You are lucky indeed if your kids are able to take care of themselves enough to give you ample time to work on your business, whether you’re on a sales call, interviewing someone for an article, or tackling a difficult editing job.  A half-hour stretch of alone time, and then a couple minutes with you checking in, should be enough for both of you to have your own space and time.

 This is also the time of year to sign up for summer reading programs.  My kids are voracious bookworms, but a good summer reading program can encourage even the most reluctant reader.  Stickers and charts showing a child’s progress, and weekly prizes or other incentives, help kids get excited about reading. Try your local library, or even an online program.  Sprawling out on the grass, or making a cozy nook on an apartment balcony, or setting up the bed as a reading boat and then losing themselves in books will be remembered for years.

 Where we are, there are so many great summer programs that it’s tempting to sign up the kids for everything – especially because the more they’re gone, the more time you have to work.  But is it worth it?  One of the reasons I wanted to work at home was so I could be a better mom. Shoving the kids off to a bunch of activities doesn’t make summer special – it makes it just as busy as the school year, only busy in a different way.

 Let them climb a tree, make a fort with sheets on the clothesline, make popsicles, set up a lemonade stand, make ice cream (you don't need an ice-cream maker!), catch butterflies and lightning bugs, paint, play four square, and feel the easing of the mind and body that comes in the summer.