also played together with them . They enjoyed it a lot. Not only they , we elders also enjoyed spending time with children. This is not possible during school working days because we will engaged in cooking food in time , doing household works in time etc, etc. Only during vacation we can do everything as per our wish.
Then we thought of joining him in swimming class as he likes to play well in water. If we send him for class from our residing place , he has to go alone to the class and he will get single joy only. So we went to our native place. There he likes my sister’s daughter and my brother- in-law’s son very much. Both of them are in same location only. So we let our kid to go for swimming class with his cousins. So his joy got tripled. And also he learnt swimming very well with much interest .
This is how we spent our summer vacation with our kid. Now his school has started and he is going for class . Then also he still remembers his summer vacation and talks about it daily. And we also spent our time with our kid .Truly in school days it is not possible because we will be caught up in our daily routine disciplinary life.
Regards,
K.Elza Christy

Hello Swathi14, Airakumar and Elzachristy,
Thanks for your entries.

Dear ILites,
The contest is closed and please stay tuned for the results from the Judges on the first week of August.

All the Best to all the Contestants.