Summer Activities with Your Children

Summer will be upon us sooner than we know it. Whether you are caring for children or a parent yourself, you want to find entertaining activities for the children to do. Yet, you would like those activities to be beneficial and maybe even memorable for the children. Here are a few things that you can do with your children. Note: most of these activities have little to no cost associated with them.

There are many sites that give you good craft ideas to do with the children. Sometimes, however, art supplies get expensive and after the craft is made, it just hangs in the house and the child is instantly looking for new things to do. Some sites have science experiments, which are quite fun, if they turn out right. Some of these ideas take a bit of planning, but are worth it.

Organize competitions. If you have many children in the neighborhood, you can organize competitions. These do not have to be sporting competitions. Certainly, they can be organized games of soccer, baseball or basketball. But, they could also be any type of competition: from pogo stick jumping, bike riding, building the best bike ramp, jump roping or creating the best limerick to jump rope to. You can also challenge the children to make up their own games and then put them into play. This is extremely helpful because the children are being creative enough to organize a game and then they implement their own game. Virtually any interest can be made into a competition. Some girls who were not into sports and such would bake snacks daily. Each girl had a certain day to make snacks. The children decided on the winning snack.
I am not overly competitive. But, this is about sharing one's gifts. Besides, competition (within the right frame work and the right prospective) is not a bad concept.

Utilize the people in your community. There are all different kinds of people in your community. Decide who would be interesting to interview. Have your children write out some interview questions. then, call the person to see if you can interview them and maybe even observe them at work. A budding child photographer might take pictures of your interviews. We have interviewed policemen, studio soundmen, veterinarians, photographers and horse & carriage companies. Sometimes factories or places of business will let you tour their facility. There might be insurance forms to sign that say that you will not hold them liable. At the end of the summer, we collected all of the interviews and pictures and put them in a book for the children.

Devise a treasure hunt. Understanding clues and finding treasure is always fun for kids and adults alike. The clues could include physical activities and mathematics, etc.
And, if you are creative, you can utilize many of the children's strengths. If you have a couple of Math clues, then the mathematician in the group will participate. If you have someone who speaks a different language or is from a different culture, devising a clue around this fact will ensure that he/she participates, as well. Thus, it becomes a team building activity.
The treasure does not have to be money. It could be an ice cream for the children at a local ice cream shop or some other treat.

Organize a community project. sometimes children don't like to work, but if many work together, trash pickup, light gardening, tree planting, dog walking, baby rocking, reading/befriending ill children, even stuffing envelopes can be at least a way to spend one day. then, after the volunteering is finished, make sure that you show your appreciation. If work can be combined with socialization, new and/or interesting experiences or a fun reward, usually children can be convinced to participate and are glad that they did.

Check your Arts and cultural council. Usually they have some free festivals and fun events. Even though children might be hesitant, they will enjoy learning about new things, people and cultures. Libraries sometimes have certain programs throughout the summer which are quite educational. Flea markets, farmer's markets and colleges always have something interesting going on.

Have a camping day. If you have some woods or know of someone who has lots of land, you can organize a camping day. Children love exploring. Bring snacks and items to make a camp fire. Find some interesting facts about plants, trees and flowers .

Plan a pitch-in. Kids love to be involved. It is much better if you plan with the children instead "for" the children. They can take ownership of the event and can give ideas of how to make it better.

Who has talent? Organize a talent show. Many times kids like to display their talent. If you can find a business or two to donate prizes, it is even better. Children will practice their trade, so that they might win the prize.

Make a movie. It is now easy to video record your own movie. Get children together and have them talk about what they might like to do on video. Maybe you want to put together a segment like: "summertime activities," and have the children do whatever they want. Or, maybe you want to try to reenact a certain show or play. One woman had a theme "Your favorite scenes from movies," and kids would get together with their friends and try to reenact their favorite scenes from movies. It was hilarious.

I realize that these activities take a bit of planning and preparation. However, they don't have to be expensive and will provide much enjoyment for the children.
Most of these activities are centered around what people *know* or what they are *interested in*. Sometimes, people don't realize that the best entertainment is not found behind a TV screen, but in our own community and our own children.
Enjoy your summer. Don't let it pass you by without enjoying your children.