by Sue Woodward
Summer is here and another school year is drawing to a close. How do we keep our children’s love of learning alive over the course of the summer? Or, maybe the question is how do we recover their love of learning after a tough year at school? The best way: get and keep your kids engaged in life. Instead of doing things for your kids, empower them to do things themselves. By the age of four, kids are capable of making phone calls to ask questions or make appointments. Help them develop a “script” (written or just in their minds) of what they plan to say, prep them with questions they’re likely to encounter, and then watch them with wonder!
As you read through this list, if you find yourself saying, “That’s a good idea, but my child’s too young, s/he can’t do that…” make a conscious decision to let your child try. Maybe she can, maybe she can’t. If you don’t let her try, she’ll never have the opportunity to discover all she can do. Kids as young as 2-and-a-half can answer questions and give their opinion. All you have to do is ask them!
Curious Investigation
Do you ever get tired of answering questions all day long? Encourage kids to find out the answer for themselves. Brainstorm some interesting topics over family meetings that kids (and adults!) can research and later present to the family. It might be something you wonder about, a place you all want to see, something of particular interest to your child, a museum to visit or how long it takes to ride your bikes to a certain place. Have fun thinking of ways to investigate and pick a presentation date that’s connected with a fun event. “Amy, Friday we will go out to eat for dinner. How about you share what you find out with us then?”
Help them find the right path to the answers by asking them, “Who might know the answer to that question,” “How can you contact that
person,” and “What will you say when you talk to them?”
Make Chores Fun
As a family, brainstorm a list of all the things that need to be done around the house. Pick one of the tasks for a day that you can all work together while having fun. If you need to paint the shed, then plan an afternoon for it. Do some creative painting on the shed before you give it the final coat. Make sure you paint pictures on each others’ faces. Ask your kids for some zany ideas to make “boring” projects fun. “What if we pretend that we are UFOs coming to save the world and every weed in the garden is a dangerous invader?” Get it done and make it fun!
Summer Intentions
Come up with a list of five to ten things that each family member would like to accomplish or have by the end of the summer. Your lists might include material things, such as a new bike, or intangible things such as “getting along better with my sister.” Then imagine what it will be like to have those things. What does it feel like to get along better or have the new bike? How will it change life on a daily basis? Keep a list of these things to review weekly at family meetings and record the importance of these items to each person. Encourage your kids to come up with ways they can start to move toward their goals. Maybe it’s changing the ways they respond to arguments, helping a neighbor with some gardening, or taking on extra chores or projects at home.
Let Them Be The Event Planner
As parents, we sometimes feel more like event-planners, but we can equip our kids with calendars, schedules, and budgets, empowering them to keep track of things on their own. Encourage your kids to find a publication or website with local events & listings. Tell them what your monthly calendar looks like, what your budget is, and let them find something fun for the family to do that meets all your needs.
Help Others
Make helping out and volunteering a part of the summer. Ask your kids who they would like to help and how they might go about doing it. Then let them make the phone calls to coordinate the plans. Maybe your daughter will decide to call a home for the elderly and ask to bring her pet there one day to visit the residents. Does your son want to bake cookies to take to the lady down the street with the injured hip? Ask them to involve some of their friends and make it a weekly event.
Summer Mini-Internships
You’d be surprised at how many people answering business phones will take the time to treat a child with the same respect they treat any other customer. Encourage your children to call businesses and ask for a one-day visit. Does your child want to be a veterinarian? Have her call your local vet and ask if she can come in and watch the operations one day. It’s amazing how much more meaningful chemistry is when you’re 6 years old, in the veterinarian’s office, and you find out that the bottle marked “H202” is really just the same hydrogen peroxide you use on your cuts at home. If you have personal connections with someone in a particular field, let your child contact that person and ask about coming in. Make sure to work with the business to accommodate their needs and make it clear to your child what kind of conduct is expected. If your child loves baseball, let him contact the coach of the local team to ask if he can be the water boy/girl for a day. The possibilities are endless. Be creative and let them explore their options.
Creative Outlets
Encourage your kids to put on a play, concert or show with their friends. Let them do the planning, designing of invitations, and the details—should they charge admission and if so, how much. Your child will learn a valuable lesson in economics if he tries to charge $50 for a five-minute puppet show and no one attends. On the other hand, a child who is able to determine a fair price, make the “sale,” and produce a good product is off to a great start. Another option? Have a summer cook-off, where your kids each invite a friend. Each team designs and cooks a menu including a main course and a dessert. Give them a budget, have them make their grocery lists, let them do the grocery shopping, and let ‘em take over the kitchen for a couple hours. (It might be helpful to make it clear that all teams will work together to clean up afterwards).
Make this summer a fun time to reconnect with the true meaning of life. Life is what we do every day and it is what we make of it!
June 2007