“Oh, I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved the idea of summer, and sun, and all things hot!”
I don’t know if you agree with Olaf or not, but summer is here!!
I’m more of a Fall girl myself, but I do love the slower pace of summer. For our family, summer is a time of rest and a time for exploring hobbies and things of interests. Between sports and school we do not have much time during the school year to explore things we love to do. Summer is our time to get the projects out or to focus on a new skill to learn. Summer can be a lot of fun. It also goes by way to fast! As we begin summer break, take some time to think about how you want to spend your summer. If you don’t take the time now, you will find yourself in the school supply aisle in August wondering where all the time went. Here are some things to think about as you are making your plans for the summer.
God!
Summer is the perfect time to spend time with God. We use summer to dive in deep and explore an aspect of God, a concept of Christianity or a book of the Bible with our children. We want our children to have an intimate relationship with the Lord. One where they talk with Him on a regular basis, learn to listen to His voice and follow Him with their whole heart, soul, mind and strength. To reach this level of intimacy you have to purposefully spend time with the Lord. There is an abundance of devotions and Bible study guides available for children of all ages. Here are some of our favorite Bibles and Devotionals for Kids. If you don’t know how to introduce the Bible to your child, check out this Family Conversation Guide: Bible.
Read!
Summer is a great time to read books for enjoyment. School often dictates what you have to read and frequently doesn’t allow you space to dive into your favorite book or genre. If your child hasn’t quite found the type of books they like to read, use this summer to explore all the different genres until you find one that works for them. The library is an amazing resource to use, especially now that most libraries you can put books on hold from the comfort of your own home. Nowadays there is no need to buy all the books-check them out from the library, read them through your favorite app or borrow them from a friend. Sometimes it is hard to know if a book is appropriate to read or not. We recommend you ask friends who align with your worldview to see what books they recommend. We did this recently and a whole new world of books just got opened up to us! Some other options are to check out the books, Honey for a Child’s Heart and Honey for a Teen’s Heart by Gladys Hunt. This is a great resources to give you a little synopsis of each book they recommend. You can also check out our reading list recommendations here:
Skills!
Summer is a perfect opportunity to learn a new skill. One summer I taught the kids how to do their own laundry. Another summer we focused on cleaning bathrooms. My kids are 9, 12, 14 and 16 and for several years now I have not done the kids’ laundry or cleaned their bathrooms. (I do occasionally help the boys, because, well, they are boys.) Let me tell you it is glorious! I am freed up to spend less time doing housework and my kids are better equipped to live on their own after high school. A win-win for all of us! Cooking is another life skill that you can focus on over the summer. Check out this printable to see what basic skills you can focus on first. Do this for both your daughters and your sons. I am working on gifting my future daughter-in-laws with some amazing, skillful husbands! What skill do you want to teach your child this summer? Make a plan and put it on the calendar!
Explore!
Think about the things you wish you could do but have never found the time to do. What places do you want to explore? What hobby do you want to start? Who do you want to get to know better? How do you want to spend your time? If you aren’t careful, summer time can quickly waste away. Screen time can also creep in and slowly (or quickly) take over. Now we aren’t saying it has to all be scheduled out and planned and productive. Summer is a time for spontaneity and unexpected fun and relaxation. What we are recommending is you make sure you are filling your time with stuff that actually fills your bucket. Things that rejuvenate you and your children and make you all come alive. We have found that the only way to do this is to sit down and think about what we actually want to do. We write it down and then schedule the most important things into our weeks.
So where do you begin? Check out this printable to get your brain dreaming about all the possibilities for summer. Make it a family activity. Sit down with your kids and brainstorm together all your ideas. Then narrow it down to a couple in each category and make a plan for it to happen. Get your calendar out and start penciling in the activities.
You will never regret time well spent!
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