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Don’t you just love it when school gets out and the schedule can be less rigid? I loved summers as a kid and as a stay at home mom, but the reality sits in about a week or two after school is out that there needs to be some order or mom is going to lose her mind before the calendar hits July. Here are some of my best summer survival tips from close to thirty summers with my children.
1. Get swim lessons for your children. Water safety is as important as any other safety, plus they can meet friends, learn to overcome fears and be physically active.
2. Set screen limits up front and let this your first line of defense in discipline. This can be different for various ages, but even little tikes seem to have screen time. Whether it be tv, iPad, video games, phones or dare I say, even e-readers. Children need to look up and be engaged with the world around them.
3. Pay your child to read. I know, this is shocking. I have a regret that I did not do this, especially for my boys whose first love was not reading. As college students with big dreams, they regret not reading more. The pay can be minimal or be non-monetary, but help your child set a goal for the summer. Come up with an accountability plan so you know they actually read the book. This could be varied so you keep their creativity engaged. A written report, a piece of art work, acting out the book complete with “costumes” and props, and don’t forget the all-important oral report. Reading was my vacation to other places and times as a child. Don’t forget to make frequent trips to your local library to keep your shelves stocked.
4. Make a boredom jar. In this jar goes extra chores which would be nice to have done but aren’t on the usual weekly list (they are doing weekly chores, right?). If a child comes to you with the all familiar phrase, “I’m bored,” give them a turn at picking out an item in the jar and I guarantee most children will not make this mistake again. What this does is teach the child to create their own fun, even if it means they lay on their bed tossing a ball up and down. One thing I notice is it seems we have the idea we must entertain or schedule our child for something every minute of the day. As more children attend programmed daycares and preschools, as school days grow longer, technology expands, and as fears of letting children play in their neighborhoods are on the rise, the “downside” is less free time for children to play on their own and invent new things to play. I credit my imagination today for playing endless hours with no script, very few toys and thankfully a big back yard.
5. Find the local events, museums, and landmarks in your area. Check out their websites for admission times and look for “free” days. Make a calendar for the summer and try to take in some of the local places you might not have time to visit any other time of the year. This is a fun thing to do with visiting cousins or just to discover so you know where to take friends when they come. When we lived on the farm, all of our visitors wanted to go to the famous Boot Hill in Dodge City. I think we only visited there when we had guests. Here in Houston, the Museum of Fine Arts has free Thursdays. What places does your community have?
6. Go camping…in your own backyard or living room. Not everyone can go real camping, but you can have most of the fun by creating a camping atmosphere with either a real tent or one made with blankets and chairs or other props. Don’t forget to include some of the camping essentials, water canteens, blankets or sleeping bags, little pillows, flashlights or a lantern if you have one, and of course the smores (or other snacks.) Here are two pins for different ways to have smores minus the fire.
7. Read a book as a family. Set a time each day or week to read from the book. If you are taking a road trip this summer, then be sure and get an audio version and improve your child’s listening skills (and yours) by listening to the book in the car.
8. Have family movie nights. It is tempting to let the kids consume more television in the summer. We had pretty strict rules in the school year about t.v. so we did relax them some in the summer, but we still tried to limit their time and what they watched. There are some great movies which should be watched as a family so you can discuss them and laugh about them and quote from them. Make this time extra special by considering combining movie time with #6 or making your viewing like a drive-in theater. If you don’t normally eat in your living area (good idea!) choose this time to bend the rules by covering furniture with easily washed throw blankets and have fun foods while watching. If you have a way to view the movie outside, even better. Or, maybe everyone piles in mom and dad’s bed and watches it on a laptop or television.
9. Go Stargazing. Even if you live in the country, you can sometimes forget to just lay down on a blanket and look up! Get as far away from lights this summer as reasonable and enjoy some time looking at God’s celestial handiwork. Grab a library book (see #7) and study the star formations so you can recognize them when you get out there.
10. Last, but most IMPORTANT!! Enact a daily quiet time for everyone! I cannot stress how important this is for moms, especially stay at home moms. It is the best defense against insanity. Another mother of four, who was older than me told about this practice. I soon adopted it and it saved my life.
You will have to start slowly if you have never done this but start with a 15-minute timer for little ones, longer for older ones. Before the time begins, let them choose some books and/or a quiet toy such as a stuffed animal or a puzzle to take on their bed. They need to get on their bed and stay on their bed until the timer goes off or you tell them time is up. Build up the time every few days until you reach an hour. The only exception to getting off the bed is to go potty or if they are bleeding which they should not be since they are not to get off their bed! Meanwhile, mom, you go lie on your bed! Don’t wash dishes or laundry or pay bills or anything else, go straight to your bed. Set a timer for 20 minutes and begin training yourself to power nap. (click here to get my free power nap training sheet). After 20 minutes then read or write or do something that fills your soul and mind but raise up and don’t sleep longer than 20 minutes or you will regret it at bedtime.
Try and make yourself take the whole hour to fill your cup, most of the household jobs can be done while your children play around you unless they are tiny in which case, they will probably nap longer than the hour. Unless of course, you have a child like my number 2 child who after 18 months I could no longer let take a nap lest she is up until 2 a.m. This is why quiet time saved my life. By the way, that little girl now uses her stamina to treat geriatric patients at the VA. Have a great summer and just remember school starts in just a few weeks so slow down a little and have some fun.