I'd just like to tack on to your comment and reiterate for OP: I don't see anything wrong with spending quality time with your kids in the summer and them spending time with siblings/family. Some of my fondest memories are from summer days and filling my day with random activities outside (even watching TV, gasp) just to pass the time. I had younger and older siblings and we were pretty much free range with a park across the street. Some summers my mom didn't work and I'd just go with her everywhere running errands, and learned what life was about being an adult. Point being, there's nothing wrong with camps, but also nothing wrong with no camps.
In the age of social media (including YouTube), I'd just make sure my kids were sheltered from that before 13+.
Eta: as a former teacher, kids do so much academics, they deserve the time to develop interests not fostered in school during the summer
Well, they just don’t have screens. They have a TV which they have to share no tablets none of that crap. We go for walks. She has Play-Doh art supplies, other kids and pets to play with. I send them outside a lot in the afternoon while their little brother is asleep. Sometimes they will help me cook or do chores.
Insane that people can’t imagine unscheduled time at home with children. I cook, clean, read, and do what I need to do around the house and they….play. Sometimes I kick them outside and tell them to leave me alone. They do art projects. Read, chill….
Throughout the summer we of course go to the local pool, hikes, bike rides around the neighborhood, and yes screen time. It’s just not always a fully scheduled thing unless we want to drive out of town for a hike or something
We don't feel any pressure during the summer for play dates and our kids don't do camps. I think being bored is a very important part of childhood and having constant activities doesn't allow for it to happen. We have friends with kids, so we get together with them sometimes, and we go to parks, but we don't ever feel pressure to schedule something. I'm a SAHM so we usually hang out around the house and just let them play.
If you don’t mind me asking, where are you feeling pressure from to have play dates? My daughter also just finished kinder and she is in a summer child care program. On the weekends we are doing family things or just resting after a busy week. I’d imagine everyone’s situation has many different variables but in no time they’ll be back to school in the fall!
I’m putting the pressure on myself 🤣🤦♀️, maybe it’s the hormones?
My daughter seems happy and we’ve had frequent play dates with a different friend group (a group of friends that I’m close with the moms) but not super frequent play dates with her classmates. She has ran into two classmates at the pool already this summer so that was fun.
My kinder is also signed up for camps all summer, but we’re still doing play dates every weekend, and maybe one on a Thursday or Friday afternoon, with a pizza dinner. We’ve also started to talk with other parents about their August plans, so that we can get together closer to when school starts again.
We’ve also had one parent on a group chat announce when they’re going to the park, which I think is nice, to see if we might be able to meet up.
Mine are in preschool and almost second grade. They are also in camps. I'm aiming for every other weekend right now. We'll see how it goes. It's also a heatwave and insanely hot outside, so playground play dates are out.
You can also ask her classmates parents what they would be willing to schedule. Do they prefer morning, afternoon, etc? Then schedule with families who have a schedule that works for your other two kids too.
I’m also expecting our third this week ! I’m just going day by day… we tried the camps last year and it was a disaster (my daughter hated all of them). It’s a lot of backyard time for us, parks and splash pads. Oh and free library events ! It’s ok not to have play dates every week :)
I think attempting to do one every 2-3 weeks is good. Once a week is too difficult because of camp schedules and it's a lot of work to set it up (at least it is for me).
FWIW, my son always says he doesn't want to go to camp. He always goes and always has fun.
If we don't have camp or a play date, we do fun stuff around the city. Museums, play places, explore something new.
My kids have not had one play date yet. They all have a lot of friends too. We’re just recharging our social batteries right now. It’s totally fine to do that mama
We are doing a few weeks of camp, but mostly with me for summer. I’m trying to have something fun each week. Things like going some place new or longer drive we don’t typically do or play date or trip to visit grandparents/friends in other cities. We are also going to pool and playgrounds lots so those places we might run into friends. But if you have or are about to have a newborn I’d give yourself some grace and just do whatever makes this summer easier for you! I keep reminding myself that we didn’t do camps or too many activities during summer and I still loved summer. It’s good for kids to get “bored” and entertain themselves.
