Bakersfield Life

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Cindi Tadej
Mother of:
Tyler, age 22
Beau, age 18
Jilli, age 16

Caryl Schweitzer
Mother of Nanette, age 11

Becky Colaw
Mother of:
James, age 13
Jason, age 10
David, age 5
Sarah, age 3

Cindy Meek
Principal, St. Francis Parish School
Mother of Lissa Meek Sittman, 36
Mother of Tally Meek Brand, 33
Mother of Dr. John M. Meek, 31
Grandmother to
Brittany Sittman, age 12
Brianna Sittman, age 10
Charlie Sittman, age 8
 

What are your summer plans with your kids?

Cindi Tadej - Relaxing, recovering from a long school semester, preparing for college, taking time to enjoy who they are now. My youngest, our daughter, and I spend time that we don’t have during the school year just relaxing, chatting, entertaining and visiting with friends. We have a tradition where we set personal and academic goals for the next school year each August.

Caryl Schweitzer - My husband, Karl, teaches college courses part-time and he usually takes the summer off. What a luxury! He and Nanette plan to study Spanish, French, musical history and theory, and cooking techniques. She’s our designated sous chef and is already quite knowledgeable in the kitchen.

Becky Colaw - We will make some day trips to the beach, weekend trips to visit family in San Diego, go to the our favorite Bakersfield parks and to CALM. We’re also going to try and do some date nights (a new thing for us) with each kid individually. When you have four so spread out everything becomes a compromise. It’s nice when they can set the agenda for themselves once in a while. I think it communicates that while we’re a family and that demands compromise, we love them as individuals.

Cindy Meek - My oldest daughter, Lissa, will be bringing her children to Tahoe to spend a week with their grandparents. My second child, Tally, lives in Tahoe and will spend weekends and evenings with me in July. My son Johnny will be spending a week in Costa Rica with my cousin. Doing his residency at Botsforth Hospital in Farmington Hills, Mich., Johnny does not have the option of visiting Lake Tahoe in the summer. He does join us at Christmas.

What do you do or recommend to keep kids busy during the summer?

Cindi Tadej - When they were little – all kinds of day camps. Tennis, golf, science, basketball, soccer, volleyball, dance, art, acting, music. There are also vacation bible schools for several weeks of the summer.

Caryl Schweitzer - Nanette has a ballet dance recital in mid-June. Then she will go to tennis camp at the Bakersfield Racquet Club for at least one week and to art camp at the Bakersfield Museum of Art for two weeks. And, since she likes the computer so much, we think it’s time she learns how to type. She will be taking an online typing class this summer as well.

Becky Colaw - We will spend time at the pool, hang out with friends and relax. I like to choose some classic literature with good character lessons that we can read as a family. The older boys will have an opportunity to go to camp. We’ll also take out our church’s ice cream truck and give away some ice cream at local parks. I plan to teach my older two kids to do their own laundry and get into a better routine as far as chores go. We have not done a good job of that this year.

Cindy Meek - As an educator and parent I recommend that parents keep their children active both physically and mentally. There are wonderful day camps available through CALM, Lori Brock Museum, CSU Bakersfield and Parks and Recreation. If your child is doing well in school and does not need educational help then keep them reading.
As educators, we find that children who know their math at the end of the school year return 10 weeks later and have forgotten it because they have not looked at a math problem all summer. Having flash cards in the car or in the kitchen and pulling them out periodically and having your children quiz each other or you quizzing your children helps them retain their facts.

If your kids had their way, how would they spend their summer?

Cindi Tadej - When they were young, they would have swam in the pool, laid in the sun, watched movies, played video games and eaten junk food all day, having a pack of friends at the house with them.

Caryl Schweitzer - Nanette would be in a swimming pool the entire time if it were possible.

Becky Colaw- They will be pretty happy with the plans we have, but they would love it if their friends could spend the night every night and if they could stay up all night and sleep all day. My oldest two would love to spend a couple weeks in Oklahoma with family and friends without mom and dad.

Cindy Meek - If my kids had their way, they would spend the summer at Tahoe or the beach. They would be reading on the beach, enjoying boating and water activities, playing games in the afternoon and having friends over for dinner and games or movies in the evening. They would be outside hiking, biking and playing tennis. All three of my kids have community service ingrained in their way of thought so they would also be involved in some type of community service during the summer whether it was fundraising for a particular organization, working on a project or volunteering in a facility.

What is the biggest challenge for children during the summer?

 Cindi Tadej - I would say keeping competitive in whatever they aspire to do. Kids now have a lot of pressure to make their summers count in terms of looking the best they can and being the most competitive they can for college applications. So, the challenge is almost to know what they want to do when they grow up so they can begin a steady showing of passion for that - not wasting summers.

Caryl Schweitzer - Keeping her from being bored and watching too much television.

Becky Colaw- They do get bored if not kept busy, and when they do, they want to be in front of the television too much. They also get tired of each other and fight more than they do when they are in school if not given breaks from each other.


Cindy Meek - I think the biggest challenge for children during the summer is boredom and lack of physical activity. They need activities planned for them to keep them engaged and happy. Activities do not necessarily have to be entertaining. I am a firm believer that children need responsibility to be successful. Children should have additional chores added to their days since they are not committed to homework in the evenings. Every child should have some responsibility that he/she is responsible for around the home. Chores need to be completed before the fun begins.

What have you found works well to cure the summer boredom?

Cindi Tadej - Finding activities that your kids love to do, finding new activities to try, finding a way for them to participate and be involved in those things so there is not so much time to be bored. If they don’t want to be involved, then lots of chores are good for curing boredom and can help the parents a lot too!

Caryl Schweitzer - Television and the computer get boring after awhile – even for Nanette, who loves both. Other than going out of town, we arrange play dates, read new books, go shopping, go to the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings then to breakfast at the Santa Fe Café, have a lemonade stand, and keep art materials in stock.

Becky Colaw- If I feel like I am doing my part to provide activities and to keep the kids busy but they are still complaining of boredom, I always have a list of jobs they can do: clean the car, clean out their closet, clean the garage, pretty much clean anything needed. I will be honest. I get frustrated when my kids say they are bored. They want to be in front of the TV or on a video game, and we have to limit the amount of time they do that. When the terrible heat hits, I will be more lenient. Once they remember the list of things I have stored away for summer boredom, I bet they will find a way to entertain themselves.

Cindy Meek - Finding something your child is interested in and expanding that interest.  If your child is an athlete get them involved in lessons or club sports. If your child likes to play games, challenge them to learn new games. Many schools have chess clubs where students compete against each other. At our school, we have a bridge club and our first graders are playing bridge with their grandparents.