Parents struggle to plan kids’ summer schedules

Blank calendar pages litter the kitchen table next to a notepad filled with dates and figures, some crossed out several times.

Teetering in the middle is a stack of brochures, each one with kids smiling, laughing - looking like they're having the time of their lives - on the cover.

So why are Mom and Dad so miserable?

Today's calendar might say April, but most parents already are focused on June, July and August - otherwise known as summer vacation. In less than two months, schools will dismiss, leaving parents scrambling to find activities that will keep their children occupied.

And no, video games don't count.

Brochures for summer activities, from sleep away camps to day programs, arrived in mailboxes weeks ago. Fliers promoting new summer activities hang in schools and community centers. The possibilities - and decisions - are endless.

That's the problem, says North Liberty mom Stephanie Fleckenstein. She knows the frustration of mapping out a child's summer. For Fleckenstein, it's just double the trouble.

She has to find activities that appeal to both of her 9-year-old twins, Grace and Nick.

They'll spend part of their vacation at the summer program at Van Allen and Buford Garner elementary schools in North Liberty.

Luckily, both schools are “just a mile from my house,” Fleckenstein says.

The kids also will attend the University of Iowa Wildlife Camps.

“I like those because I get to go swimming at Lake Macbride and catch frogs and turtles,” Nick says.

Juggling two kids and two sets of interests, Fleckenstein limited her kids' choices to the three programs. Any more than that, she says, would be too much. Once, they decided where, they had to decide how.

It's the coordination of programs that poses the biggest challenge of summer vacation, says Sandi Straetker of Coralville.

The mother of two - Matt, 12, and Jillian, 9 - strives to find activities that interest her children and operate on similar schedules so she doesn't spend her summer in her car.

“You have to be a ninja and find all of these things,” Straetker says. “I'm fortunate because I work out of my home, but I still have meetings and work I need to get done.”

Straetker researched what appealed to her kids' interests before having Matt and Jillian weigh in on the options.

Working with a blank calendar, the family first scheduled programs only available a certain week, then considered other possibilities. There were instances where the kids had to make a choice between programs, but Straetker sees the planning process as a learning opportunity.

“It teaches them they have to be picky,” she says.

The cost, just as much as scheduling, can pose a problem as well. Some parents save a little all year to offset the price. Others, like Jenny Gibson of Cedar Rapids, “just bite the bullet.”

Gibson says she feels fortunate that she didn't have to wade her way through piles of information. Her son, 11-year-old, Dylan, has had his summer plans in place for weeks.

He will go to Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca in Solon for one week - as he does every year - and attend the video game design camp at K.I.C.K. (Kirkwood's Interactive Camps for Kids). Gibson's 5-year-old daughter, Rilee, will spend part of her summer at Summit Schools' summer day camps.

“There's something out there for everyone,” says Gibson. “You just have to look for it.”

While some parents face overwhelming enthusiasm for every summer camp under the sun, others battle apathy.

Mackenzie Hootman of Cedar Rapids doesn't have to deal with the summer planning schedule yet - her children Macale and Bryer are 3 and 1 - but she is already thinking about it. She's hoping her tactics when he's a toddler translate well in the future.

“I present two choices I'm OK with and give Macale the option of choosing,” she says. “If he doesn't, I either choose for him or he goes without.”

It's a technique she uses for everything, from getting dressed in the morning to choosing a snack. She's also using it as Macale chooses between soccer and blast ball for a summer activity, although Hootman says the registration deadline could ultimately force the decision.

“I think if parents present all the information, make sure their children are aware of their choices and what the expectations will be of each program, it will be easier for everyone,” Hootman says.

If not, take heart. The fall activity schedules will be in the mail soon.