Carpe diem! It’s SUMMER! With the kids out of school and warm weather here, it’s time to seize the day. While summer is the perfect time to catch up on relaxation opportunities missed during the school year, the season also is great for exploring and trying new things. Here are six suggestions for seizing your summer!
1. Seize spontaneity.
You’re at the park and the kids ask to take an extra-long (unscheduled) walk around the lake. You had originally planned to be home by 4:00, but a walk sounds perfect! Be spontaneous. Take that walk. Enjoy the fresh air and simple quality time your kids requested.
Want to go a little bigger? How about a last minute camping trip? Wake up one Saturday morning and throw all of your camping gear in the car. Drive to a nearby site and set up your home for the night. (Don’t forget to stop for marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate on the way there!) Your kids will love this last minute mini-vacation. Cool points for Mom and Dad!
2. Seize relaxation.
Remember how flustered you sometimes get during the school year, with permission slips and homework and school projects and who wants hot lunch and field trips? Guess who else gets overwhelmed. Your kids. Take some time this summer to seize relaxation. Recharge. Take a book outside in the backyard. Snuggle up and watch a movie. Bend the rules a bit on screen time. Let them stay in their pajamas for a while in the morning. Find some peace now that the hustle and bustle of school is on hold.
3. Seize unscheduled days.
Remember our childhoods, when we roamed free and used our imaginations to entertain ourselves? Save some time for that freedom this summer. Sure, summer camps and vacations are important and enjoyable, but set aside a week here and there when you schedule nothing. Tell the kids to go outside and play. Or let them have free reign around the house—to make forts, write stories, read books and play pretend. A lack of plans can lead to a day of memories.
4. Seize opportunities to explore new places in Kansas City.
Think you’ve seen it all? There has to be some part of the greater Kansas City area you and your family haven’t yet explored. Find out what that it is and go! Whether it is the one-hour drive to Topeka, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum or the Powell Gardens, check out some new sites here, in your home city. You’ll find a new sense of pride in being a Kansas Citian once you do.
5. Seize the chance to reconnect with your kids.
Do you ever feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day during the school year? Like when you could tell your daughter was upset about something one day a while back, but you two never found the time to talk it out? Well, seize the opportunity to do just that this summer. Set up a day with Mom or Dad (or both) for each of your kids. Spend the day doing something they love and eat dinner at their favorite restaurant. You might finally get some information out of them about what is going on in their social lives!
6. Seize your sense of adventure.
Summer often brings out the courage in people to try new things. Go zip-lining! Take a family taekwondo class. Set aside Wednesdays as the night the family tries a new recipe each week and cook it together! Go roller-skating. Or line dancing. Or get lost on a bike trail together and find your way home.
Don’t let the summer of 2016 go by without seizing the day!
Quiz: (True or False?)
- Even in summer, strict screen time guidelines should be followed every day. (FALSE)
- Summer should be scheduled start to finish with camps, extracurricular activities and academics. (FALSE)
- Being a little lazy in the summer is okay. (TRUE)
- An often effective way to reconnect with your child is to spend an entire day with just him. (TRUE)
- Kids will not have a memorable summer if they don’t go away on vacation. (FALSE)
Olathe mom Karen Johnson has three children, ages 6, 4 and 2. She writes at The21stCenturySAHM.com.