Summer is the perfect time to focus on family-centered
activities that you might not have time for during the regular school year.
Without the distraction of academics, you can work on craft projects, home
businesses, and fun activities. It’s a great time to teach some special skills
to your children as well as build some memories for a lifetime. Here are some
ideas and tips to consider.
Take control of your
schedule now. It’s too easy in the summer to think, “Oh, school’s out so of
course we have time for that activity!” Next thing you know, your family is
over-committed and exhausted. Don’t let that happen this summer. Make a
calendar, decide how many outside activities you will do and stick to it.
Schedule in days that are free of outside activities. Plan not only your
vacation(s), but also plan in days before and after to pack up and recover.
This will allow you more freedom to consider some of the family-building
activities below.
Try a home business.
What better way to teach your children skills like balancing a bank account,
maintaining a schedule, working on a budget, and customer service skills? The
possibilities are endless, as you consider what would work best for your
family. There are businesses that even small children can help with and
businesses that require a high school student’s abilities. Dog sitting, yard
work, baking, and music teaching are easy businesses to start. If you prefer
something more in-depth, you can try a multi-level marketing company such as
Pampered Chef or Mary Kay products. Look at what your child’s
interests and abilities are and help him or her come up with a way to market
those skills.
Read aloud together.
Some of my best childhood memories are centered around our family’s read-aloud
times. Studies show that parents who read aloud to their children help develop
their children’s reading skills. And when your children get to read aloud to
you, they can be motivated to become better readers. Let each person pick a
book to read aloud and take turns. This isn’t a time for criticism (other than
maybe occasional help in pronouncing a word), but rather just for fun. Help
your children associate reading with fun family time. It may be too hard for
the people not reading to sit still, so come up with some quiet handwork to be done
during the read-aloud time – puzzles, sewing, crocheting, drawing, wood carving, legos,
tinker toys, etc.
Check out some nearby
educational sites. Rather than waiting for someone to organize a field trip
during the school year, take your kids this summer! Museums, battlefields,
zoos, nature trails, you name it. Pack a picnic lunch if you want to save some
money and eat at a nearby park. When you visit these places as a family rather
than in a big group, you have the opportunity to go more slowly and focus on
what your children are interested in.
Learn a new skill as
a family. Take lessons together and encourage each other as you learn. This
could be anything from sewing to singing to rocket-building! Get books on the
subject, read about it online, go to some classes. Let your children see that
you’re interested in learning too, and they will be encouraged to learn more
themselves. And who knows, this could be the start of a new favorite activity.
(This is how my sister and I wound up becoming professional harpists, by the
way!)
Complete a big home
project. Clean out the garage. Paint the living room. Plant a garden.
Remodel a bathroom. Get your kids involved in these activities. Someday they
will own their own homes and these skills will come in handy. Teach them how to
clean properly, how to remodel, how to build, how to garden – basically, teach
them good stewardship of property. They may or may not enjoy these “chores”
now, but will thank you some day when they have their own homes to maintain.
Let this be a summer of fun and productive family time. I
hope you enjoy your summer!
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