Summer is coming! Summer is coming!
So that means that it's time to get serious and start some planning on my part in order to keep my kids entertained, busy, and learning. I always use the following guide for planning summers:
- BOOKS
- Outdoors
- Camps
- Activities
Sticking to this guide really helps me out when everyone is at a loss or complaining about "being bored."
Books
Read, read, read! I make my kids read. This means regular trips to the library and bookstores. I try to stock up ahead of time, but it's mainly activity books because really, this is their time to just relax and read what they want. If I stock up ahead of time, it's mostly because sometimes my oldest son needs some encouragement when it comes to branching out and trying new authors or series.
(If you have a reluctant reader, you should consider using films to encourage them! This was how I was finally able to coax my oldest son into becoming a reader. Read how I did it with him and see a list of 25 movies and their books here.)
And so, of course, this means that starting this week, I'll be sharing a LOT of titles here over the next few weeks and throughout the summer.
Outdoors
I'm not raising a bunch of couch potatoes. We try to spend a lot of time outside. But most of their lives have been spent in North Carolina, where the weather was mild and when it wasn't we were at our local pool.
Over the years we've come up with a LOT of great ideas. Check out these posts on outdoor activities to keep your kids busy outside!
Camps
Camps are a must for those with social butterflies. But I love them because so many places (museums, libraries, churches, community centers, stores, etc.) really go all out to create camps that are fun, safe, and educational. So far, my kids will be doing basketball, lego, and taekwondo camps over the summer. But I'm sure there will be more opportunities that pop up.
Summer is also the perfect time to reinforce (or begin learning) a second language (Spanish!). There are so many wonderful bilingual/Spanish camps happening.
I'll share some of the camps that I know are happening across the country, maybe even in your own neighborhood!
But remember, not all camps have to cost an arm and a leg. In fact, there have been several years when we just couldn't afford to send our kids to summer camps. So I created my own! Download my free Summer Camp @ Home Calendars for children ages 6 to 10ish.
I hope by the end of this month, you'll be feeling positive about the summer and prepared with activities and products that will make the time fly...because they're having fun!
I hope you'll share all of your fantastic ideas with me, too!
Activities
This means crafts, activity books, chores, art, projects, Legos, etc. If they can play it, build it, sing it, draw it, create it, then it is awesome in my opinion.
You can find tons of ideas in my Summer of Fun category. Over the years, it has built up quite a lot of ideas for keeping kids busy during those hot summer months, often using stuff you've already got at home.
I hope by the end of this month, you'll be feeling positive about the summer and prepared with activities and products that will make the time fly...because they're having fun!
I hope you'll share all of your fantastic ideas with me, too!