Reading Time: 4 minutes

 

kids summer ideasSo my kids are home for the summer after their first year in public school. Observations:

a. I’ve been looking forward to quality time with them. That said, if they fight like, one more time? I may be glancing at tickets for four children to, say, Abu Dhabi.

b. I am still working from home. So in contrast to what I wish summer looked like for moms, it’s more to the tune of “more bricks, less straw”.

c. Despite point b, I still want to enjoy quality time with my kids. I have four more years left with my oldest in the house. So as much as I’ve got professional and financial goals, and clients to attend to–I’ve got some other priorities, too.

d. I don’t need to entertain my kids every day. It is not until the last handful of years that parents have included in their job description something akin to cruise director and resident court jester. Boredom for my kids is okay. (See my friend Kristen Welch’s post, Hey Kids: It’s Called Boredom and It’s Good for You.) Melissa Bernstein, cofounder of Melissa & Doug toys, writes here, “Let your kids get bored—it’s the essential ingredient of childhood. A kid won’t begin to use his imagination until he has to dig deep and create something from nothing.”

But if you’re wanting some fresh ideas to connect–or enhance their hearts or brains–I’ve been gathering (and road-testing) some for all of us. Would you share your own in the comments section for all of us?

Make homemade candles.

We opted for soy.  Here’s a great starter article on trying this with kids from hobbyfarms.com.

Start seeds. 
I like using a seed starter with kids; some are less than $7! Here’s one that will give you 25 plants for less than $10. All you need to supply are the seeds you pick out together. Get creative: You could select great pollinators, or make a salsa garden, or select plants with your favorite colors. For veggies, check the time to harvest; you’ll want it sooner than later since you’re getting a later start. Bonus: A seed-starter doesn’t need to be watered as often, so you may even be able to keep your little seedlings alive while you’re on that upcoming road trip.
Get a museum membership.
There’s a decent chance a local museum has a reciprocal membership: one that works in museums around the country!  We’ve gone through children’s museum phases, science museum phases…
Use your noggin. 
My younger two subscribe to Always Ice Cream (for girls) and Clever Dragons–a fun way to keep them academically engaged during the summer. Homeschoolers can get an up to 60% discount here.
Consider working on your child’s academic  weakness through the summer, or a true strength!
Squirrel away Scripture.
I’m challenging my kids to memorize some Scripture this summer, utilizing a few incentives. I love Seeds Family Worship (and their free memory cards) for making memorization a piece of cake.
Find one way to give away.
Whether it’s volunteering for VBS, mowing the lawn for a neighbor, or babysitting for a tired young mom, help your kids find one way to serve. I’ve got 25 low-prep ideas here.
Cook up something new.
My daughter wants to learn to cook some foreign foods this summer. Last week, we tried sushi, and the kids all loved it! It’s easier than you’d think. We had everything but sushi-rolling mats and the nori, which was in the store’s Asian foods section. Find an easy vegetable sushi recipe here.
We’ve also loved arepas, a Venezuelan/Colombian dish. They’re now one of my daughter’s favorites. Here’s an easy recipe, and grab the inexpensive special flour here.
Another fun one: mango sticky rice, like I just had in Thailand. (Uh, yuuuuuuuuuum.) And it’s just in time for mango season here in the States.
Make something beautiful.
I have a couple of kids who love art. This summer, I’ll be asking them to draw an item of my choice (or theirs) every day. I’ve also purchased small canvases for acrylic paint (we’ll plan out our masterpieces first with some sketches); a roll of art paper for large designs; and charcoal pencils. If you want to satisfy even the most prolific of kid artists–and even if you’re not artistic yourself!–check out Deep Space Sparkle for tremendous art project ideas.
Help your kids to be better read.
Don’t forget all the activities at your local library this summer, including the summer reading program. (Here are a few ideas I cobbled together for making the most of your time reading together!) I miss some of the good-quality reading we were able to do when homeschooling, so I’ll have a summer reading list for my kids; though it’s not for everyone, I like Justin Taylor’s classical-school reading list for grades 1-8.  Common Sense Media also has a list of 50 books all kids should read before they’re 12, and the best book series for early readers.
Quiet down.
I let my kids pick out their own journals for quiet time with God this summer. You might consider posting on the inside cover some questions they can answer for what they’re reading in their Bibles:
  • What’s this saying in your own words?
  • What’s it tell us about God?
  • What’s it tell us about people?
  • What’s one way you could make this real in your life?
Or you could print journal pages like these. (Alternatively, laminate and let them fill it out in wet-erase, but then they lose the ability to go back and remember what they’ve experienced!)
Still want more?
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