57°
MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- The end of summer camp signifies the start of the back-to-school season, but between now and the start of school, parents like Joanne Coughlin have to get creative to occupy their children all day.
"We kind of have a little coalition of parents that help each other out," said Coughlin, a mother of two with a third on the way. "Me being pregnant, I might need help, so I rely on them, but they also rely on me. We all live within a few minutes of each other, so it's whoever is home."
Coughlin, a Mamaroneck resident on maternity leave, pitched in on the last day of the Village of Mamaroneck Day Camp by picking up one of the coalition kids, Paul. She took him to the beach, along with her daughter Catie Rose Davis, who will begin kindergarten in the fall.
Coughlin is due to give birth in three weeks and knows that her fellow mothers will be there to take Catie Rose to and from school.
"I wish camp went another week or two, but we were glad to have the six weeks that we did," said Coughlin, whose coaltion of seven parents will split time between the beach and the Mamaroneck Library when they have the kids this summer.
While Coughlin and company plan to stay local, Farrah DiMaggio will take her three children Clara, 2, Mark, 4, and Jack, 6, to Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island, for their fourth annual family vacation. Farrah also plans to visit family in Massachusetts, but in between the two trips, the Rye Neck family will spend their days at the pool.
Similarly, Michelle Ballantyne has a trip planned with her family to Amish country in Lancaster, Penn.
"They really enjoy camp, so I don't know what we're going to do for the rest of the summer," said Ballantyne, whose sons Logan, 6, and Ryan, 4, go the Mamaroneck Avenue Elementary School.
Logan's last day of summer camp was tough because he ran into a pole while playing in the Harbor Island park, but that won't discourage him, or his younger brother Ryan, from spending as much time there as possible this summer.
"They like this playground, they're most comfortable down here," said Ballantyne, who is from Scotland and has taken her kids their during past summers.
What are your plans for the rest of the summer? Do your kids have a favorite summer activity? Comment below, on Facebook and Twitter.
Comments