The other day, I ordered a book via Amazon and saw they were vigorously advertising back to school specials. “Not yet!” I thought. Then yesterday, I received an Office Depot/Office Max flyer in the mail with, “Goodbuy Summer” on it. Groan! Why is it that the commercial culture uses these last precious weeks of summer to rally for days gone by before they actually go by! (Maybe that’s because they want us to drop everything and Go Buy…now I hearyougroaning…)
With 3-4 weeks of summer fun available for most families, I wonder what you have on the agenda? I collected some resources if are still planning something special. And if not, you can tuck away for next summer as it probably will be here before we know it!
Camping with Kids
PCI Coach Maria Sanders gives tips that explain 3 important reasons for camping—Connections, Connections, Creativity, and Community. She shares her experiences—3 years now—taking her children camping on the Delaware River, pointing out ideas that have worked for her family to connect, create, and build community in new ways—ways only the camping experience offers.
Since my husband and I live and hike in the Pacific Northwest, I have used REI in the past as my “go to” for all outdoor activities. They have many creative ideas on their website. Try camping at home as a trial run or as a substitute if you can’t make it out into the wild. As we know, any time spent outdoors—in yards, playgrounds or on nature trails goes a long way to advance kids’ physical and mental health.
Adoptive and foster Mom (and PCI Coach in training) Sarah Salisott shares how her daughter “found her jam” through a camping experience. She emphasizes that sometimes first-time experiences can be uncomfortable for kids. Yet, by staying with the discomfort, we may open them up to a new experience that proves to be life changing for them. Sarah encourages other parents, “If we hadn’t leaned into the discomfort and fear of how our daughter would interact in this different environment we would never have found her summer bliss.”
Road Trips
No matter what season you are planning a road trip, check out this specialty blog by Allison, Trips for Family Road Trips and her 10 Screen-Free Ways to Keep Kids Entertained in the Car. I am a big fan of audio books for many important reasons that I outline in detail here.
Listening to narratives short and long enable children and teens to hone listening skills, develop critical thinking and ignite their imaginations. When parents substitute some visual screen time with some audio story time they discover not only are children entertained, safe, and quiet, but afterwards they are less whining and uncooperative, and more accepting and cooperative. That’s because listening to audio actually supports children’s self-regulation in profound ways. On long road trips, short grocery runs or in the kitchen when you need time to get dinner on the table, use an audio instead of an app and observe the positive changes over time!
If planning a summer road trip, you can do so during
an upcoming family meeting.
Family meetings help kids be prepared and provide open time for celebrating successes and setting expectations. PCI Coach, Cindy Shuster, of Partner in Parenting explains the basics of family meetings in this useful How-To Guide. During a family meeting everyone has opportunity to be creative as well. Do you want to visit the smallest town in your state? Or a few haunted places around the country? Engaging kids in the selection and planning of your next family road trip often takes the hassle out of keeping them entertained while on the trip. They naturally engage in what they are excited about!
The Humble Picnic
Whether in your backyard or in your nearest city park, kids love summer picnics! This post gives four super simple ideas that can help put together an enjoyable picnic on the fly. And rain? No problem. I had a lot of sweet moments with my sons, by putting a blanket on the family room floor with picnic food—either sandwiches we had made or take-out fried children and potato salad—while watching a travel show or documentary. As we ate and watched we pretended to be there, talking about the fun adventures of our dreams or in our future.
And Don’t Forget Your Own Care
Summer time busyness doesn’t mean that parents can’t carve out a few minutes to take care of themselves. PCI Coach Heba Fawzy gives six tips for moms to reduce summer pressure in a recent blog post on her website Parenting with Flavor. She makes a good point emphasizing when we moms take care of ourselves, “everyone ends up happy!” And PCI Coach Amelia McGee offers a twist on parental self care when she asks us to consider, “Is Cleaning Up an Act of Self-Care?” A good question for summer time and any time, for that matter! Read the post for her insightful answer.
Copyright, Gloria DeGaetano, 2019. All rights reserved.