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.