We're fortunate to have Whitney Hollingshead back today, sharing 5 meaningful activities to keep your kids busy this summer. Instead of being bored, kids can be proud to make others smile with these ideas!
You can battle summer boredom by helping your kids engage in activities with a purpose. Here are five ways that you can make summer more meaningful without spending a lot of money or effort:
1. Write Letters to Soldiers Serving Overseas
The weeks before and after the 4th of July are a great time to talk to your children about patriotism. One great patriotic gesture that your children can make is to send mail to soldiers overseas. Your children can write thank you cards, simple notes, or even letters.
If you know a soldier serving overseas, you can add a personal touch. If you don’t know any soldiers personally, you could pursue one of the following options:
Keep this activity relevant to your children. Rather than focusing on the difficulties of war, focus on the importance of having gratitude for those who serve. And don’t stress about having a perfect script for a letter. Rather, let your children say thank you in heartfelt and simplistic ways.
The weeks before and after the 4th of July are a great time to talk to your children about patriotism. One great patriotic gesture that your children can make is to send mail to soldiers overseas. Your children can write thank you cards, simple notes, or even letters.
If you know a soldier serving overseas, you can add a personal touch. If you don’t know any soldiers personally, you could pursue one of the following options:
- Ask neighbors and friends if they know anyone serving in the military
- Contact local churches or military offices for ideas
- Check out online resources (several organizations online can connect you to a soldier)
Keep this activity relevant to your children. Rather than focusing on the difficulties of war, focus on the importance of having gratitude for those who serve. And don’t stress about having a perfect script for a letter. Rather, let your children say thank you in heartfelt and simplistic ways.
2. Send Recordings to Grandma & Grandpa
Grandparents love hearing from their grandchildren. This summer you can create something to freeze time and capture your kids as they are this summer.
Here are a few ideas to get you thinking of the perfect performance to record:
Ask your kids what they would like to get ready to send to grandma and grandpa. Try to involve all of your children in the project. Have them practice or prepare their secret plan for a few weeks.
The odds are you already have a device in your home that captures video. If you do not have a video recording device, ask family and friends if they have something you can borrow. If not, contact local businesses that rent video equipment and rent what you need for a day.
Many of the options listed above can be captured using an audio recorder. Modern audio recorders allow you to easily record sound directly on to a mini SD card. You can then upload these MP3 files to your computer. The files can then be emailed directly to grandma and grandpa, or you can burn the files to a Cd and send the CD in the mail. Check out this recorder that makes recording your audio performances incredibly simple.
Grandparents love hearing from their grandchildren. This summer you can create something to freeze time and capture your kids as they are this summer.
Here are a few ideas to get you thinking of the perfect performance to record:
- Singing songs
- Playing musical instruments
- Reciting poetry (especially poetry the kids have written)
- Telling stories
- Dancing
- Acting out a skit
- A cooking show
- A comedy routine
- Performing magic tricks
Ask your kids what they would like to get ready to send to grandma and grandpa. Try to involve all of your children in the project. Have them practice or prepare their secret plan for a few weeks.
The odds are you already have a device in your home that captures video. If you do not have a video recording device, ask family and friends if they have something you can borrow. If not, contact local businesses that rent video equipment and rent what you need for a day.
Many of the options listed above can be captured using an audio recorder. Modern audio recorders allow you to easily record sound directly on to a mini SD card. You can then upload these MP3 files to your computer. The files can then be emailed directly to grandma and grandpa, or you can burn the files to a Cd and send the CD in the mail. Check out this recorder that makes recording your audio performances incredibly simple.
Check outthis recorder that makes recording your audio performances incredibly simple.
3. Keep a Summer Journal
Writing is an important skill that will benefit your kids for the rest of their lives. One way to get your kids excited about writing is to have everyone in the family keep a summer journal. Journals are a great way to preserve personal information.
