A Few Tips for Your Kids' Summer Fun

Summer break is almost here. I bet most kids are marking their calendars. For parents it could mean two things. Summer break means weeks without the stress caused by the kids' schooling. No more homework. No waking up early for school days. No driving here and there for school-related activities. But summer break also means weeks with the children who seem to be always looking for something to do. They would be bugging you to say that they are bored and that there is simply nothing else to do. That does not exactly mean that there is really nothing to do. They could mean that there is nothing that interests them, or that they could not think of anything that could at least excite them to consider doing it.

I think the key is to add up a little spice to what you might say are simple activities. Children want to have their hands dirty sometimes, want to assume roles, discover new things and explore possibilities.

So here are simple tips that you can do to make your kids busy during the summer break:

1. Creative activities. You don't have to be an art expert to do this. Learn with your children. Set a time that could allow the family to wear old clothes that you can soil because of activities that would allow you to use paint, clay, glue, glitters and the like. You may do Tye dye projects which is just really apt for the summer. Use cheap white shirts, download an easy step-by-step guide and just enjoy the many colors that you want.

There are books that teach how to make polymer clay jewelries. There is baking involved here, as well as a lot of painting so it could be fun.

Allow your imagination to soar. Even if it is summer, do arts and crafts that can be used in the coming seasons and celebrations. Why not boil eggs and practice on making beautiful easter eggs? Make early Christmas decorations so you would have them ready even before December comes. Personalized cards are also a clever idea. The computer may come handy with this. You can come up with lovely letter labels, monograms and personalized stationery as well.

Ask the help of the children in organizing your picture albums. Children may have their own touch with scrapbooking, and their help would definitely speed up with this project.

2. Learn while having fun. Do not take learning take a vacation too during the summer break. Children can be encouraged to do fun things and at the same time learn a few things here and there. For kids who are practicing their cursive writing, urge them to write letters and postcards to family and friends. If you are on a camping or going to an unfamiliar place, let the children read and understand maps.

Furthermore, you can do some science stuff like doing a butterfly garden in your own place. Also, during the hottest days of summer, make the children keep track of the temperature and together read on the highest recorded temperatures. Let them play like little detectives at home. Give them notepads and make them report new things that they have discovered like something about the insects they saw outside. In short, do activities like they are an everyday thing, but add a little kick to it.

3. Discover and rediscover your city. You could be doing a lot of traveling to different states or cities, but your own city could still offer your more. Ask friends for places that they enjoy in your area. Surf the net and look for other restaurants you have not visited, or interesting parks and museums. Or revisit some of the fun places that you have seen years ago. They might have added some new attractions. Look at your city's calendar. There is usually a line-up of celebrations or important events that are scheduled. Try to attend and enjoy the community.

4. Enjoy festivals and celebrations in nearby cities. Keep track of fun events like wine and art festivals, fair and carnivals, food festivals and parades. This is a fun way of discovering different cities products in terms of food or their crops or harvest. This could be a good learning venue for children to learn about how food and products tend to cultivate a certain kind of culture in areas that may not really be very far from home. These events are usually held on weekends, so this would not really get in the way of your work.

5. Learn something new. Your children have their own interests, so allow them to choose what they really want to explore and develop. You may give options but try not to be pushy. Remind them of their skills and strengths, and sit down with them so you could look at a list of possible things that they could get into for summer. A child may like to learn to play the guitar. So even by word of mouth, ask people if they know of a good teacher in your area. There are many local music stores that offer lessons, so you could try that option as well.

Some children may want art or pottery classes. Check out community classified ads, or those free parent magazines for possible centers that offer these classes.

If you do not with to spend too much on this, your children could try out what they want at the comfort of your own home first.. Be around and involved. Your little girl might want to try out baking cookies, so begin with simple recipes. For a son who wants to learn how to draw animals, a drawing guide and plenty of sketch papers could be the first step. Some kids may want to learn a few steps in a kind of dance, so you can buy a DVD or a video tape and let them discover if this is what they want. Even the broadbands offer simple lessons on playing some instruments.

Explore things and let the child give it a try and see if the interest is really there. Although a lot of guidance is also needed here. Some would feel upset easily, just like in any case when a new thing is being learned. Most would say that this is not what they want and would give up too quickly. Be supportive and remind them that the goal is for them to have fun and discover new things for themselves.