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The Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer...In a Fast-paced Global World
August 8, 2006
Laughter gives us a distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it, and then move on.
-Bob Newhart
-Bob Newhart
All the summer plans made in June suddenly face August and the start of another academic year, shorter days, and additional family tasks. Even young children in child development centers and family child care homes have had more recreation time playing under the sprinkler and in the pool or going on vacation with the family. But, expectations in preschool and public classrooms continue and parents and caregivers must pay attention to the rest of the summer break. The goal is for children to go back to their regular educational programs rested, energized, and eager to learn. This requires some careful parental and provider planning.
In an article called "Summertime: Setting Sail for Adventure or Missing the Boat?", The Parent Coach Company (www.theparentcoachcompany.com)offers concrete summer activity suggestions for children of varying ages. In particular, the article recommends three tasks for polishing off a great summer. Even midway through August, these ideas provide positive experiences to parents, caregivers, and children. One of the three suggestions is provide a balanced schedule.
Give children blocks of time without direct adult involvement and provide materials for creative expression. Keep up language skills and experiences with books from the library or bookstore and encourage books written by a child or a group of children. Let children choose activities in the community and invite a friend to share the experience, perhaps a child who lives in another neighborhood or the next town over.
To download a PDF of this article and learn about the other recommendations for summer activities to keep your children happy and constructively occupied from now through early fall, CLICK HERE. In addition, sign up for The Parent Coach monthly newsletter; following instructions on the web site.
Contributed by Edna Ranck
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Comments (1)
Displaying 1 CommentWest Family Day Care
Somerville, MA, United States
While the advice in this piece is helpful in thinking about the needs of an individual child whose parents require full time camp for child care purposes, I worry that so many families now consider full time camp essential for all children. As a family child care provider, I worry that children are not having balanced lives and that they are missing out on the experiences in their own homes, neighborhoods, and in many cases towns or cities. In making plans for summer vacation, please consider spending time with siblings, older and younger people, and friends and neighbors as a priority. Consider also learning how to be a member of a family and community. Let's not have our whole focus on the individual, but consider developing families and communities as well.
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