Here in the south, it’s summer vacation! No more teachers, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks.
Well, that is unless you’re spending 3 days a week with Ms Barb this summer!!! We do books, LOTS of books.
Several months ago a sweet momma from church asked if I’d consider watching her 3 children, 3 days a week for the summer.
Ok y’all grandparents, I hear you gasping, but I have been excitedly prepping a summer’s worth of activities for these kids. Since our grandchildren aren’t close by, we’re borrowing these 3 and after week 1, pleased to say, it was a success!
Day 1 was a time to adjust to each other, their new surroundings and get them excited about our plans for the summer. By day 2 they were much calmer, anxiety was gone and they settled into our sweet new routine. With Louisiana’s summer already starting off with record-breaking temps, outdoor play consisted of several 20 minutes energy releases, followed by air conditioning and rehydrating.
What’s summer without a giant frisbee disc? Thankfully the kids think it’s great fun as well. On Mark’s afternoon off work, he built a Nerf gun target with Sean. Now he has an entire summer to successfully hit the targets.
Meanwhile, the girls and I had our first ‘training’ day on the embroidery machine. Think I may be creating crafting junkies! I’ve always said teach kids to love crafting and they won’t have the time or money available to get into trouble.
One morning we started painting but it quickly became a lesson in blending colors. When kids are encouraged and not rushed, paper plates, paint brushes and a few bottles of paints can easily become hours of creativity.
Sandwich making turned into 45 minutes of fun as they learned fractions from 1/8, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2. The next day they couldn’t wait to play again.
If you really want to connect with kids this summer, search ‘Family Conversational Starters’ or ‘Family Table Talk’ on Pinterest. We’ve already spent HOURS ‘playing’ this game and it’s amazing where the conversations will lead.
Taught them to play Chicken Foot (aka Mexican train) with Dominos, as well as, stacking and building bridges for race cars.
Each morning kids have to read out loud for 15 minutes each. Thanks to our local library, we have stacks of books, phonics and money games as well as the reading ‘challenge charts’ to keep us on track. If your library isn’t participating in these challenges, Pinterest has great free print offs.
Keeping kids busy yet still allowing for quiet times to entertain themselves, is critical for parents to not just survive but to thrive this summer.
Things I’ve learned and reminded of after week one:
- I’ve become more patient with age.
- After 3 days, I’m pooped!
- Mark is AWESOME with kids (he inherited my teenagers and has younger grandchildren but this age is entirely new to him).
- Kids are very entertaining when you take time to really listen.
I’d like to challenge all parents, grandparents and caregivers this summer to unplug the kids from tv, internet and video games (that means put YOUR devises down too). There’s a whole world out there waiting to be explored.
What fun activities do you have planned this summer? Any great repurposing projects? Maybe crafts made from recyclable materials?
Whatever you do, have fun and make amazing memories!
Barb
