Feeling nostalgic for a time when there were fewer screens and more scraped knees, popsicles, and long, lazy afternoons. Plus, five tips to try it out for your kids.
It sounds like you have found a very good balance for your family summer activities. Your children will be having a wonderful and wholesome vacation. This is the type of summer that I remember from my childhood. Sue P
Yep! That sounds like the perfect way to do summer. Our summer also always included a visit to the grandparents. Mom was a school teacher. So the summer was when we could travel from Florida back to South Carolina to visit the extended family.
When I was young back on the farm, dad kept us from being bored. Stalls to muck out, hay to bailed , not in large rolls but bales that ment loading a wagon , unloading into the barn ,all by hand. Sunrise to sunset we weren't board.
Love this! Have you tried doing a home reading program to encourage reading? My mom came up with the SHARP program for our house (schmidt home accelerated reading program). If we read a certain number of books, we could cash in for a reward like a special toy or activity we really wanted. We had to write a summary about what we read though. She also used to do pretend fastfood meals (costco dino nugets) through our walkup kitchen window while my brother and I were playing in the backyard.
omg YES we are doing that this summer! our oldest finished a book, I gave him a 20 question test on it, and he earned $20! our middle son, who is only in third grade this coming year, isn't into it as much yet.
I love seeing how you are creating some amazing summer memories with your kids. They will cherish these lazy summer days with their dads for years to come! (And I’ll be borrowing some of your screen-free suggestions for summer in our own home. Thank you!)
When our boys were younger (before COVID), rather than setting up a lemonade stand, they built a three “story” fort (3 boxes high) out of cardboard boxes with friends (as well as some help from all the dads to ensure the fort wouldn’t collapse). They then created mini comic books which they tried selling to all the neighbors from their three-story comic book stand. They sold out rather quickly (couldn’t keep up with the demand as everyone wanted their comic books!) I still have some of their comics from that summer.
Sending love to you and your family! 💕 I hope that everyone has been enjoying their summer! ☀️
This is such a nice idea. I’m sure the kids are enjoying it all and will have such great memories to fall back on as they progress through life.🏖️🏊 (I can still remember, in detail, my childhood flights to FL to visit with my mother’s parents and her sister. So many summers were filled with activities that reflected a different world from our usual NYC lives. I can also identify with the water activities shown in your pictures. My teens brought endless days boating, water skiing and “beaching,” on Long Island, as well.)
The "slowness time" your making for you and PJ is so important. Enjoy as much down time as you can muster. Stay safe and well throughout. 🤗♥️
As a teacher letting kids be bored and figuring it out is one of the absolute best things you can do for your kids. So good job!!
Thank you for this reassurance!!
It sounds like you have found a very good balance for your family summer activities. Your children will be having a wonderful and wholesome vacation. This is the type of summer that I remember from my childhood. Sue P
awww! love that so much
Yep! That sounds like the perfect way to do summer. Our summer also always included a visit to the grandparents. Mom was a school teacher. So the summer was when we could travel from Florida back to South Carolina to visit the extended family.
Hope you all have the best! ❤️🤗
a visit to the grandparents sounds like the perfect way to spend a summer!!!
It really was. Both sets lived in Greenville, SC along with other relatives. Good memories.
I love this! My best summers involved hanging out with my friends outside for the entire day. We had so many “adventures” and so much fun.
Your kids will look back on these years with so much fondness. ❤️
When I was young back on the farm, dad kept us from being bored. Stalls to muck out, hay to bailed , not in large rolls but bales that ment loading a wagon , unloading into the barn ,all by hand. Sunrise to sunset we weren't board.
oh there is ALWAYS something to do on the farm!
Love this! Have you tried doing a home reading program to encourage reading? My mom came up with the SHARP program for our house (schmidt home accelerated reading program). If we read a certain number of books, we could cash in for a reward like a special toy or activity we really wanted. We had to write a summary about what we read though. She also used to do pretend fastfood meals (costco dino nugets) through our walkup kitchen window while my brother and I were playing in the backyard.
omg YES we are doing that this summer! our oldest finished a book, I gave him a 20 question test on it, and he earned $20! our middle son, who is only in third grade this coming year, isn't into it as much yet.
I love seeing how you are creating some amazing summer memories with your kids. They will cherish these lazy summer days with their dads for years to come! (And I’ll be borrowing some of your screen-free suggestions for summer in our own home. Thank you!)
When our boys were younger (before COVID), rather than setting up a lemonade stand, they built a three “story” fort (3 boxes high) out of cardboard boxes with friends (as well as some help from all the dads to ensure the fort wouldn’t collapse). They then created mini comic books which they tried selling to all the neighbors from their three-story comic book stand. They sold out rather quickly (couldn’t keep up with the demand as everyone wanted their comic books!) I still have some of their comics from that summer.
Sending love to you and your family! 💕 I hope that everyone has been enjoying their summer! ☀️
This is such a nice idea. I’m sure the kids are enjoying it all and will have such great memories to fall back on as they progress through life.🏖️🏊 (I can still remember, in detail, my childhood flights to FL to visit with my mother’s parents and her sister. So many summers were filled with activities that reflected a different world from our usual NYC lives. I can also identify with the water activities shown in your pictures. My teens brought endless days boating, water skiing and “beaching,” on Long Island, as well.)
The "slowness time" your making for you and PJ is so important. Enjoy as much down time as you can muster. Stay safe and well throughout. 🤗♥️