Summer provides many with a sense of ease and cheerfulness! Days become unrushed, engagements become extended, interactions more wholesome! This is a great opportunity to spend quality time with your children. I remember when I was a child my friends and I would play from the break of dawn to sunset. We lived in a small town and had access to walking trails, creeks, marshes, fields and ponds. We rode our bikes, climbed trees, caught frogs, played skipping games and spent a lot of time in sprinklers. I’m not sure that we even took our bathing suits off for days! I think most of us can remember back to what it felt like to be a kid and spend time with our friends and families, especially in the summer! Here are a few challenges for families this summer:
1. Go unplugged! We, as a society, rely so much on our electronic communication that we forget what it feels to have personal interactions with people. As parents, we get boggled down with our cell phones, computers, tablets, and tv for a search for information or simply a method of amusing ourselves. When you really think about it…how many minutes/hours in a day do you spend engaging with electronics vs your personal engagement with people, especially your children? Imagine all those minutes put back into your children. We’re all guilty of it, so don’t feel bad, but every day is a new day to try something different! So, go unplugged. Talk to your children. Ask silly questions and do silly things…just for fun! Allow yourself those freedoms you once felt as a child at play, and share those with your children!
2. Have a Picnic! Picnics were one of my most favourite things to do when I was a child. Pack a lunch, find a lovely spot (could even be the backyard or a local park), and picnic together with your child, and maybe invite a friend or two! Children can be involved in planning the picnic lunch and putting it together as well! A lot of great conversations could come out of this! For added entertainment, bring along some books and a soccer ball!
3. Build Something Together! Projects are a great way to engage children over a longer period, and it’s something that you can go back and forth with. My daughter and I once spent a summer building a fairy garden in our backyard. We made designs on paper on what we envisioned, researched a few things about plants and ponds and structures (just to add an element of literacy in), and collected materials from various places (nature walks, dollar store, the toolbox, Michaels, etc.). We spent at least an hour each day adding to our fairy garden. The process lasted the entire summer, and the memories have lasted a lifetime! You can build/create anything you wish from you and your child’s imaginations!
A few reminders to parents for the summer at Thistleoaks Child Care Centre…
Please bring your child’s swimwear and towel daily as we will engage children in water play as often as possible, especially during warmer temperatures
Water bottle, Sun Hat & Sunscreen – children spend at least 2 hrs/day outdoors
Connect with your child’s teachers about what the special plans are for the next day so you and your child can be prepared for the fun!
If you haven’t already, please provide your email so we can do paperless invoicing. You can email me at mindy@thistleoaks.ca with your email if you haven’t already written it down for the teachers in your child’s classroom.