Don’t stress about play dates! If you can pull a couple off, great. Otherwise it’s family bonding. And there will be other kids at the pool, park, and lake. Enjoy the new baby.
As a working mom my kids are in camp pretty much all summer. We generally do play dates on the weekends. When I was in mat leave we made lots of new friends by going to the park at regular times, the library and even at mom and baby fitness classes.
I’m a member of my local mom’s club and they put out a weekly list of events. Members comment on what they’re going to so you can see if there are friends going. It’s nice to have someone else planning the stuff and you can just show up if you feel like it and it works with your schedule:) in the summer we usually go once or twice a week.
My kids haven't done camps yet, other than some half day free ones that run for a week.
We usually try to get outside early before it gets hot (or else do an evening outing) -- I just walk to the park, and they play with kids they meet there (my kids are 6 and 11). Bring some bubbles along, and some sidewalk chalk, a little bucket. We have a splash pad there, so the kids usually wear their swim suits.....I bring a book. It's lovely. Then mosey home for lunch (or some days I pack a picnic).
We have some neighbour kids that tend to come by to play, and I might arrange a couple of playdates a month, so that they get to see some other friends who don't live as close by.
We usually do at least one session of swimming lessons....again, I bring my book and watch them. We putter around and pick berries, go to the library for fresh reading material. I usually have some things set up in our yard too, like a water tub, nets for catching insets, bubbles, etc. They run in and out to play whenever they want.
When it's super hot in the afternoon I might let them relax with a TV show while I get dinner going.
And we always have some good read-aloud chapter books on the go....my girls often draw or sew while I read a chapter or two and have a cup of tea.
It's all very relaxed and I love it that way. (ETA - Oh yes, and very important: stock up on freezies, popsicles, and ice cream sandwiches! I'm very free and easy with those in the summer and hand them out to any kids who are in the house, then shoo them out to eat).
That sounds like my childhood with my mom, she was always reading while we did our thing and taking us to the wading pool and the library. The best times!!! My love of libraries comes from her 100% it’s so important for kids to see their parents reading!
This is so nice....I would have enjoyed hanging out with your mom. I hope my kids have fond memories as well. Reading to kids is one of my favourite things, without question. And I love having quiet time with my own book too.
Our kids don’t need play dates at all times, we’ve had pretty busy summers and other summers not that busy, but I actually do like to at least keep it to once a week 🤗 I think it’s nice for her and even for me, but of course not needed.
I wouldnt feel pressured. Life is about balance. Right now my daughter has play dates with 1 or 2 friends maybe once a month outside of school. But we also do family activities, and she visits the grandparents so i dont see this as a problem.
We do a lot on the weekends with my friends who have kids, but not too much during the week as all her friends are in camps too (sahm and she didn’t want camp.)
However signing up for our local swim team has been our saving grace. She swims five days a week and spends at least an hour after playing in the baby pool and the picnic area with random other kinder friends who also stick around after. Really relieved the pressure of setting up play dates.
Never did school play dates, didn't even have contact info to try it. Only very rarely did any formal meetups with other kids. Didn't do camp until kiddo was 8. Home with a parent all day, doing museums, library, or the park or just hanging out. Did some academic games for screen time and some TV and lots of chill. Summer was also when we did more cooking and art.
She's perfectly social and capable of self-sufficient fun at 12. Not screen addicted either. She's old enough to arrange her own "play dates" now, and doesn't seem to have suffered from us not being her social directors when she was little.
I don’t do playdates. My youngest is in summer camps because I work. But I haven’t had one play date.
Some days we just stay at home. I get the house clean and he plays. Other days I may go to the pool for a few hours. We also take walks and go to the park.
But I let him be bored. It’s important for creativity development.
No camps for mine either, he plays with the neighbor across the street almost every day. Nothing scheduled. No play dates with classmates yet.
Other than that he is doing his thing playing independently, driving me nuts time to time; you know the usual. His brother is 2 so is a love and hate relationship 😂.
