By Shelley Heaphy
After a long winter and spring I feel everyone can finally rejoice and welcome the summer months. The end of the school year is absolutely a favourite time of year for kids, teachers and parents. Everyone has worked so hard all year long so this long awaited break is certainly deserved.
For some, summer vacation is a stressful time of shuffling kids to and from camps, family member’s homes, finding babysitters etc. For others it means finding ways to keep kids satisfied throughout the summer days.
Whatever your summer entails, however much time you have to fill with your kids here are some suggestions and musts for this summer season!
Adventures
- Go hiking, biking or walking on the PPJ trail or on a trail somewhere near your home. We love to find little areas to investigate near our house. You can make simple scavenger hunts and have new things to find or search for each time you go. Make sure to dress properly if going exploring in long grass and to check kids and adults afterwards for ticks.
- Check out the local parks in the Pontiac. There are quite a few around us, because kids don’t visit them all regularly, a new park can add some excitement to a simple outing. Here in Shawville, every Wednesday morning is Park Day from 9:30-11:30 all summer long. Come on out to enjoy the park with other families.
- Swimming/staying wet. Check out the splash pads in the Pontiac. There is one in Litchfield, Mansfield and Shawville. We are also lucky to have many beaches near by: Sand Bay, Norway Bay, Leslie Lake, Logos Land are all areas we can visit. Make a list at the beginning of the summer and cross off each one you get to visit.
Remember to review the rules of the beach before letting them explore. Have life preservers clicked onto children who are not able to swim independently and make clear rules about how far they can go out in the water before it gets deep. Some rivers and lakes drop off quickly while others are really great for wading in, know your areas.
If you want to avoid large bodies of water and keep cool in the yard, water tables are a must have. We have had ours for six years and it’s still loved. They can be found at most stores that carry children’s toys. You can do so much with water tables — add soap and let them wash babies or animals or cars. Add kitchen measuring cups, bowls, spoons and let them cook for you. Let them experiment with funnels and strainers … the list goes on and on.
- Pool noodle fun — Pool noodles are usually in stock everywhere in the summer and not very expensive. Cut different coloured noodles into one inch, two inch and three inch blocks. These make perfect blocks, we’ve used them in plastic pools for little kids. We’ve put pieces of rope in the pool so that we could make necklaces with the pieces and we’ve used them as blocks to build castles and towns. They’re super fun all year long but easiest to make in the summer when they’re readily available.
- Go Camping — Camp in the backyard, at Mill Dam Park or a campground. If you’re not set up with equipment to actually go camping for a weekend but can find/borrow a tent, set one up in the backyard for one sleepover night. Kids would definitely remember the experience of camping in the backyard especially if they’ve never done it before.
- Pick berries together — it’ll soon be strawberry picking season. It’s so much fun to pick fresh berries together. You can make it even more fun by creating something with your pickings such as jam, muffins, crisps and cakes.
Blueberry season happens in late July and there are lots of berry patches on Calumet Island. It’s a much different experience as the berries are wild. You definitely need to be more patient while picking little berries. But the reward is still the same, returning home with fresh picked berries that you can freeze for colder months or gobble up right away.
- Create a scavenger hunt — Come up with some questions about places in your town (there are lots of great scavenger hunt ideas on pinterest) and send the kids on the hunt. You will most likely have to accompany them but this could make for a super fun day out in town. If your kids are old enough they may even get to do this by bike.
- Wish list — Make a wish list with the kiddos at the start of the summer. Where is somewhere each member of the family would like to visit throughout the summer and then try and make it happen. You can research together what’s happening around town, the Pontiac, and in the city.
Parents’ Voice is happy to be preparing two very exciting events for Shawville this summer. We are kicking the summer off with an Outdoor Movie Night at Armstrong Farm on Saturday, June 22. Check out the coming events for more information about this upcoming event.
We are also having our third bi-annual Park Party at Mill Dam Park this summer on July 13. We have an exciting day planned, check out our event on Facebook for more information!
There are tons of great activities to keep kids happy this summer, all of them easily found on the internet. Keep some categories in mind — science experiments, art projects, writing projects, a movie extravaganza (movie day, visit to the theatre, drive in experience).
Choose a new sport to practice/learn or try.
Even though it’s summer, keep up the reading. Work in some reading time with your child each day. It may be the prerequisite to leaving the house (you have to do 20 minutes of reading before we can leave) or it may occur right before bed, at quiet time in the afternoon, whenever it’s possible to work it in. This will keep our young readers experienced and help them transition back into school when it sneaks up on us again in August.
We hope this list helps inspire an idea or two for your upcoming summer. Enjoy the schedule free time you do get with your kiddos this summer.
