Great ideas to have a smooth summer with the family!

Start a summer FUN calendar

You can simply use any type of calendar during the summer to help children prepare to head back to school when summer is over and to plan fun during the summer months.

Friends are important

Your child may be apprehensive about leaving their friends and not being able to see them during the summer.  It seems that now a days, everyone lives further away from each other, so it takes a lot more work to keep kids connected.  You would think it would be the other way around.

One way to alleviate this stress is to make acquaintances with the parents of your children’s friends. Exchange telephone numbers and plan to meet for play days every so often during the school break.  If your kids are older, middle school aged, consider being the driver to initiate activities or car pool to get the kids together.  Host a get together at your house or have your child host it.

Communicate

Talk to and listen to your child about the various changes that will take place. It is also important to make sure your child knows the changes are temporary. While summer break may seem like a long time, before they know it, they will have to head back to school.

Routine is Key

Rather than throw structure out the window when the last day of school arrives, it is important to maintain it. Some children have difficulties with sudden changes, so it may help them to get up at the same time for the first couple of weeks and then slowly allow them to sleep in. You may also want to plan to eat around the same time your child ate at school. One benefit of maintaining some sense of structure is that it will make getting them ready to go back to school much easier.

It is fun to keep some routine, but also remember that summer is meant to have fun and change things up.

Stock Up

Make sure you have a good supply of bug repellant and sun screen if you plan on spending time outdoors. You want to also have a well-stocked first aid kit available for the bumps, bruises and scraped knees that are sure to happen. It may be a good idea to begin teaching your children basic first aid skills.

Enjoy your summer from all of us at Sun Valley  Kids Academy & Montessori Daycare.