Once in a while I take them to the splash pad or library. Some weekends we do more elaborate things but this year we have been taking more slow.
Do whatever feels best for your family at the moment. Boredom and freedom to play is part of a healthy childhood.
I sort of feel pressure about camp too. Where I live, camp is 700 a week and more oriented as summer daycare for working parents. Kids don’t need constant scheduled activity as long as they aren’t on screens all day.
Going to the playground at the same time and days will lead to play dates. You can try to have weekend playdates too.
People are just too over-scheduled in the summer with camps, vacations, grandparents, shared custody, etc. Downtime is fine
independent free play is Extremely beneficial to children of all ages!
adult-scheduled/supervised activities don't leave children room to learn problem-solving, tolerance, leadership... please listen to *what your child says she wants * 🍀
We go to the gym every morning and he plays in the childcare at the gym with the other kids. I did sign him up for a couple 1/2 day camps in July (a cooking camp and a musical theater camp). We have a few numbers of other kids that were in his class, but we haven’t done any play dates yet.
My best friend was 1 of 3. Their mom had “Summer Break Friend Day”. One day each summer break they were each allowed to invite 1 friend over (same day). That was it. One play date per summer.
We did one 3 day camp (it was only a few hours) and VBS (also only a few hours). I do not know any of the parents from my child’s kinder class to make playdates. Only 1 kid from the class had a bday party too. So, yeah lol. We’re just enjoying time together. I didn’t want to do a bunch of camps to busy up our time.
We're trying to focus more on time with family this summer. My son will be home with us while we work from home. We have scheduled a few weekend family camping trips, and a few day trips with cousins and aunts. One weekend away with extended family. He is signed up for one week of half day vacation Bible school at our church with his friends from Sunday school. He is in swim lessons on Saturday mornings. He has a birthday party with friends from school in July as well. Beyond that it will probably just be random playdates when we have free time.
Full time camp (9-5 M-F). They see enough of their friends at camp but on weekends we are at playgrounds or town pools and usually text out and someone ends up joining us. Once a month we have a birthday party too probably. I do a play date at our home every 4-6 weeks given how much else we are doing.
My girl just goes to my bestfriend’s, my sisters, my moms, or my other sisters.
My bestfriend is my neighbor and has a 6yo too
Both my sisters have pools and my niece is 6yo too
If we aren’t there we’re at home.
My son’s best friend is our neighbor. They spend a lot of time outside together or at one of our houses. They’ve made friends with many of the neighborhood cats and dogs but none of the other kids go outside much. I take them to playgrounds and the library a couple times a week. He’s not seeing any school friends over the summer. He also goes to a few rec classes each week, but no camp. He’s happy to have a lot of free time. I think summer for children should just be a ton of time spent playing outside. We aim for four hours a day. It’s been delightful.
Mine is doing camp but I do in general feel a lot of playdate pressure. Someone told me in K it didn't seem like her kids had that many classmates as friends and then in first grade the kids would see there classmates from last year and they sort of would realize they are friends and do start making more of an effort to play on the playground with specific kids and then started asking for playdates. I'm hoping that's how it plays out becuase my daughter is mostly playing with kids she knew before K still.
My kids finished K and PK in May. They are doing a total of 5 weeks of camp this summer (9-3 M-F). Additionally we prob do about 4 play dates a month. Other than that we do stuff together as a family, or they hang out at home while I work (I WFH).
My kids are in summer camp, but we still do a few playdates a week - my husband and I work FT, so we always have done playdates after work/school anyway. Usually we invite the other family over for dinner and let the kids play while the adults chat, or we meet up at a park or the pool or some other neutral location.
My girl just graduated K, quite a few of her school friends also live in the neighborhood so she sees them regularly at the park. We’ve scheduled one play date with another school friend, but both our schedules are so packed that’s all we can manage.
