Kids and Summer, What to Do

Summer is upon us. This means school is out until fall or soon will be, and kids have a lot more time on their hands. What can we do to cut down on the idol time, and spend quality time with our children at the same time?

There are many fun and educational options available to us. No matter the weather, you can always find a fun indoor weekend project to occupy their mind and time. You can get as elaborate as you want or as simple, as can be.

Plan a family game night a couple times a week. Use this time to talk to your kids about issues that they may have heard or seen while at home or at a friend's house while the news was on. Talk with them about things they may be interested in doing this summer. They will open up and talk to you more because they are having fun, and enjoying themselves. They tend not to be as "guarded" when they think you are just making conversation with them and not talking down to them.

Plan a nature walk on local trails. Ask your kids to find certain objects or animals as you walk. Take the time on these nature walks to point out natural wonders of the area, and ask your children why they think things are that way. Point out rock formations and ask your child's opinion on them. If you see, an animal ask your child to spot it also. Have a treasure hunt of sorts. Challenge your child to find an interesting rock or pebble to take home and clean to keep as a reminder of your nature outing. Pick up leaves to press or etch when you get home. Make a scrapbook of your day with the etchings, and any pictures that you took along the way.

A day trip to the park is always fun. Take a trip once a week to different parks in your area. One week you could go to the local park to play on the slides, and swing. The next you could go to a recreation park to throw a ball, or hit the walking trails. Then the next week you could go to a local animal park to chase the family pet and have fun. There are things to see and do in these areas that are educational as well. At the local park with slides and swings, take the time to teach your child about angles, and teach them about gravity on the slides. At the recreation park, you can once again point out leaves, trees, and flowers. Let your child tell you the difference in each one that they see and are interested in. When you take a trip to a local animal park, ask you child about the different types of animals there. Can they spot a small, medium, and large animal? Can they tell you the colors of each animal they see?

Plan a day trip to an old town in your area. Spend the day walking around, and looking at the different types of buildings. Point out the building markers that show the year the building was built and who built it. Go into the old shops, and buildings to point out different unique things about each. When you get home if your child is old enough to write, ask them to write a story about the day and include their favorite parts of the day. Take pictures along the way to put with their stories.

A lake trip or river trip to fish is a wonderful idea. This is also full of opportunities to point out fun and interesting facts. See how many fish your kids can spot in water. Can they tell you the colors that they see on the fish? It is always fun to let them dig with a small garden shovel, or a stick for that matter, to see if they can find worms to use as bait. They get to get dirty, have fun, and learn something along the way. If your family likes fish, take some of what you catch home for dinner. Let the kids watch you scale and clean the fish. Then let them help you season and make the fish for lunch or dinner. If you do not really like to eat fish, teach your child the importance of catch and release.

There are endless possibilities to what your summer can hold. Let your child spend time with you this summer, having fun and learning some fun new facts. They will carry these memories with them for a lifetime. Hopefully, someday they will share some of the same experiences with their own children and look fondly back to the day that they spent with you doing the same.