This is my daughter’s last week of school, and I kind of have to admit, I’m a little “scared”…
Where has the school year gone? How can second grade be over already? How are the kids going to spend their time this summer (and how am I going to get any work done in the process)?
I doubt I’m the only one with these questions and others. While I am thrilled to have my daughter around more (her little brother is always home right now, until next year), and it will be a real blessing to spend more time together as a family, it does pose some new challenges.
I don’t want the kids to get bored while I’m working, and I want to be able to spend time with them.
Following are some possible activities we are considering for this summer:
- Walk every morning (the entire family).
- Go to church every week.
- Attend at least one VBS this summer.
- Make bracelets, color, and do other crafts.
- Read the Bible at home (and the children’s Bible with my son), and do Bible lessons, crafts, and other activities (I found some good ones at http://www.dltk-bible.com).
- Read other books (my daughter has a reading list to fill out over the summer, and we can all read to her little brother).
- Attend children’s book readings at the local library.
- Go to the playground, go swimming, play in the sand, or get ice cream at least twice a week.
- Rent and go see some movies.
- Possible singing lessons for my daughter (and she still has to finish out the baseball season and her dance classes this month).
- Go to the park with friends and their children.
- Plan a few sleepovers at the grandparents’ houses.
I am considering a mix of indoor and outdoor activities (I don’t know about you, but I can’t be in the hot sun ALL the time!). Also, despite how much planning it LOOKS like I’ve done, everything is actually pretty flexible. The key theme, though, is that I am trying to spend quality time with family and friends (rather than constantly running the kids here and there, which tends to happen during the school year). I want to keep the children busy yet also help them learn the value of downtime (children need to relax, too!). I also want to keep God close in their minds through all they do.
Please share your ideas and tips for family activities. What are your plans this summer? How do you plan to keep the kids entertained, spend time together, get housework and other work done, and any number of tasks? How are you going to balance your life this summer? Do you have a plan, or do you take it day by day?
