Lazy Daze of Summer
When it comes to being a mom, I don’t think I’m alone in my mixed feelings about summer.
It’s a bittersweet time of year that seems to always sneak up on me and eat more and more into that magical time that is Spring.
I love being able to set my morning alarm a little later and no more homework and shuttling the kiddos around.
But, there’s always the anxiety and planning about what to do with the kids all summer. When my kids were younger, I was even more anxious about how to pass the time and not lose my shit.
That first summer home with both of them was the worst. Earlier that spring, I quit my job to start my practice. As the end of the school year rapidly approached, I had no idea what we were going to do for the those 10 weeks! I needed a plan.
In my community mental health days, I led psychosocial skills groups for kids during the summer. The theme changed each year, but the skills were basically the same, including emotion regulation, social skills, executive function, etc.
I would pick a word, like POWER or PEACE, and come up with skills for each week based on the letters of the word. For example, a group with the word POWER would last five weeks and the P could be for Pause, as in learning to pause before you speak or act. This skill works for so many things, like impulsivity or conflict resolution.
Then, I would gather all the materials, including activities, books, videos, crafts, that related to that skill area.
Even though my kids were a little younger than the ones typically in the skills groups, I knew the general idea could be tweaked to fit their ages and my schedule.
Anxiety Is My Superpower
That first summer home with my kiddos, I chose the word CHANGE. This picture is of our first lesson on change. We read Very Hungry Caterpillar and made some artwork.
I don’t remember all the skills I chose for each letter, but I remember H was for helpful and we read Have You Filled A Bucket Today?. I found free printable coloring sheets of buckets with faces.
N was for neighborhood.
We had just moved, so we went on explorations (aka walks in our neighborhood). We also practiced our new address on free printable worksheets. Each week, we checked out a new library.
Looking back, I know my anxiety was running the show with all the planning and list-making that I did. But, it was a good summer and I really enjoyed the time we had together. I’m proud of what the perfectionist part of me pulled off!
Summer Sanity Saver
So, if you’re stressing about what to do with your kiddos this summer, a little structure for them (and you) can be a sanity saver.
Pick a word that is associated with a value, skill, or general concept that you would like your kiddos to learn like the ones I did for my psychosocial skills groups.
For example, maybe you want your kiddos to be more responsible, do more around the house, and learn about money. You could pick a word like HELPER or GROWTH.
Or, to help you kids fight with each other less, get along better, and be less selfish, you could use a word like FAMILY or BE KIND.
Try to pick a word that has at least five or six letters to get you through most of the summer.
Some common skill topics that you can use for letters of the alphabet:
A = Anger management, Accountability, Apology
B = Breathing, Budget
C = Compassion, Consequences/Cause-effect, Conflict Resolution
E = Emotion regulation, Empathy
F = Family, Friends
H = Helping
M = Mindfulness, Mindset
N = Nature
O = Others, Open-minded
P = Pause
R = Relaxation, Relationships
S = Saving, Sharing
T = Trusthworthy
V = Value
KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid
There are plenty of sites that offer free printables for different emotions and skills. Usually for a ridiculously small fee, you can find whole lesson plans on Teachers Pay Teachers.
You don’t have to make it super-complicated or Pinterest-worthy. I found and prepped for almost all of our activities on Sunday before the week started. A librarian can usually point you in the direction of some great books on your topics. YouTube has tons of teaching videos on all of these topics.
Remember, keep it easy and fun!
If you’re feeling stuck and not sure what to do for your kiddos, comment on this post and I’ll help you out!