“I’m Bored!”: What to do with the kids this summer

It’s time to start thinking what you are going to do with your kids or grandkids this summer that helps them have fun AND maybe learn some new skills.  The first thing you need to do is ask your children what they are looking forward to doing during the summer. LISTEN when they talk and resist the urge to cut in with comments like, “Do you know how expensive that is?” or “Where are we going to find a place to do that?” Write their suggestions down; it shows them you are listening to them and helps you remember what they said. This begins to build the child’s self-esteem. They feel like their ideas are valued. When my daughter and her husband asked my six-year-old granddaughter what she wanted to do this summer, she said, “art and science.” No more details than that.. that leads to the next step.

The next step is a family meeting (include grandma and grandpa if they will be watching the kids during the summer) Go over each idea and explore ways to make that happen.

What if your kids don’t have many ideas?
Here are some to consider:

•  Explore local playgrounds. This is a great way for your kids to make new friends and maybe set up some playdates.A lot of kids have anxiety; learning yoga might help.
• Check out local libraries. They often have yoga programs
• Go  to local parks and explore art. Use watercolors.
• Since what’s on TV is often reruns over the summer, how about a once a week game night?
• How about a family puzzle: find a table where it can be left out and the whole family can work on it when they have nothing else to do?
•  Have the kids plan a picnic for outside. Let them have complete control of the menu, the cooking (with supervision) This is great time to start teaching them how to cook.
•  If you have the space, let the kids each plant what they want in the yard, with it being their responsibility to weed and water. If you don’t have the space or live in an apartment, as I do, you can check out if there is a community garden in the area.
• Many local libraries, museums, and parks have free programs.
• Often many local theatres have $1.00 movie days.
•  What is their fun to do in your backyard? Look for croquet sets and badminton nets and rackets at garage sales and thrift stores.
• For older kids, play Words with Friends with them. They will enlarge their vocabulary to be able to beat you!!
• Many local parks have free outdoor concerts.
• Encourage your kids to make visions boards. (look for my next post to discuss creating these)
• Is your child interested in art? Get them their own sketchbook.
•  Don’t forget to sign them up at your local library for the reading club.

        NEXT WEEK WE WILL EXPLORE MAKING VISION BOARDS

Vision Boards

So here on Long Island, we are expecting 12-18 inches of snow tomorrow , so you know what that means, the kids are home from school and within a few hours the novelty of No School has worn off and now you hear, “I’m bored.” Often, Mom and Dad run out of ideas after, “build a snowman,” so here are some other ideas to make your day fun and memorable, both for you and your kids.

1.    Make homemade playdough or finger paints (all recipes can be found online for this and all other projects)

2.    Have an indoor picnic—if you have a fire, eat in front of the fire.

3.    Bring a baby pool inside with snow to play and make snow castles

4.    Play board games or card games

5.    Feed the birds by putting peanut butter on a pine cone and then cover with birdseed.

6.    Have the kids choose the dinner menu and have them help you make it

7.    Play bath: my granddaughter loves to just go into the bathtub and play in there.

8.    Look on YouTube for fun and easy science experiments

9.    Finally, this is my favorite, make vision boards.

VISION Boards with Kids

Purpose: a vision board is used to visualize your goals and dreams, using old magazines, drawings, newspapers, etc.

Materials

·      Cardboard or any paper that you can glue things to; poster board work well

·      Glue (glue sticks work best)

·      Old magazines or newspapers, even junk mail can be used.

·      Crayons

·      Markers

Instructions

1.    Have the kids decide on what goals or dreams they have for themselves…a little like asking, “What do you want to be/do when you grow up?”

2.    Then they can go to the magazines and cut out pictures and words that represent those goals.

3.    If they can’t find those pictures, they can draw then and then paste the drawing on their vision board.

4.    After they are done, they can present them to the family, explaining what each picture means. The family can then talk about how they can go about achieving that goal or dream. You will be surprised what you can learn about each other with this project.

5.    Parents: don’t forget to do this along with them. Many adults use vision boards to conceptualize their own goals.

An Artist is Born!

Every picture my granddaughter Tally makes me is a masterpiece and the artist loves to see her work displayed. But she is a very prolific artist and my refrigerator is not big enough to display them all. Then I got an idea—a rotating gallery, but not on my refrigerator.

I had a square plastic frame from a print that used to hang in my bathroom at one time. I wasn’t going to use it anymore, but didn’t want to get rid of it.  Then I noticed the latest picture Tally had made for me waiting on my desk. It would either go on the frig or in a file I keep. But what good is having such great art if I didn’t display it? An idea was born!

When you walk in my house, this is now what greets you.

The next time she draws a picture, I intend to ask her if it should take the place of the one in the frame. If no, it goes in the file; if yes, it goes in the frame and the one in there goes in the file.

For all you Moms and Dads, this is a great way to provide an opportunity to boost your child’s self-esteem and have some great artwork for your walls.