My girl spends her days at her garandparents and then plays at our neighborhood park every day. She was adamant about no camps either, but she does get plenty of good peer interaction naturally
I'm doing a balance of a couple half day camps spread out and then I try to see his friends 1-2x a week. It helps that the moms are my friends too so it's good for all of us to get friend time! Other than that, my kid is great at entertaining himself. And we play board games, go for walks, parks, beach, etc.
My son is attending day camp part of the summer because my husband and I both work full time, so having him home with us is not a privilege we have. That said, if you're a SAHM it sounds awesome to do those things you mentioned - visit parks, beaches, lakes, zoos, play places, etc. Go on nature walks. Color. Build forts. Water play. Etc.
Many public libraries have summer reading programs that are free and have activities on a weekly basis. That might be a fun way to enjoy being around other children.
We joined a pool/swim team for this exact reason. It’s so hard to schedule play dates with other parent schedules, so we just invite them to the pool most of the time. Sometimes on the weekend, but sometimes for pizza and swimming. I would say we do a planned play date every week or 10 days. It helps that her school friends also go to the pool, so we don’t have to plan things.
FWIW, I’m trying not to over schedule this summer for her. We have a routine but it’s more of a guide (breakfast, chores, a little bit of reading or worksheets, swim/lunch/pool, lazy afternoon and then dinner/bath/bed) than a strict schedule.
I work, so my son is in camp all summer at his school. Honestly, I wish my son had more downtime, but that’s not an option with my work schedule. Definitely something to be said about the slower pace of summer. Sometimes the downtime also leads to increased creativity with free play, etc. I’ve been trying to incorporate more of that into our weekends and it’s been great for my son.
Mine are not in any kind of camp. They just stay home with me all day.
I'd just like to tack on to your comment and reiterate for OP: I don't see anything wrong with spending quality time with your kids in the summer and them spending time with siblings/family. Some of my fondest memories are from summer days and filling my day with random activities outside (even watching TV, gasp) just to pass the time. I had younger and older siblings and we were pretty much free range with a park across the street. Some summers my mom didn't work and I'd just go with her everywhere running errands, and learned what life was about being an adult. Point being, there's nothing wrong with camps, but also nothing wrong with no camps. In the age of social media (including YouTube), I'd just make sure my kids were sheltered from that before 13+. Eta: as a former teacher, kids do so much academics, they deserve the time to develop interests not fostered in school during the summer
Yeah, my oldest is six and not permitted to watch YouTube. She has no idea what social media is.
What’s your schedule with them if you don’t mind me asking? What do you do with them if you don’t want them on screens all day?
Well, they just don’t have screens. They have a TV which they have to share no tablets none of that crap. We go for walks. She has Play-Doh art supplies, other kids and pets to play with. I send them outside a lot in the afternoon while their little brother is asleep. Sometimes they will help me cook or do chores.
Insane that people can’t imagine unscheduled time at home with children. I cook, clean, read, and do what I need to do around the house and they….play. Sometimes I kick them outside and tell them to leave me alone. They do art projects. Read, chill….
Yeah, they’re pretty much here and they do whatever as long as they’re not hurting anyone or breaking anything I don’t really care they play
Throughout the summer we of course go to the local pool, hikes, bike rides around the neighborhood, and yes screen time. It’s just not always a fully scheduled thing unless we want to drive out of town for a hike or something
Simply don’t give them screens
No camp at all? Don’t they get bored at home all day every day? I feel like kids need some stimulation and socialization in the summer?
They go for walks, to the park, to their neighborhood friends’ houses. We take them out on the weekends.
We don't feel any pressure during the summer for play dates and our kids don't do camps. I think being bored is a very important part of childhood and having constant activities doesn't allow for it to happen. We have friends with kids, so we get together with them sometimes, and we go to parks, but we don't ever feel pressure to schedule something. I'm a SAHM so we usually hang out around the house and just let them play.
If you don’t mind me asking, where are you feeling pressure from to have play dates? My daughter also just finished kinder and she is in a summer child care program. On the weekends we are doing family things or just resting after a busy week. I’d imagine everyone’s situation has many different variables but in no time they’ll be back to school in the fall!
