To most of us, summer means to swim in the ocean, breathe its salty air, and maybe even eat tropical fruits on a hammock in between naps. But if you’re a parent, summer also means that you have children who are impatiently awaiting a break from their yearly schedule of going to school and expect you to show them a great time. It is also a wonderful time to expose them to many things that may not be possible in the mundane routine of everyday life. The wonderful thing about the summer is that the weather gods are in good terms with us, leading to fruitful plans (pun intended). Here are some ways for you to channelize your bundle of energy and make memories for years to come!
Beach Bums
As the good weather starts shining, we all find ourselves heading to the beach. After the first few trips, when the novelty of the sand and the water wears off, you can rekindle the enthusiasm for the beach by collecting shells, building a sandcastle, playing the “find the object” game in the sand, writing your names across the sand, tossing a Frisbee and playing some beach volleyball. Plan a picnic on the beach with their favorite finger food and enjoy a high tea with the waves for company.
Travel
The best time to catch up with family is on a long drive. Don’t you agree? So what are you waiting for?You may plan a quiet holiday in a cabin in the hills, or choose to go on an impromptu road trip to a nearby town where a state fair is on.
Each littletrip has its own charm and will expose your kidsto an array of experiences. In addition, you get the opportunity to bond with your child and teach them the things that you don’t get a chance to do otherwise.
Outdoor Bonding
Don’t think too much. Just go with the flow. Embrace the outdoors by renting a bike or walking to a nearby park. Chase some butterflies. How about a camping trip? Remember to take your camera to document some precious memories. Walk barefoot on wet dewy grass.
While you are at it, why not make use of the lack of air pollution and see how many constellations you can identify in the night sky? Teach your kids how to go about building the perfect bonfire, or about the flora and fauna around you. Knowledge is limitless after all.
Art Exploration
Children can relate to all forms of art and what is a better time to cultivate their taste for it than the endless summer afternoons? Explore painting on alternate surfaces like fabric or stained glass for older children. Plan an outing to see a potter’s wheel and let your kids have a spur-of-the-moment experience of shaping a pot.
Bring home a pot to remember the day by and paint it. Understand how art on different textures is governed by different constraints by having the children try their hand at marble painting, oil painting and canvas. Once you have exposed them to different mediums, take them to a nearby museum to see what great artists have done with such mediums.
Arts & Crafts Projects
Try and get children engaged in the joy of creating something on their own. This will lead to an independent approach to tasks and a sense of ownership in their projects. Here are a few ideas to get their creativity flowing:
- Look up an origami arrangement and make a colorful hanging mobile.
- Build your own version of a vehicle using building blocks or mechanic toys.
- Help them make a poster in their room on how they are unique covering their tastes, individual quirks etc.
- Come out with a weekly newsletter on what they enjoyed most during that week.
- Pick flowers from the neighborhood and arrange them with some simple tips from Ikebana.
- Make a finger puppet show of shadows on the wall with a theme and a script for the family to see during the evening.
- Make a cookbook of the family’s favorite dishes and fill in the recipes with them.
- Watch a documentary with them about interesting ceremonies from various cultures. For e.g. Tea ceremony in Japan.
New Experiences
All our imagination is limited only by our experiences and flights of fancy. Engage your children in new experiences that will help them dream more. Try to incorporate atleast a few of the experiences mentioned below:
- Flying a kite
- Attending an outdoor concert
- Going up on a hot air balloon
- Travel on a boat or a ship
- Sleeping under the stars
Find Joy in the Ordinary
At the end of the day, ordinary things like watching a movie, jogging in the evening, blowing bubbles in the backyard or even playing a video game together are small joys that are all the more precious because bed times aren’t fixed and school deadlines are not looming over the horizon.
Use the occasion to teach your children some of the games you loved as a child. The old charm of board games like scrabble, chess, and monopoly over some nachos and dip is golden! You can even challenge yourself and your kids by bringing in a new board game like backgammon or Shogi (Japanese chess) and learn it together!
Fun in Everyday Activities
When was the last time you cooked a meal together? Engage your children in small activities around the meal like chopping vegetables. Help them create one dish like cool lemonade from scratch to understand how it feels to make something for everyone in the house.
This simple task will teach them many things. To appreciate the person who puts food on the table. To understand the effort it takes to dish a meal for a family. Bake cookies or their favorite chocolate cake together.
After this, take the time to make a tent with the sheets and have your dessert in your new makeshift house of sheets with your children.Use cardboard boxes to make forts and play pirates with your children between the tents and the fortresses. Watch them light up with the new experiences.
Look up old pictures together and tell stories of their childhood to them. You will be amazed at how much they love to hear about their babyhood. Meanwhile you get the opportunity to reminisce about the days past and feel grateful.
Count Your Blessings
Spend a day of mindfulness and teach your kids to savor life with its abundant blessings. Take them to an animal shelter to care for the many animals being looked after there. Then stop over at an orphanage or an old age home to help them understand that there are many people who are very deserving of our kindness and attention.
Go to a park to breath in the clean air and reflect on the experiences of the day with a nice conventional tea party at the park.The best days are the ones in which you don’t make any plans but allow the children to decide the flow for the day.
However, keep these ideas handy to provide some direction when they seem to want to do new things. After all, what better way to enjoy new experiences than to indulge in them with our kids, just to see the happiness on their faces!
Whether you pick these ideas or go with the flow, make sure you spend quality time with your children and create wonderful memories during their vacation. New experiences that give rise to their sense of wonder will make them older and brighter every year. Children may forget the nitty-gritties of everyday life but will definitely remember the joy you create in their hearts for many,many years to come. So, go on out and paint the town red!Happy Parenting!
What are some activities that help you bond with your child? What are the kinds of activities that you ensure you do as a family? Tell us in the comments below!
Also Read : 10 Tricks to Make Maths Fun for Kids
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