Emails and magazines and pinterest and facebook and twitter and the newspaper are all chock full o’ great and crazy ideas for parents right now, and I’ll be honest–I’m overwhelmed.
So rather than try to do it all–and rather than ignore it all–I’ve whittled it down to 3 for real things you can (and should) do with your kids this summer.
I say ‘for real’ because how many of us have pinned 8 million things on our pinterest boards with the intention of ‘really, really doing it this summer’ with our kids?
How many magazine pages have you ripped out and shoved in a folder (or your purse) with the goal of ‘really, really making that recipe for the July 4th picnic–or whatever)?
Why are these ‘for real’? Because you’ll make habits out of them. That’s why.
Here’s the skinny. . .
- 3 For Real Things You Can Do With Your Kids This Summer:
1. Word-A-Day Cards: Really. Check it out. Printables for your family that feature a word a day.
Talk words at breakfast. Use ’em throughout the day. Do it. After the initial pain of printing and cutting, you’ll have them, and you’ll be surprised at how much your kids will look forward to them.
They’ll even get into adding their own. Soon the whole family will be involved.
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2. Everyday Journals or Everyday Name Books: It’s just about getting into the habit of doing something at the same time every day.
Whether it’s the name books for little guys or the journal for the bigger guys, do something. Do it after the pool or as a wind-down from camp; do it before breakfast or after lunch.
It’s something. And it totally counts.
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3. Read: C’mon. Reading is easy. You can read anywhere, any time, and it all counts.
Get yourself psyched for summer reading–because I get it–we sometimes have to psyche ourselves up for these kinds of things.
Need a few books to get your kids back into the reading game? Here are five books that will get them excited about reading this summer, and 10 ways to make reading a priority for your family.
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3 things. You totally have this. And if you can’t do all three? You know what? It’s fine.
Pick one and run with it.
Your kids will thank you for it.
And? When you’re really running hard and need some more inspiration head to we teach for these totally free rockstar eBooks.
Member-created and packed full of awesome ways to sneak some learning into your every day.
pbs kids twitter event: create a literate home