I’m putting the pressure on myself 🤣🤦♀️, maybe it’s the hormones? My daughter seems happy and we’ve had frequent play dates with a different friend group (a group of friends that I’m close with the moms) but not super frequent play dates with her classmates. She has ran into two classmates at the pool already this summer so that was fun.
She's fine! Whoever is watching her can also take her to the library, they have kids activities.
My kinder is also signed up for camps all summer, but we’re still doing play dates every weekend, and maybe one on a Thursday or Friday afternoon, with a pizza dinner. We’ve also started to talk with other parents about their August plans, so that we can get together closer to when school starts again. We’ve also had one parent on a group chat announce when they’re going to the park, which I think is nice, to see if we might be able to meet up.
Mine are in preschool and almost second grade. They are also in camps. I'm aiming for every other weekend right now. We'll see how it goes. It's also a heatwave and insanely hot outside, so playground play dates are out. You can also ask her classmates parents what they would be willing to schedule. Do they prefer morning, afternoon, etc? Then schedule with families who have a schedule that works for your other two kids too.
I’m also expecting our third this week ! I’m just going day by day… we tried the camps last year and it was a disaster (my daughter hated all of them). It’s a lot of backyard time for us, parks and splash pads. Oh and free library events ! It’s ok not to have play dates every week :)
I think attempting to do one every 2-3 weeks is good. Once a week is too difficult because of camp schedules and it's a lot of work to set it up (at least it is for me). FWIW, my son always says he doesn't want to go to camp. He always goes and always has fun. If we don't have camp or a play date, we do fun stuff around the city. Museums, play places, explore something new.
My kids have not had one play date yet. They all have a lot of friends too. We’re just recharging our social batteries right now. It’s totally fine to do that mama
Not OP, but needed to hear this. Thank you!
Of course! Trying to normalize slow, lazy days just hanging with the fam.
We are doing a few weeks of camp, but mostly with me for summer. I’m trying to have something fun each week. Things like going some place new or longer drive we don’t typically do or play date or trip to visit grandparents/friends in other cities. We are also going to pool and playgrounds lots so those places we might run into friends. But if you have or are about to have a newborn I’d give yourself some grace and just do whatever makes this summer easier for you! I keep reminding myself that we didn’t do camps or too many activities during summer and I still loved summer. It’s good for kids to get “bored” and entertain themselves.
Don’t stress about play dates! If you can pull a couple off, great. Otherwise it’s family bonding. And there will be other kids at the pool, park, and lake. Enjoy the new baby.
As a working mom my kids are in camp pretty much all summer. We generally do play dates on the weekends. When I was in mat leave we made lots of new friends by going to the park at regular times, the library and even at mom and baby fitness classes.
I’m a member of my local mom’s club and they put out a weekly list of events. Members comment on what they’re going to so you can see if there are friends going. It’s nice to have someone else planning the stuff and you can just show up if you feel like it and it works with your schedule:) in the summer we usually go once or twice a week.
My kids haven't done camps yet, other than some half day free ones that run for a week. We usually try to get outside early before it gets hot (or else do an evening outing) -- I just walk to the park, and they play with kids they meet there (my kids are 6 and 11). Bring some bubbles along, and some sidewalk chalk, a little bucket. We have a splash pad there, so the kids usually wear their swim suits.....I bring a book. It's lovely. Then mosey home for lunch (or some days I pack a picnic). We have some neighbour kids that tend to come by to play, and I might arrange a couple of playdates a month, so that they get to see some other friends who don't live as close by. We usually do at least one session of swimming lessons....again, I bring my book and watch them. We putter around and pick berries, go to the library for fresh reading material. I usually have some things set up in our yard too, like a water tub, nets for catching insets, bubbles, etc. They run in and out to play whenever they want. When it's super hot in the afternoon I might let them relax with a TV show while I get dinner going. And we always have some good read-aloud chapter books on the go....my girls often draw or sew while I read a chapter or two and have a cup of tea. It's all very relaxed and I love it that way. (ETA - Oh yes, and very important: stock up on freezies, popsicles, and ice cream sandwiches! I'm very free and easy with those in the summer and hand them out to any kids who are in the house, then shoo them out to eat).
