Summer is here! Normally, everybody would be cheering loudly saying, "Bring it on!" This year, however, plenty of folks feel like summer has been here for the last two months. Now that summer is really here, all of the plans parents thought they had for their kids have likely been thrown out the window.
With few or no summer camp options, social distancing at pools, many attractions not opening until midsummer and limited access to child-care options, parents definitely have a challenge on their hands if they're trying to make summer plans. If you're wondering what in the world your family can do in the middle of all that, here are some helpful hints for creating a summer your kids will remember forever!
* Hold a family meeting. Straight out of the gates, hold a family meeting to brainstorm what's possible within the framework parents have established. Have a little fun with this. No idea is too crazy when you are brainstorming, and who knows, a crazy idea might lead to something that is totally doable.
* Come up with a schedule. As exhausted as most kids and adults are after having to shift to online everything, it might be tempting to just let summer be a free-for-all with no schedule. However, while having no structure may sound like a blessing to you and your kids, ultimately it can be a real curse. Making a schedule helps keep everybody grounded and in the know about what's coming next.
* Be intentional about creating opportunities for connection. Hanging out in the same house or even the same room isn't the same as actually doing something to connect with your children. If that sounds like just one more thing to put on your already overwhelming to-do list, one easy option is to use First Things First's 30-Day Family Challenge (find it at https://firstthings.org/30-day-family-activity-challenge/). Each day has a different fun, quick and easy activity for you and your children to do together.
* Brainstorm old-school games. Since everybody has probably had their fill of screen time, try going old school and doing some of these things for fun: solve puzzles; have Nerf gun battles or water gun fights; ride bikes; let your kids create a scavenger hunt for the entire family to do; investigate how to make your own Slip 'N Slide; play board games, spoons or charades; make a house of cards; go fishing; learn how to play chess or checkers; camp in the backyard and make s'mores; build a fort or treehouse; play marbles or jacks.
* Encourage learning. During your family brainstorm meeting, ask your kids what they would like to learn over the summer. They may want to learn how to cook, change the oil in a car, repair a bike, make a pinata, find out more about your family history or take a virtual vacation to an exotic location and learn about the culture, geography and things that are unique to that location. Take it a step further and plan your meals, clothing or other activities around that location for the week. Learn photography. Read a book together like "Cheaper by the Dozen." You may even want to invest in some grade-level activity books just to keep your kids sharp.
* Plant a garden outside, or play around with growing food indoors. There are plenty of free tutorials available if you are new to gardening, or you might want to ask an experienced neighbor for a hand. You can also experiment with different things such as rooting the bottom of a celery stalk and then planting it, cutting a pepper in half and scraping the seeds and planting them to see if they will sprout. (Spoiler alert, they should!)
Not all of these activities would require hands-on supervision from parents at all times. Some of them could be child-led or done independently to give parents a break and to help build self-confidence and independence in your child.
One thing is for sure: One way or the other, this summer will be one for the books. It will either go down in history as the most boring summer on record or the summer our plans got turned upside down so we decided to make lemonade out of the lemons tossed our way. It may not be the easiest summer you've ever had, but it could become one of your best summers.
Julie Baumgardner is president and CEO of family advocacy nonprofit First Things First. Email her at julieb@firstthings.org.