by Christie Perkins

Summer is just around the corner. (Squeal!) But it’s not long before the kids slip into a brainless slouchy boredom slump. And all of my entertainment ideas are stumped. We go from bliss to fists in a few short weeks. Yep, it’s true. My kids fight (please send me tips if your kids don’t).

Humph.

I’m excited for summer anyway. I love hanging with my kids. I love schedule drops, late bedtime flops, and night walks with my guy and the kids. Ah, the sweetness of summer time.

But what to do about the long unplanned days? For me, I love to put a focus on the day. I’ve done it for years and the kids seem to like it (I’ve even been surprised that they liked the organization day- probably because we drop chores that day).  Check out what I did last summer here.

 

LETS GET STARTED

This is a quick look at my new schedule this year to avoid a boring lolly-gag summer:

 

MONDAY: (Permanent) Memory Day

The options for this day are open. Do something notable on this day. Either do the same thing every Monday (play games, etc.) or do something completely different this day. I remember telling my mom how I loved that we did a particular activity every year (can’t remember the activity now: memory lapse going on here). She just laughed and said, “No we didn’t. We only did that once.” Funny how something different than the ordinary only takes one time to stick in our brains (…then we get older and completely forget what that was).

Ideas: Video record yourselves on Mondays (ask questions and answer: get silly or be serious. Show us dance moves. Make a movie. Whatever). Write in your journals, work on picture albums, play games, take a picture every Monday. Whatever! Just do something to solidify your memory of each other. Down the road you won’t regret it. I can’t wait.

 

TUESDAY: Treat Day (Slash Food Day)

Ok, ok. So, if you must know we need to perfect our cooking skills. I am going to work with my kids to slop up something yummy (or not… see past experience) and help my boys to catch a wife one day. I’m making them come up with a list of things they want to learn and we will focus once a week to blenderize, bake, and shake it up in the kitchen.

There could be an influx of recipe flops coming soon.

 

WEDNESDAY: Wellness Day

I’m keeping this simple: focus on eating better and exercise. Just make a simple plan the night before and follow through. Let your kids help you come up with ideas. Bike to the tower… or that flower down the road. Just make a plan and go. Drink 6 cups of water. No treats for one day. Wall sit competition. Dance off. The ideas are endless but the message of taking care of our bodies is important. Oh, and you can reward them with a broccoli sucker at the end of day if they succeed.

Yeah. Of course I’m kidding.

 

THURSDAY: Challenge Day

Several years ago I did a challenge once a month for about a year. I loved it. I gained a lot of confidence that year in what I could do. Dumb it down to a simple once a week challenge and I believe you will get the same effect. It would be helpful to write down ideas at the beginning of the summer so that when Thursday rolls around you will be ready to go. Let them come up with their own ideas. Maybe it’s to read a book in one day. Get up early. No complaining all day (yeah, right, like they will think that one up on their own). Run to the water tower. Have a real live challenge (baseball roundup with the neighborhood kids, water balloon war, etc.). Come up with something that will stretch you. I encourage Moms and Dads to participate and be the example. This day can be a lot of work and fun. It’s a day to go above the average.

Ideas: Your challenge paper could have several categories. List five in each category: weaknesses to work on, dreams to reach for, physical fitness goals, qualities I want to develop, something I’ve always wanted to do, projects to work on, fun, spiritual challenge, etc. This should give you a good start.

 

FRIDAY: Fascinating Fact Day

My kids love this day. I love this day. Take time to research something you are interested in (How is chocolate made? How fast do cheetahs run? Can wolves unlock doors? Who is the highest paid baseball player? What do termites look like?). Find answers to your questions. Become smarter and more well rounded. Teach your kids to go to trusted sources. Go to direct sources for tough questions. Experts on skydiving cannot answer questions about prairie dogs (though they may have bopped them on the head). Read a book on a subject you want to learn about.

Knowledge is power. This day is rewarding. It has it’s natural consequence of feeding our minds with truth… if you go to the correct sources. Sometimes if I am uncertain about an answer they received I tell them to find the same answer three times from the best possible sources before they judge it to be correct. That’s just what I do.

 

A HAPPY SUMMER

I hope this helps the summer time lolly-gagging to be a little more enjoyable. Take note, it is best to make a starter list of what you want to do and then it will be easier to find direction of what you want to do when the heat of summer comes beating down. Enjoy the summer with your kids. I can’t wait! Share your ideas, we would all love to hear them.

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