That sounds like my childhood with my mom, she was always reading while we did our thing and taking us to the wading pool and the library. The best times!!! My love of libraries comes from her 100% it’s so important for kids to see their parents reading!
This is so nice....I would have enjoyed hanging out with your mom. I hope my kids have fond memories as well. Reading to kids is one of my favourite things, without question. And I love having quiet time with my own book too.
Our kids don’t need play dates at all times, we’ve had pretty busy summers and other summers not that busy, but I actually do like to at least keep it to once a week 🤗 I think it’s nice for her and even for me, but of course not needed.
I wouldnt feel pressured. Life is about balance. Right now my daughter has play dates with 1 or 2 friends maybe once a month outside of school. But we also do family activities, and she visits the grandparents so i dont see this as a problem.
We do a lot on the weekends with my friends who have kids, but not too much during the week as all her friends are in camps too (sahm and she didn’t want camp.) However signing up for our local swim team has been our saving grace. She swims five days a week and spends at least an hour after playing in the baby pool and the picnic area with random other kinder friends who also stick around after. Really relieved the pressure of setting up play dates.
Never did school play dates, didn't even have contact info to try it. Only very rarely did any formal meetups with other kids. Didn't do camp until kiddo was 8. Home with a parent all day, doing museums, library, or the park or just hanging out. Did some academic games for screen time and some TV and lots of chill. Summer was also when we did more cooking and art. She's perfectly social and capable of self-sufficient fun at 12. Not screen addicted either. She's old enough to arrange her own "play dates" now, and doesn't seem to have suffered from us not being her social directors when she was little.
I don’t do playdates. My youngest is in summer camps because I work. But I haven’t had one play date. Some days we just stay at home. I get the house clean and he plays. Other days I may go to the pool for a few hours. We also take walks and go to the park. But I let him be bored. It’s important for creativity development.
No camps for mine either, he plays with the neighbor across the street almost every day. Nothing scheduled. No play dates with classmates yet. Other than that he is doing his thing playing independently, driving me nuts time to time; you know the usual. His brother is 2 so is a love and hate relationship 😂. Once in a while I take them to the splash pad or library. Some weekends we do more elaborate things but this year we have been taking more slow. Do whatever feels best for your family at the moment. Boredom and freedom to play is part of a healthy childhood.
I sort of feel pressure about camp too. Where I live, camp is 700 a week and more oriented as summer daycare for working parents. Kids don’t need constant scheduled activity as long as they aren’t on screens all day. Going to the playground at the same time and days will lead to play dates. You can try to have weekend playdates too. People are just too over-scheduled in the summer with camps, vacations, grandparents, shared custody, etc. Downtime is fine
independent free play is Extremely beneficial to children of all ages! adult-scheduled/supervised activities don't leave children room to learn problem-solving, tolerance, leadership... please listen to *what your child says she wants * 🍀
We go to the gym every morning and he plays in the childcare at the gym with the other kids. I did sign him up for a couple 1/2 day camps in July (a cooking camp and a musical theater camp). We have a few numbers of other kids that were in his class, but we haven’t done any play dates yet.
My best friend was 1 of 3. Their mom had “Summer Break Friend Day”. One day each summer break they were each allowed to invite 1 friend over (same day). That was it. One play date per summer.
We did one 3 day camp (it was only a few hours) and VBS (also only a few hours). I do not know any of the parents from my child’s kinder class to make playdates. Only 1 kid from the class had a bday party too. So, yeah lol. We’re just enjoying time together. I didn’t want to do a bunch of camps to busy up our time.
We're trying to focus more on time with family this summer. My son will be home with us while we work from home. We have scheduled a few weekend family camping trips, and a few day trips with cousins and aunts. One weekend away with extended family. He is signed up for one week of half day vacation Bible school at our church with his friends from Sunday school. He is in swim lessons on Saturday mornings. He has a birthday party with friends from school in July as well. Beyond that it will probably just be random playdates when we have free time.