Purchase notebooks for each family member and let everyone decorate their own covers. The key to making this activity successful is to make the activity fun. One way to accomplish this is by issuing a writing prompt and having every family member write on the prompt.
Here are some examples of writing prompts:
Even younger kids can get in on the fun by drawing or even "writing" themselves, or dictating what they want put in their journal.
Writing is an important skill that will benefit your kids for the rest of their lives. One way to get your kids excited about writing is to have everyone in the family keep a summer journal. Journals are a great way to preserve personal information.
Purchase notebooks for each family member and let everyone decorate their own covers. The key to making this activity successful is to make the activity fun. One way to accomplish this is by issuing a writing prompt and having every family member write on the prompt.
Here are some examples of writing prompts:
- When I grow up, I want to…
- My favorite thing about summer is…
- Here’s what I have been up to with my friends…
- The best thing that happened today was…
- If I could be anyone else, I would be…
- My favorite memory of this year so far is…
- I would love to invent a…
- The funniest joke I have ever heard is…
- Here are a few of my favorite things…
- If I could change one thing about the world, I would change...
Even younger kids can get in on the fun by drawing or even "writing" themselves, or dictating what they want put in their journal.
4. Donate Your Extra Stuff
Grab some empty boxes or plastic bins. Label these containers as “Stuff to Give Away”. Throughout the course of the summer, tackle one room in the house at a time and go through all of your stuff. Toss anything you find that cannot be used in the trash and put everything else in in the give away bins.
Here are some ways to make this fun for your kids:
Set a goal and set the timer. Challenge everyone to finish going through the stuff in a specific room as quickly as possible. If the goal is met in a timely manner, then the entire family gets a set reward like going out for ice cream or running through the sprinkler in the yard.
Grab some empty boxes or plastic bins. Label these containers as “Stuff to Give Away”. Throughout the course of the summer, tackle one room in the house at a time and go through all of your stuff. Toss anything you find that cannot be used in the trash and put everything else in in the give away bins.
Here are some ways to make this fun for your kids:
- If your kids can help you sort through things, turn on some fun music and enlist their help. Place a large trash can and one of your give away bins nearby and let them toss the non-breakable items in basketball style from across the room.
- If you feel good about letting your kids have something new, tell them that they get to pick out something new, but they have to give away something similar from their stuff first.
- Bargain with your kids. If they have three toys that are very similar, ask them to give one of them away so that another child can enjoy it too.
Set a goal and set the timer. Challenge everyone to finish going through the stuff in a specific room as quickly as possible. If the goal is met in a timely manner, then the entire family gets a set reward like going out for ice cream or running through the sprinkler in the yard.
5. Earn Money for a Charitable Cause
Set a goal with your children to earn money for someone who needs help. Your children can choose to give the money to a children’s hospital, animal shelter, or any organization that they are excited about. Or if you know someone personally who is struggling from an illness, your children could choose to raise money to help pay medical costs, etc.
Here are some ways that your kids can earn money for a cause this summer:
Set a goal with your children to earn money for someone who needs help. Your children can choose to give the money to a children’s hospital, animal shelter, or any organization that they are excited about. Or if you know someone personally who is struggling from an illness, your children could choose to raise money to help pay medical costs, etc.
Here are some ways that your kids can earn money for a cause this summer:
- Extra chores - give your children additional chores and pay them for the extra effort
- Matching - offer to contribute $1 to the cause they have chosen for every $1 they earn
- Lemonade stand - have your kids sell items from your curb and donate the funds
- Yard sale - have your kids help at a yard sale put on by your family
- Brainstorm - have your children come up with their own ways to earn extra money
By engaging your children in meaningful activities this summer you can help them connect in positive ways with the world around them and beat summer boredom!
Whitney Hollingshead is an optimist, a dreamer, and a professional writer. She loves learning and sharing tips, tricks, and fun facts with others. In her spare time she thrives on coming up with fun and creative solutions for everyday opportunities, especially when the solutions enable her to spend more time with family and friends.
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