I’m Afraid of Summer Break!
Posted by: Christina / Category: Family Life, Running the HouseholdOnly 25 days until preschool ends and only 32 days until my 4th-grader becomes a 5th grader. Is it any wonder why I’m quaking in my boots?
While the children always look forward to their 11-week summer vacation, many parents (including myself!) dread the thought, wondering how to keep their children occupied and happy without hearing the dreaded, “I’m bored!” or “There’s nothing to do!”
For parents to keep their sanity, it’s very important to have a plan in mind and to really study your kids to know what activities will help them stay happy.
This summer I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on camps, so at the moment, our calendar is pretty empty. We attempted this a couple of years ago and I wasn’t well-prepared so we didn’t last a week before the moaning started. Then we found out just how busy all of her friends were with camps and activities, so we were hardpressed to find friends with spare time for playdates. So step #1 for us is to schedule visits/playdates with family and friends.
I discovered during the school year that my 4th grader is a visual person and likes having a printed schedule to follow. She’s a bit fanatical about adhering strictly to the times but at least all the homework and music practice was getting accomplished. So step #2 is make up a summer schedule for her to follow. I love the Google calendar function and maybe this can be a project for her to complete since she loves the computer. And this way she can make her own decisions about when certain things will get done rather than have me decide her every waking move.
Step #3 is print out our tv and computer tickets so we can start using them soon. I make them kind of fancy on the computer and each child gets 4, 2 for 30 minutes of tv and 2 for 30 minutes on the computer. It’s their decision if they use the tickets together for 1 hr of viewing or break it into 2 separate times. A friend of mine tried this idea and she added the caveat that her kids could earn an extra 30 minutes of tv or computer time during the day if they did 30 minutes of reading or workbooks or something else educational. I think I’ll try that tactic this year.
So this is the start of my pre-summer planning. I guess I’m also a visual person like my daughter because I feel better seeing the calendar fill up and my panic about summer lessens. I’d love to hear some other coping strategies!
