5 Ways to Maintain Your Sanity with Your Kids During Summer Vacation
It’s summer vacation. What are you going to do about it?
Each year, millions of parents welcome their children back into their homes full-time. Gone are the days when they are in school from early morning to late afternoon. Whether you are a homemaker or you work outside your home, having the kids home disrupts the schedule you’ve established for the other ten or so months a year.
I’m Virginia school assemblies presenter Joe Romano. For the last 30+ years, I’ve developed amazing and interactive assemblies for schools in Virginia and other surrounding states. My intention with these articles is to help busy parents solve some of the unique challenges that come with being a dedicated parent and caregiver.
In this article, I’ll reveal a few simple strategies you can deploy to keep your kids occupied this summer. And you’ll maintain your sanity in the process! Let’s get started…
Summer Vacation Survival Tip #1: Summer Reading Program
Each year, libraries across the United States make a big push to get kids and adults into the library. The library system picks a theme. Individual libraries highlight that theme with books geared toward that topic for kids.
The libraries host reading-based contests, incentives, and more. Kids can earn prizes, see live shows at the library, and more. It’s big business for libraries. Some libraries might have over 90 programs over the summer! It’s a great way to keep your kids occupied. Plus, it’s free!
Summer Vacation Survival Tip #2: Teach Your Kids to Cook
Want a great way to keep your kids occupied? Introduce them to the kitchen. And I’m not just talking about fish sticks and fries. Teach your kids how to follow a recipe. Get them involved in the meal planning each week. If siblings disagree on what should be prepared, let each child choose equal meals for the week.
The key to this is real cooking. Your kids won’t learn much if they choose microwaveable fast foods to prepare. With the popularity of cooking shows, the culinary arts have never been higher! And there’s another benefit, too. You’ll save money.
If your family enjoys specific restaurant dishes, chances are you can easily find a ‘copycat’ recipe online. These recipes allow you to replicate your favorite dishes and save money. Restaurants are tasty but expensive. Teaching your kids to cook something that tastes exactly like a restaurant dish is a fun way to learn new skills and have fun over the summer.
Summer Vacation Tip #3: Outdoor Movie Night
Drive-in theaters are rapidly going the way of the dodo. But you can introduce this time-honored summer activity to your kids at home. Plan an outdoor movie night! If you have a backyard, you can turn it into your own personal drive-in theater. But without the cars.
There are plenty of easy ways to rig up your own DIY movie screen. From there, project your favorite movies on the screen. And outdoor projectors are easy to use. Best of all, it’s an investment that can provide summer fun for years.
And don’t forget the snacks! Moviegoing is often just as much about the goodies as it is about the actual movie. Grab your snacks, sleeping bags, and bug spray. Enjoy a movie under the stars for a safe and fun summer activity.
Summer Vacation Tip #4: Sidewalk Chalk Art
One challenge with summer is keeping children away from their screens. An easy way to stimulate them to use their gray matter is with a big box of chalk! Run to your dollar store, grab a box, and you’ve got enough fun to fill hours of summer.
Challenge your kids to hone their artistic skills. Try drawing animals, castles, superheroes, and anything they find interesting. If you find it difficult to get your children to put down their screens, let them earn it. Spending enough time drawing chalk art earns them screen time. And don’t forget to use this technique with your summer reading plans, too!
Summer Vacation Tip #5: Photo Scavenger Hunt
Want to do something stimulating with screens? Have a photo scavenger hunt for your kids. Give them a list of insects, critters, birds, and other creepie-crawlies indigenous to your area. Have prizes for who completes the list first. Pair up with neighborhood families for even more fun.
Plan the Perfect School Experience
Summer is fun but it doesn’t last forever. But you can keep the fun going! An educational and fun school assembly for your school in VA can give your school’s children something to look forward to during the school year. Contact me for more information about my fun-filled magical assemblies on character, science, reading, and math!
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