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by Rosemary Lee Potter, Ed.D.
Special to Tropical Breeze
Now that school is out, for a few days,
maybe even a few weeks, everybody, particularly older students
shriek "Hooray!" or "Whoo Hoo!" You know, "...no more teachers, no
more books!" However, very, very soon, late nights, hanging out,
and mall cruising may just not be enough to accomplish that
terrific vacation! The thing is that parents have at summer's
start, an excellent opportunity to make that season a valuable,
exciting, growing experience.
Here are eight tips which may accomplish
successful summer parenting AND so-called vacationing!
1. If possible plan some family time at
home into most days. It need not be a big activity -- maybe a
simple picnic supper together or everybody runs hollering through
the hose or the water slide. We do mean everybody.
All watch a rented video together. We said
all again -- let kids help choose it. What ever you do, include
nutritious snacks and have water out and cool for all to swig
together! ( Make a point of recycling the bottles). Everyone is so
busy, do not have one guilty if planned time together seems kind of
intrusive. One mom admits that she honestly felt a bit resentful
for the time -- BUT only at first!
And, yes, if especially the older kids
want one friend to be on hand (not every time expected) -- it's
fine. Think of the alternative if your child enjoys being at
someone else's pool instead at home with you and the family having
a wild, wet time.
2. Make sure that the whole family -- not
just the youngest folks -- get out together to a park. If not a
cook-out, be sure again there's food. Take along Frisbees and
actually break out the croquet game and/or horseshoes.
3. Take some time as a family to help
others. If you can involve youngsters of all ages in weeding out
play "stuff" in good shape, but outgrown, as a family, dropped off
together at a designated charity spot! Really bad boring day or one
with rain? Set up a greeting card "factory" in which everybody
creates a greeting card for a retirement or rehab facility. Help
young ones with the words and let everybody decorate AND deliver to
the front desk of the designated care center. Helping to drop off
the items is part of the experience.
4. On or off-line help your children, and,
ah yes, even the older ones make family contact with one of their
cousins, grandparents far away. Keeping in touch is what makes
growing children know that a family is an important "forever."
5. Read! Read! Read! So formal reading and
language arts instruction is no longer a daily thing, keep up the
practice, even in a subtle way. Of course, read to the youngsters
-- maybe not just at bedtime. Hmm! They need to read too. Several
middle schools allowed students to check out six books over the
summer. The public libraries now have reading lists of popular
student-chosen books, often as bookmarks! There is a saying, "The
more you read, the better you read." And so it's no coincidence
that studies show that better readers are eyeballing thousands more
words than the poor readers are.
Must reading "be" books? Of course not. It
can be comics , newspapers, sports magazines, recipes, directions
for toys and projects, road signs, maps -- just so readers keep on
reading during summer months.
6. Swim. Yes, go have fun, but make sure
whatever the age or level of skill, young people take swimming
classes AND then go do it!
7. Rest. Many children and even older
students think if there is any downtime at all, it's boring. No
wonder, every kind of media's characters pretty much paints the
picture that everything must be totally entertaining every single
minute!
Just taking it easy is nice for a change,
but parents must model this. If they run to and fro and keep an
ever-increasingly hectic pace, so then their offspring do
likewise.
Does "taking it easy" mean that everyone
splits to his/her own room to watch or play whatever? Not really,
but, if not together, at least set up a plan where computers don't
separate, but maybe instead are one way family members together
plan a vacation.
Could folks just get an iced popsicle and
sit out on the back porch or swing together? Perhaps too simple a
slow-down? Maybe. Maybe not. Some folks found a surprise when they
tried it...something called family fun.
8. Just to think ahead, if there is any
medical situation upcoming be it dentistry or some other issue,
summer is a good time to get the work done. While parents and
students cannot avoid emergency needs during the school year, it is
amazing how often students lose school instructional time with
appointments during the school day. Just a thought.
There are many, many wonderful ways in
which summer can be a joyful learning experience for children and
families. It is not really time off for families. Parents who take
time to plan a rich summer season show their children that year
round your family matter!
© 2008 Rosemary Lee Potter. All
Rights Reserved.
Rosemary Lee Potter, Ed.D., has been a
teacher since 1960, including 21 years at Safety Harbor Middle
School, and is now a reading teacher at Carwise Middle School, Palm
Harbor. Contact her at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or by mail in care
of Tropical Breeze, P.O. Box 585, Safety Harbor, FL 34695.
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