5 Ways to Prepare for Summer Break with Your Kids
Preparing for Summer Break Tip #1: Don’t Let Your Kids Stay Up Late
One thing many kids love about summer break is staying up late and sleeping in. But letting your children stay up late makes transitioning to a normal bedtime schedule harder in the fall. And disrupting your children’s sleep schedule may do them harm.
While you may not need – or want – to keep your kids on the same sleep schedule as normal school nights, don’t let them stay up to the wee hours of midnight either.
Preparing for Summer Break Tip #2: Assign Chores
Chores are a great way to build character in children. Chores also teach responsibility. Children may not like chores, but they are good for them. But keep the chores reasonable, based on your kids’ ages. Your kids should not be working all day like Cinderella!
Even very young kids can be taught chores. Kindergarten-age kids can be taught to clean their rooms and pick up their toys. Because very young children have short attention spans, you may have to supervise the entire procedure. If they do something wrong, gently correct them, trying to keep the mood light and have fun.
Older kids can do more complex chores. Teenagers, with guidance and support, can even cook dinner, plan meals, or other complex tasks.
Preparing for Summer Break Tip #3: Continued Learning
Have you heard of the ‘summer slide?’ It’s the phenomenon where children ‘backslide’ during the summer. With over two months without active learning, children find themselves worse off academically at the beginning of the school year.
But there is an easy way to prevent it: Reading! Make reading an everyday part of your child’s summer break. Let them choose their own books. And don’t forget the ‘hidden’ resource right in your town…the library!
Libraries are a fun, easy way to get your child reading. Each summer, the library system selects a new theme. One year the theme may be about science/STEM. Another year, the theme may be about space. Or oceans. Or sports. Your library will likely make a big deal out of this theme. There will be reading incentives, prizes, special shows, and more.
Preparing for Summer Break Tip #4: Plan Outside the Home Activities
Even with all the newfound freedom, kids often find themselves bored not long into summer. Kids, like any person, need stimulation. A simple way to erase boredom? Plan some summer activities.
Many activities available are free or very economical. Check your local museums and zoos. See if they are offering summer rates. Look into summer fairs or other outdoor events. Try to find healthy or stimulating options that don’t revolve around fried food or precarious amusement rides.
Many towns have craft fairs, peach festivals, and other fun events. Craft fairs are a fun way to expose your child to different forms of art. Your child may spot something at the craft fair that triggers a desire to learn the craft themselves.
Preparing for Summer Break Tip #5: Camping Out
Do you have a fenced-in yard? A wonderful and affordable activity is camping out! With a simple tent and some blankets or sleeping bags, you and your children can have a fun night out without leaving your property. Star gazing, roasting marshmallows, and ghost stories around the campfire are all great ways to spend an evening bonding with your kids.
Don’t have a fenced-in backyard? You can create the same sort of atmosphere right in your living room. Simply string a clothesline from one end of your living room to the other. Drape some blankets over the clothesline to form a makeshift indoor tent. Voila! Instant indoor camping experience.
Back to School Fun
Summer doesn’t last forever. Before you realize it, school will be back in session. Give your child’s entire school a fun, welcome way to start off the school year right with my “Abracabully” school assembly program. Contact me today for details.