Whether they are in preschool, kindergarten, or above, all children love summer vacation! But this break from school isn’t just fun for children; it’s also fun for their parents. Even parents who work during the summer have more free time to make special memories with their children over summer break. Use these ideas as inspiration for your own memory-making plans:
- Plan game nights at the house. If you will be working during the day, you don’t have to wait until the weekend to spend quality time with your children! Designate one or more nights a week as a family game night. Each family member can pick two or three board games or other activities that they enjoy and write them down on slips of paper. Place all slips into a bowl and randomly choose two or three slips each night to pick that night’s games.
- Set up a backyard water park. Summer means spending time in the sun. But you don’t have to go far to take advantage of the warm weather; you can create a water park in your own backyard! Find pool toys, water balloons, water games, and hose attachments that can be used to put together activities and obstacle courses for the family. Gather the family to set up all of the games and activities, making up new games as you go.
- Invest in a family camera. Taking pictures is a fun and easy way to capture special moments with the family. If you don’t already own a digital camera, you should purchase a durable, high-quality model that will be able to keep up with all of your family’s summer plans. Let each member of the family play photographer, switching off during different events and activities.
- Create a summer scrapbook. After a summer of taking pictures, you will have plenty to put in a fun and heartwarming summer scrapbook. The whole family can work together to decorate pages with stickers, ribbons, quotes, and special messages that relate to each different memory made during the summer.
Children will certainly have plenty to talk about during child care or pre-K after a summer full of memory-making with the family!
