Courtesy of morguefile.com
Kids can entertain themselves, right? Well, that seems to be the beliefs of many parents. My opinion is this isn’t true for the majority of children. They need direction and influence from the adults in charge.
I’m not sharing specific ideas today, but rather some of my experiences as a teacher, home school mom, and grandparent. Knowing my special education students would forget quicker than most, I felt it important to send them away with stimulating activities for their summer. Stories they had written and illustrated during our language arts time went home for them to enjoy reading. Unable to control their home environment, I simply added a calendar of daily activities, lasting from less than a minute to fifteen. Activities included reading, math, language arts, art, and science. They might be as simple as counting the money in your parent’s pocket or hiding items that start with the letter “b” for a brother or sister to have a scavenger hunt. The idea was to get them looking at a calendar to keep track of their days of the week with fun, educational reinforcement activities they might be willing to attempt.
As a home school mom, life was totally different. I always wore the hat of mom and teacher. Our entire home and lifestyle was a learning environment. While special activities were held in the summer at the public library, VBS at church, and church camps for her to attend, I didn’t have to do much extra planning.
A few years ago my grandsons moved here from Texas and I didn’t have tons of toys to entertain them. Several were purchased soon though. After hearing the words, “I’m bored” for the millionth time, I knew I had to do something different. That’s when I created my activity jar. I typed a list of indoor and outdoor activities, cut them into strips and put them into a jar to have on hand for when they were “bored.” But, this idea could be used for your own children as well. A calendar could outline times for quiet activities and outdoor. If an organized activity wasn’t already planned such as swimming or a play, then they could draw from the jar for a fifteen or thirty minute activity. The paper could be color-coded for girls and boys, as well as indoors/outdoors.
Whatever you choose and however you choose to do it, take the time to make a plan.
A little effort can go a long way.
Try to include things for small and large muscles, reading, memory, thinking, and math concepts.
Have fun aiding in your children and grandchildren’s summer fun.
I’d love to hear your ideas now.
© 2015, Jena Fellers. All rights reserved.
Hi Jena!
I love your summer fun ideas!!!!! When my children were young they grew up in the country. If they expressed they were bored sometimes I would send them outside with a Wal-Mart sack and told them to collect anything they found that they thought was interesting. We would then gather on the porch and talk about all of their treasures. They would have different rocks or pebbles, possibly a feather or a flower they had picked along the way. Before they knew it they had forgotten about bordem and were simply enjoying the great out-doors!
Blessings!
Pasrt Robin
Great idea. Hope some others will share such stories. Blessings.