If you're traveling or not, you'll still have a few weeks of summer vacation. These ideas work if you're on the road or staying home.
1. If you or your kids are heat-sensitive, planning your outdoor activities before the sun gets too hot is a great idea. The morning coolness sets a refreshing tone for the day and ensures you're proactive in managing the heat. Plus, it's a perfect time to avoid the rush and enjoy quality family time. You can always switch to indoor activities around lunchtime and in the afternoon.
2. If you allow some screen time, plan this for late afternoon and make it clear from the beginning. If you start too early, you'll lose your kids for the rest of the day.
3. You could arrange get-togethers with other children, family members, or friends to have some one-on-one time with each child. Check out who will be available and when. That way, you can have these precious moments with one child while the other is busy.
4. Some children like structure and are missing out on their school routine. Others love the flexibility of not having anything planned. If you only have one child, this is easy to attend to; if you have more than one, try to strike a balance between both.
5. Water is often a popular summer topic. This can mean being on the beach, visiting a public pool, or visiting a splash park. We have a fountain nearby where Mexican families take their kids to play around. For very small children, a bucket, a paddle pool, or a garden sprinkler will do...
6. Other fun ideas would be "do-the-opposite." For us, for example, this meant going indoor skiing. Yep, my daughter learned to ski in July. We went there for five straight days and had loads of fun. Another possibility would be going to the cinema to cool off and catch up on some movies. I highly recommend Inside Out 2, which explores the emotions of a teenager to the whole family!
7. Not everything needs to involve money. There are public pools, public libraries, community centers, and loads of local activities that are often free. Ask your neighbors, check out social media like ”free activities near me”, and see what's happening.
8. If you have a child who will go off to university, this summer is also a great idea to get them ahead on learning how to cook simple dishes, do their laundry, and budget money.
9. Summer is also great for brushing up on academic deficiencies, improving or learning a sport, or working on themselves. Swimming comes to mind, as do self-defense classes and online coaching. This is also a good time to try things out, maybe sailing, synchronized swimming, or hip-hop dance.
I think the best summer is well-balanced, depending on your financial and time possibilities as a parent. A mix of all seems to be the best… Get your children involved, and make them responsible for organizing, planning, and looking up things. This will ensure that they'll feel valued, engaged, and in charge, and this alone will boost their self-esteem!
Have a great rest of SUMMER 2024!
Kindly,
Andrea
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