Thursday, May 27, 2010

Summer!!

I remember talking to a friend of mine a while ago and we both agreed that kids should be in school year round because then they will not have a WHOLE SUMMER to forget what they have been learning. It will also allow them to “get ahead” in their education rather than “wasting all that time.”

But over the years, I am beginning to realize just how wrong we both were.
All too often I hear mothers moan about how they don’t want to have to come up with ways to entertain their kids all summer long.
Some mothers say they are putting their kids in summer school so they don’t have to “deal” with them. Others say they are getting their kids involved in as many camps and other programs as they can so that they too don’t have to “deal” with their children.

And when fall comes along, I am sad to hear so many mothers say they “can’t wait” till their kid is back in school.

Last year I was THRILLED to hear ONE mom say she was “so sad” school was starting because she loved that time in the summer that she was able to spend with her kids every day.

And this is when I realized I was so wrong about thinking kids should be in school year round. Summer is OUR time with our kids.

We live in a world where we are all moving so fast that we sometimes forget to take the time to love our children and create fun memories for them that will last a lifetime.

I still agree that our children should not STOP learning throughout the summer. But our children don’t need to go to a brick and mortar building to do that. Summer time is OUR time to teach our children. It is our time to have an impact on them. To be part of their learning experience more than just helping them with their home work at the end of a school day.

Make this Summer a good one for your children. Make this summer an educational one for your children. If they need to catch up in their school work, be the one to help them catch up.
Create those memories with your child. Let them be children this summer and show them what really matters in life.

Don’t try to make your children grow up too fast.
When they get older, they will have to deal with the fast paced society that we all live in. Let them know that you are the one to turn to when they need to get away from that world and just enjoy the little things that really are the big things.

I am going to be posting some of the things I am doing with my kids this summer (Both educational and fun) to give you some ideas. Feel free to share some of your own ideas in the comment box and I will add them to some of the posts.

Let's have some fun with our kids this summer!!

4 comments:

Rebecca Hansen said...

i love your insights and opinions. i totally agree, summer is 'family time'. it drove me nuts when i worked at the apple athletic summer day camp and would see the same kids signed up for the ENTIRE summer... like from 7-5! they would hardly ever see their parents. parents who want to get rid of their kids for the summer shouldn't be parents. I'll be watching for your summer activities, be sure to post some for the 2-3 year old age group!!

Lynda said...

Great Idea! I am excited to see what you'll be doing. You come up with such good ideas!

russandkatie said...

reading 5 books and doing 1 page of schoolwork (just something random that I make up or print off the internet) is part of my kids daily chore chart. They love it and it helps me keep them on track with learning during the summer.

leslie mae said...

Anne, go check my blog and read the Summer Family Boot Camp post. I am so excited. It's a great thing for summer. You should totally put one together!!!