Beat the summer boredom with Summer Lists
Are you a little terrified that summer is coming? Do you dread the hours you’ll need to fill with your kids? Do you want this summer to be a time of growth and not just screen time? Ever heard of a SUMMER LIST?
Summer lists were an idea that a mother mentor showed me and I have been forever grateful that she did. These lists have filled the, “I’m bored!” times with enriching things for my kids to do to grow and have fun. The book she gathered her ideas from is The Parenting Breakthrough: Real-Life Plan to Teach Your Kids to Work, Save Money, and Be Truly Independent. It’s an old fashioned approach to helping kids become independent and I LOVE it! I recommend grabbing a copy, especially because it has lists at the end suggesting what kids at different ages can/should be able to do. Yes it’s a little outdated but that doesn’t bother me as it’s just a way to get ideas. So I just replaced place a collect call with learn grandma’s phone number.
Here’s how it works. I get out a piece of construction paper, use whatever kind of paper you want, the colors add some pizzaz. I three hold punch it and write the child’s name and the year at the top. Then I consider how many things Id like to put on the list and make lines for each item, keeping them in groupings of three to add space to the page, it’s somehow more digestible that way. Brilliant! Then I fill in 3/4ths of the page with suggestions from the book or items I really want that child to do that summer. I then hand the page to the child to fill in the fun things they want to do that summer. They usually add things like camping, ride a certain roller coaster, have a sleepover, go to Disneyland, etc. They can write whatever they want, after all, summer is a time for fun and relaxation too. My kids always add a don’t go to sleep-over which is now a major cousin event when everyone tries to stay up all night. It’s become a highlight of the summer for sure!
Merrilee Boyack recommends you have experts teach them how to do some of the list items. For example, I had my mother in law teach them about a budget since that’s not something I’m very good at. A grandpa would teach about changing a tire. You could have someone teach about interest, debt and securities. This is nice because then your kids get to rub shoulders with some of the greats in their lives AND the grandparents and aunts and uncles love sharing their expertise. Win Win!
We make the rule that once 90% of your list is complete, you can go get your school clothes. You can do whatever works for your kids as motivation.
Whenever I hear, “mom, I’m bored!” I simply say, “Go get your summer list and let’s do a few things.” Works like a charm.
Now this won’t solve all your problems in parenting but you will find it gives you peace of mind that you have a plan to help your child become more independent and to have a fun summer. Make some memories together. As a mother about to sit down and make her second to last summer list for my one child still at home, trust me when I say, you won’t be sorry you did.
