New Summer Beginnings

Summer is coming!  Kids are excited for the summer, but I do believe they are wanting the structure and consistency of the school year.  I had a conversation with my son and found out that his school has three school-wide expectations.

1.  Be respectful
2.  Make good decisions
3.  Be a problem solver

We will be using these expectations this summer.  High expectations = a great challenge.  Children and teens want high expectations.  I am the first to be impatient with my child. I want my child to grow into an awesome independent adult (adult tantrums are not attractive).  It would be so...easy to hand my child a piece of technology to numb his/her boredom.  I do love technology, but I do not want to use it to cover areas that need character shaping/building.  Instant gratification is difficult to counteract.  This summer we will slow down the pace.  I anticipate and welcome new and different life rhythms.

Activity: Take some time before summer and begins and review school and home expectations.  Compare and contrast school and home expectations.  Are they similar?  Different?  Why is important for homes and communities to have a mission statement, core values, and expectations?

Summer: The World Becomes the Classroom

Summer is flexible, warm, and creative! There are times when it can be unpredictable and exhausting.  Where can a family find consistency and fun?

Here are some places and activities to consider this summer.

Places: Libraries often have summer programming for all ages.  The libraries continue to find creative ways to introduce children to books, storytelling, magicians, scientists, comedians, and more!

YMCA/Boys and Girls Club:  The YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs offer summer programming, camps, and field trips.  Our local YMCA offers free family events each week.

Setting up a summer calendar with a consistent trip to the library, park, and community center can create some predictability. It is hard for  children to be confident with a random schedule.  Before summer comes to a start talk with your child about the transition. "What stays the same and what is different" can help children see the similarities and differences between the school year and the summertime. Identify people, places, and activities that change or stay the same.

Thematic Summer Learning: This summer our son has chosen a thematic area of interest.  He would like to learn about explorers.  Here is a sample of activity menu for this Explorer theme.

• rope making
• dutch oven cooking
• map making
• art
• plant/animal identification
• hiking
• field trips
• canoes and paddle snack (apple slices and pretzel paddles)
• s'mores snack pack
• star gazing 

Food: We will have fun summer snacks.  Here is just a sample.....

• ice cream in a bag
• watermelon slices
• summer slushies

Exercise/Health:  Keeping a healthy active lifestyle is important year-around.

• frisbee golf
• homemade slip and slide
• new food challenge
• lawn games
• bike ride
• create a new game
• basketball
• hike

Calming Activities:  

• coloring
• knitting
• building bridges out of toothpicks
• science experiments
• fort building
• a country drive/explore
• family puzzles
• journal

The last few weeks our dining room table has been filled with thousands of tiny puzzle pieces.  This puzzle became a community project.  Friends would stop by the house and would immediately participate.  The community puzzle was just a random idea but has turned into a family event. There are so many distractions on the internet and T.V. Our family puzzle time reminds us to get unplugged.

Summer in the Great Outdoors: For Children of All Ages

Summer is coming and we long to organize and facilitate summer memory making.  We want our children to climb trees, hike, swim, and experience nature.  It is our opportunity to stretch the imagination.  The world becomes our summer classroom!  Camps, libraries, museums, universities, and churches offer summer programs to provide hands-on-learning for youth all over the Northwest.

What can our summer look like?  Here are some ideas and links.

HIKING & CAMPING:  We know that we benefit by walking, but here is a great article about hiking and brain research.

Do enjoy hiking? OutThere Monthly has a scavenger/ treasure hunts for the whole family.

AllTrails 

Washington Trails Association

Club Slow Motion (Found on FB)-This is an all women's hiking group.  The hikes are well-paced.  Most of the hikes range from 3-5 miles distances.

Washington, Idaho State,  Montana, California, and Oregon State Parks: These websites are a great way to find a campsite.  It also can be used to reserve an environmental center, yurt, and small cabin.

Just for Kids

Junior Ranger Program

Summer Camps

Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture- The MAC Museum is offering art, science, and music camps for all ages.  Programs include field trips, campouts, wilderness safety, geocache, kayaking, and more!  ArtFest is also a wonderful opportunity to play and create.

Camp Metamorphosis is a camp for 4th-6th graders.  Whitworth University offers this camp through their Talented and Gifted Department.

Camp Opportunity is for grades 6-9. Camp Opportunity offers three different themes for the week.  "Trek of the Techie, "Farm to Table," and "Explore the Great Outdoors." Students can choose one focus or try a little in all three class offerings.

Camp Spalding-Camp Spalding offers overnight camps for children and families.  Camp Spalding's Family camp offers deluxe cabins and provides linens and amazing food.  The staff takes the time to form relationships with the whole family.  All activities are provided and organized.  This provides a low-stress vacation.

Washington:

Summer Camps or Programs for Children with Special Needs:

Joni and Friends

Camp Goodtimes- Resident camp designed for 7-17-year-old cancer patients and survivors

Montana: Camp Dream

Oregon: Very Special Camps

California: Camps for Kids with Special Needs

Sports:  There are so many opportunities for youth to participate in summer sports camps.  Trying to choose is the most difficult part.

Basketball-NBC Camps

Disc Golf-PGA disc Golf Course Directory Map

Disc Golf Directory

Libraries

Most libraries offer summer programs.  Our local library has hosted educational music, drama, dance, science programs for young children.  Do you have a child that has a library fine?  Some libraries offer a fine forgiveness program.

Northwest Thematic Waterfall Road Trip

The summer of 2016 was a hot summer and my family wanted to stay close to lakes and rivers. Our summer turned into a thematic waterfall adventure.  We discovered 5-6 waterfalls around the Inland Northwest.  Most of the waterfalls described below are accessible by car, except for Horseshoe Lake.  Horseshoe Lake is only accessible by boat. 

Horseshoe Lake: To access the water at horseshoe lake you will need a small boat. Most people use canoes, kayaks, and small fishing boats.  The lake sits approximately 30 miles north of Spokane, Washington.

This map contains many possible day trips for your family.

© 2016 E.B. Hoxie

Douglas Falls Grange State Park

 










Sweet Creek Falls, Pend Orielle County

Crystal Falls, Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge


© 2016 E.B. Hoxie



Myrtal Falls, Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge

Palouse Falls State Park

 
© 2016 E.B. Hoxie

Map