Summertime for Kids in Pinole

Are parents out there starting to hear, "I'm bored" from their kids just three weeks into the summer break? So far, we haven't yet heard those obnoxious words uttered in our household from my two daughters, ages 9 and 11.

Keeping screen time down has been a bit of a challenge in our home. I remind my girls that in our free moments at home now is the time to pull out books, craft projects and board games that have been cast aside from the previous demands of homework. Playing with the Lego sets, Barbie's and the like that have been tucked away has been bliss for the girls. Consequently our home looks very interesting with a Lego constructions built across any free surface space in the house.

While indoor activities are abundant, being outdoors is far more enticing if it's not too hot. For around home, making homemade snow cones, forts and climbing trees have been the highlight. My kids will not be casualties of the newly discovered nature deficit disorder, a condition among children whose lives are spent mainly indoors and leading to Attention Deficit Disorder, obesity and other obvious affflictions.

In the neighborhood, the has been so appreciated. Without it there would be a lot of bored, hot kids and daycare providers left with challenges for local activities. The ball fields at have been coming alive on the weeknights and Saturdays with a place for families to attend the softball and baseball games of Pinole Hercules Little League. Parents watch the games more than the kids, who rides bikes and just hang out.   

For recreation programs around Pinole kids can be registered in the Pinole Young Actors program, where they will be putting on the Little Mermaid Junior or for those 15 and older there is a drop-in up at the gym on Mann Drive for a couple of dollars. Nearby, the Hercules Recreation Center offers a variety of classes worth checking out.  I am always looking for new ideas.

I asked my nephew, who will be a teenager this summer, what he liked to do around Pinole. His response was that it was pretty boring. This seems like a typical answer for a kid that age. We then went on an excursion behind Pinole Valley Park to find the 'secret' place that BMX riders go and use a small dirt track with jumps. We never found the location because the walking trail we were on narrowed and the poison oak was coming closer. So, for now, my nephew will continue his occasional afternoons at Pinole Lanes with his friends and maybe a trip or two to the batting cages at .

Outings to make kids happy don't have to be big or costly this summer. Something I am looking forward to will be recreating a luau up in the Pinole Valley Park Picnic Grove, up behind the dog park area. It can be as simple and spontaneous as calling a few friends, buying some Hawaiian decorations from the local dollar stores, and ordering up some ham and pineapple pizza from to be delivered. Sometimes kids are happy with minimal effort from parents.

What are your plans for your kids during the summer in Pinole?