Guest post from Beth of BethDemme.com
As this school year winds down, I found myself more eager for summer than ever. I celebrated the end of this school year with unprecedented glee.
I love summer because it means more family time, more traveling, and no homework. To avoid wasting the golden opportunity that is summer, we start the summer with specific goals.
Here are my top three tips for setting great summer goals:
1. Ask Your Children What Interests Them
Children spend the school year learning what teachers tell them they have to learn. Summer is an opportunity for them to choose their subjects.
For example, last summer my son wanted to learn magic. At the beginning of the summer, he used some his own savings to buy a few magic tricks. He worked on those illusions any time summer boredom threatened. At the end of the summer, his dad and I got a free show!
2. Try to Serve Others
Service is important throughout the year, but the free-time offered over the summer makes it even easier to schedule family service projects.
Here are some great summer service projects you can do with your children:
- Volunteer with an organization that makes summer lunches for children who receive free lunch during the school year. Talk to your children about what life is like for these children who often go hungry during the summer.
- Ask a nearby school or church if they have a closet or classroom that needs cleaning. When you’re done, decorate the bulletin board or let your children draw an amazing mural on the dry erase board.
- Find an older neighbor who would like help with their yard work. When you’re finished, go home and run through the hose or jump in the pool with all your dirty yard work clothes on.
3. Don’t Forget Yourself
Remember to set a learning goal for yourself, too. You’ll probably be in your minivan less and, hopefully, sitting by the pool more. You can use that time to explore your own interests.
I have a few topics I’m interested in so I’ve made a “Learning Plan List.” For me they’re all Bible related, but your list could be anything — a time period you want to learn about, a new genre of books you’re interested in, or even a set of recipes you want to try.
Here’s a great tip — don’t forget about audiobooks! There are amazing books and lectures available in audio formats (check Audible and iTunes). You can put in your earbuds and absorb an incredible amount of information this summer.
By the end of this Summer, your whole family will feel energized and ready for the Fall.
Beth Demme is a mom, public speaker, and sometimes lawyer. She’s all about Learning to Live Loved. You can read more at BethDemme.com.
Thank you so much for mentioning Serving Others. Summer can be such a self focused (even if it is the whole family) thing – we all want to GET what we can out of it. I love the perspective of What Can I Give This Summer?
We homeschool, so our summer days look a lot like our non-summer days, but I love the idea of setting learning goals for myself. I keep a list of goals for my kids, but haven’t set formal goals for me. Thanks for the tip!
I love these ideas! I tend to forget to ask my kids what they want to do, instead of pushing my agenda. I also like the idea of focusing more time on serving, which the summer affords. It’s also so easy to forget to take care of ourselves. Can’t wait to get some fun time for myself on the calendar too!
I love it! Instead of feeling like we need to entertain our kids all summer, we can find ways to serve and help them find their own interests! I’ll be working on this for sure!
I often joke that I end up feeling like the “Director of Activities” in the summer. I need a PA “join us now on the Lido deck for … LIMBO!” These strategies have definitely helped us move away from that.
Love your suggestion of asking what they want to learn!
As empty nesters we would just love to hire your kids for yard help. There are so many chores that we just don’t get done and we are happy to pay for help. We would not even mind if your kids knocked on our door and asked for work! We do hire our 11 year old neighbor boy but could easily use more help. His parents are happy for him to learn to work for others. Also if you have teens who are handy with paint brushes, etc. many of us could use that type of help too!
Thank you for sharing this idea! I love intergenerational opportunities, especially when so many of us are raising our children far from grandparents.
We really enjoy having our neighbor boy here working. He is very talkative and even helped me pick some paint colors recently. His grandparents are far away so maybe we fill a need in his life, too.
I love your suggestion of serving others. Everyone benefits, and especially in the age in which we are raising our kids, it is so wonderful for them to get outside of themselves and consider the needs of others.
Great post!
Thanks! It was so nice of Crystal to let me share it!