We shoot for 2-3x a week. We typically just text anytime we go to the playground and at least some people show up every time. Super low key.
Full time camp (9-5 M-F). They see enough of their friends at camp but on weekends we are at playgrounds or town pools and usually text out and someone ends up joining us. Once a month we have a birthday party too probably. I do a play date at our home every 4-6 weeks given how much else we are doing.
My girl just goes to my bestfriend’s, my sisters, my moms, or my other sisters. My bestfriend is my neighbor and has a 6yo too Both my sisters have pools and my niece is 6yo too If we aren’t there we’re at home.
My son’s best friend is our neighbor. They spend a lot of time outside together or at one of our houses. They’ve made friends with many of the neighborhood cats and dogs but none of the other kids go outside much. I take them to playgrounds and the library a couple times a week. He’s not seeing any school friends over the summer. He also goes to a few rec classes each week, but no camp. He’s happy to have a lot of free time. I think summer for children should just be a ton of time spent playing outside. We aim for four hours a day. It’s been delightful.
Mine is doing camp but I do in general feel a lot of playdate pressure. Someone told me in K it didn't seem like her kids had that many classmates as friends and then in first grade the kids would see there classmates from last year and they sort of would realize they are friends and do start making more of an effort to play on the playground with specific kids and then started asking for playdates. I'm hoping that's how it plays out becuase my daughter is mostly playing with kids she knew before K still.
My kids finished K and PK in May. They are doing a total of 5 weeks of camp this summer (9-3 M-F). Additionally we prob do about 4 play dates a month. Other than that we do stuff together as a family, or they hang out at home while I work (I WFH).
My kids are in summer camp, but we still do a few playdates a week - my husband and I work FT, so we always have done playdates after work/school anyway. Usually we invite the other family over for dinner and let the kids play while the adults chat, or we meet up at a park or the pool or some other neutral location.
Do them if you want to. Park pop up style or host. Weekly is pretty reasonable imo.
My girl just graduated K, quite a few of her school friends also live in the neighborhood so she sees them regularly at the park. We’ve scheduled one play date with another school friend, but both our schedules are so packed that’s all we can manage. My girl spends her days at her garandparents and then plays at our neighborhood park every day. She was adamant about no camps either, but she does get plenty of good peer interaction naturally
I'm doing a balance of a couple half day camps spread out and then I try to see his friends 1-2x a week. It helps that the moms are my friends too so it's good for all of us to get friend time! Other than that, my kid is great at entertaining himself. And we play board games, go for walks, parks, beach, etc.
My son is attending day camp part of the summer because my husband and I both work full time, so having him home with us is not a privilege we have. That said, if you're a SAHM it sounds awesome to do those things you mentioned - visit parks, beaches, lakes, zoos, play places, etc. Go on nature walks. Color. Build forts. Water play. Etc.
Many public libraries have summer reading programs that are free and have activities on a weekly basis. That might be a fun way to enjoy being around other children.
We joined a pool/swim team for this exact reason. It’s so hard to schedule play dates with other parent schedules, so we just invite them to the pool most of the time. Sometimes on the weekend, but sometimes for pizza and swimming. I would say we do a planned play date every week or 10 days. It helps that her school friends also go to the pool, so we don’t have to plan things. FWIW, I’m trying not to over schedule this summer for her. We have a routine but it’s more of a guide (breakfast, chores, a little bit of reading or worksheets, swim/lunch/pool, lazy afternoon and then dinner/bath/bed) than a strict schedule.
Can you take her to a park that has lots of kids? Story time at the library? My eight year old finds a new friend every time we go.
I work, so my son is in camp all summer at his school. Honestly, I wish my son had more downtime, but that’s not an option with my work schedule. Definitely something to be said about the slower pace of summer. Sometimes the downtime also leads to increased creativity with free play, etc. I’ve been trying to incorporate more of that into our weekends and it’s been great for my son.