As May turns to June, many parents are starting to wrestle with the inevitable question coming from their progeny “we’re bored, what is there to do!?”. In today’s world, where parents have become the de-facto cruise directors for their kids, it can add a lot of stress to the family when busy parents are themselves always trying to find ways to keep kids busy. No need to fear, there are solutions out there, but they may require a bit of change from the normal. And isn’t that what summer break is good for? They may fight you on some of these, but chances are they’ll appreciate the experiences and the stories they’ll have when school starts back up.
Freedom
First off, go back to your own childhood. Chances are you can remember your parents telling you to go outside and play, and you wouldn’t come home until lunchtime or dinner, or when the streetlights turned on. You may be thinking that was a simpler time and things aren’t the same now as they were then. No doubt, things have changed over the years, but kids still hunger for and thrive when they are given freedom to make their own decisions (good and bad) and make their own daily destiny. So, resist the urge to plan out your child’s day, and give them a little bit more freedom than you are comfortable giving. They will reward you with their own personal growth, imagination, probably some new friendships, and some well-deserved time to yourself. Check out LetGrow.org for a ton of great ideas and ways to help you as a parent let go of the reins a little bit (https://letgrow.org/program/parents-and-families).
Fitness Challenges
You don’t need a home gym to help the kids develop good healthy habits and understand the value of daily exercise. Develop a fitness challenge for the family. Choose some exercises everyone can do, e.g. body weight squats, pushups, pullups or flexed arm hang, 1 mile run, timed plank, dips off a kitchen chair or couch. Print out a simple tracking sheet with the exercises, get each person’s baseline and then set an ambitious, but realistic goal for the summer with a Championship Day where everyone does their final exercises. In celebration, go out to a favorite restaurant for dinner, or head out for ice cream, give cash prizes, whatever you want to do to motivate the kids to do their best and to follow through until the end. They’ll be healthier for it, develop some great habits, and have something to show for it at the end of the summer.
Reading/Math Challenges
One of the biggest worries teachers have when summer comes along is that their students won’t stay intellectually stimulated, and when they come back to school it will take a while to get back in the swing. Assuage their concerns by having a reading or mathematics challenge (or both) during the summer. This doesn’t have to be punishment, make it fun! Many libraries have summer reading challenges where they offer little gifts to kids who complete the challenge(s). You can come up with your own as well. Have the kids pick their own books (with your guidance), set a goal for how many to read, or set a goal to read a more challenging book than their used to. When it comes to math, depending on their grade level and ability, have them work on flash cards or time tests, or find a book of fun math word problems to solve each day and then make sure your reward them for their efforts. The reward can often be something simple, some screen time or their favorite piece of candy, or a cash prize for memorizing each number times table ($1 for ones, $2 for twos, $3 for threes, and so on).
Help Around the Home
Kids learn and absorb far more than adults. And they are capable of much more than parents think. Include them in your daily chores or summer projects around the home. Learning to swing a hammer, use a paintbrush, or change the air filter on the furnace, even seemingly mundane chores can be an opportunity for parents to spend time with their children, show them some of the work you do behind the scenes at home, and help them learn some about how a household works. Some options include cooking, meal planning, gardening, doing/folding laundry, DIY projects like painting, building a swing set, repairing a hole in the wall, etc.
Teach Them Your Hobby
Do you do something for fun, or have a hobby that really interests you? If you do, then great, start teaching your child about that activity. If you don’t, now is a great time to pick one up that you can do together with your kid(s). Remember, they may not end up loving your favorite pastime, so don’t be discouraged if they don’t love it the same way you do. Just the exposure to something new, and seeing their parent have an activity outside of work and home is a great lesson to show your children. Even parents take time to have fun and do things that interest them. Some examples include tennis, playing cards, journaling, cooking/baking, golf, running, models/Legos, the list goes on.
Go to a Camp for Something They Don’t Usually Do
Summer camps are a rite of passage for many kids, and whether it is a day camp, or overnight camp, it is an opportunity for your child to spend some time without parents, and outside their comfort zone. While kids may already be enrolled in a sport camp or scout camp they’re already involved in, summer break is a great time to explore new interests with a camp that explores activities they don’t normally participate in. Some examples could be sports they don’t already play, engineering/coding/STEM, art, and outdoor activities.
Conclusion
For a child, summer break is long, and it can be boring and monotonous. It doesn’t take much to inject some fun and stimulation, so be creative, let your kids have some freedom, expand their horizons and have them determine their own daily destiny. Enjoy your summer break!