Summer is a great time of year to catch up with the family and strengthen the bonds between family members. A well planned summer will be memorable, exciting and full of activities. Here are 12 tips for having the best summer ever with your kids!
Create a Plan!
To give your family a memorable and exciting summer, you should plan activities well in advance. You may have a number of criteria that go into making the plan including: your budget, your work schedule, your children’s interests and so on. You may have objectives including getting your child into a new hobby or helping them discover more about the world. By planning everything in advance, you can ensure the summer runs smoothly and achieves any objectives you have set.
Create Projects for Kids to Work On
A long-running project can keep your children busy over summer and deliver something they are proud of at the end. Consider projects like building a tree house, creating a web page, making a simple robot or designing clothes. You children will learn new skills, develop new interests and have something tangible at the end of the summer.
Teach Them New Games
Summer is a great time to teach your kids how to play board games. Depending on their age, they can spend summer evenings learning how to play chess, monopoly, dominoes, clue, scrabble, risk, trivial pursuit or Pictionary.
Teach Them Life Skills
One way of keeping your children occupied is to give them essential life skills over the summer break. If you have a bored child around the house, teach them how to cook a meal or bake a cake. If you are mechanically minded, teach your children how to check the oil in a car or change a tire. Another benefit of this technique is that you can get some essential tasks done while spending time with your children.
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Give Your Children Some Down-Time
While it is great to keep your kids busy, don’t be afraid of having a day where they simply watch a few movies, go to the park or play board games. You don’t need to make every day action packed.
Look For Free or Low-Cost Activities
Some of the best things in life are free! Take your children to the park for lunch or enjoy some time at local tourist attractions. Look for free or low-cost community events running over summer which can help keep the children busy. Local museums and art galleries can also be a low-cost (and fun) day out for the children.
Share Your Hobbies
You might have some personal hobbies that you would like to share with your children. If you are passionate about it, chances are your kids will find some enjoyment while learning the hobby from you.
Get Sporty!
Take up a new sport as a family. It could be as simple as going for a bike ride or a hike together. You could even take up yoga or karate as a family!
Plan Some Big Events
It helps to have some large-scale and memorable events over the holidays for children to look forward to. This can be as simple as a visit to a nearby water park or a kids costume party. Space these events out through summer so children always have something to look forward to.
Get Your Child Reading
Reading is one of the most rewarding activities for a young child. It can improve your child’s literacy while igniting their imagination. Set aside some time over summer to simply read books and talk about books with your children. There are also various reading events over summer with prizes and free books for children!
Take Your Kids Bowling
Many bowling alleys have special day for kids where children will bowl for free. It is a fun activity and a great way to escape the heat over summer.
Look for Free Workshops
Many organisations have free workshops and events for children to learn new skills over summer. Take advantage of these events to get your children out of the house and learning new things.