Congratulations, Mom and Dad, everything you did planning our childhood summers has had such a huge affect on me that they have are now exactly what my children will be enjoying the most about their summers. The circle of life, or something like that I suppose. Here's a quick look at a few of the things we'll be doing in our house when summer holidays officially start on Friday.
1) Summer Reading Program:
I remember getting the colourful booklets to fill out of my summer reads at the Cuelenaere Library and being so pumped if mine was up on the wall. I filled my summer reading Little House on the Prairies, Babysitters' Club or likely Sweet Valley High. Willis and Lucia have just started the Summer Reading Program at the Saskatoon Public Library and are way ahead of schedule. Willis is currently enjoying the Hardy Boys series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Yuck. Sure, they aren't classics (we tried Boxcar Children and all things Roald Dahl), but these have him reading at all hours. He is now a bonafide bookworm and I love it. Lucia, on the other hand, my goal was to have her reading by the end of summer, but I think we may have conquered that this past weekend. You'll have to skip over to my blog to see the cute video.
2) Road trips, specifically to B.C:
Our annual trip as kids was 14 hours away to my aunt's place in Vernon. No DVD players, no Ipods, just homemade cassette tapes with NKOTB mixes that I would beg my parents to play and many, many books to read. I also once convinced my brother and sister that I could sleep with my eyes closed. My kids have made the road trip a couple times already and each time they look forward to it even more. We will go old school too on our roadtrip, limiting the handheld devices and optimizing the conversation, sing-a-longs, story time and the beauty of driving through the Rocky Mountains.
3) Playing outside/ imagination games:
I spent a lof of my summers outside bossing my brother and sister around. We would put on backyard plays, magic shows and do fundraisers for our Kids' Only Club. Thankfully there wasn't cell phones for videoing back then, I can just imagine the embarrassing footage they'd have of me. My kids will spend the majority of their days outside adventuring on their bikes, geo-caching around our acreage, weeding the garden, picking berries and playing in the pool. There has got to be something said for liberal, carefree play that let's their imagination take over. I can't wait to video EVERYTHING to use as blackmail later in life.
4) Camping Trips:
We were spoiled growing up in Prince Albert with so many beautiful lakes and beaches from 15 minutes to an hour away. I'm sure we packed up and went camping every weekend available and I am so grateful for that. We had everything from a tent trailer to a motor home growing up and one of my favourite things were rainy days when you would just open the windows and listen to the rain, playing endless card games and likely fighting, however, I don't remember the fighting. Mom and Dad may think differently. While we only have a tent and don't really venture out just as little family, my kids do get plenty of opportunity to head out with my parents and their motorhome to enjoy the fresh air and all the fishing they want. In fact, they may be taking off this week with them already. What better way than that to celebrate the end of school?
What kinds of activities did you do as a child that you're dying to bring back for your kids to experience?
If online shopping were a sport, Deena would win. In between time browsing for pretty things, she blogs at Shoes to Shiraz and maintains her busy home. Oh, and she teaches high school too.
