Summer vacations are here and most of us are faced with the question of what to do with all that time in hand? What to do to entertain our little ones and how to engage their curious minds and active bodies?
Summer holidays give you an opportunity to make sure that your child stays busy and happy. Moreover, summer vacations can be a great time for you to spend quality time with your child, experience new things, grow in different directions and spend some fun time together as a family. This is the best time of any year when your child is at break and you are at ease because you do not have to get them ready in the morning for school bus or worry about their class tests or pending home assignments etc.
So, this summer follow these ideas to make your child feel special and properly channelize her energy & time while having fun during the summers-
Involve your child into Activities – Plan plenty of individual and group activities for your child to make the most of the summer holidays. Do not let your child sit in front of T.V. or play video games. Instead make her active and encourage your child to participate into various activities. Ask her to create a canopy, make a tree swing, make a scarecrow or create a collage out of old magazines and keep your child busy with these activities.
Formulate Boredom Busters – Keep your child busy through the summer months and help her spend time thinking creatively to eliminate boredom. Check out some good art and crafts book, buy the needed supplies and make some of the crafts. Further, encourage your child to watch the sunrise, make a card for a friend, go stargazing, bead some bracelets and sell them for charity etc.
Enroll your child to a summer Camp – Enroll your child to a summer camp and make your child Summer Smart. Search for the best camps happening around your city like adventure camps, arts camp, aerobics & dance camps and sports camps. So, find out your child’s interest areas, the fee-structure of the camp, location & the distance from your home and let your child explore her skills and talent.
Explore fun Destinations together – Search for some nearby destinations and plan a week’s vacation with your child. You may also plan a short weekend break to a nearby hill-station, beach or resort and give your child an exciting holiday for her memories.
Be ready with summer Essentials – Don’t let the summer heat make you stop your little ones to make the most of their summer vacations. Take complete care of your child and make sure that you always carry summer essentials like sunscreen lotion, sunglasses, water bottles, hand towels, deodorants, hand sanitizer, umbrella and caps/hats with you when you step out of home with your child.
Plan her Food – Prepare a nutritious diet chart for your child to keep her active & energetic. Also, celebrate summers in cool style by preparing cold snacks, fruit snacks or vegetable sandwiches with your child and make variety of salads etc.
Encourage your child to play Games – Play a variety of indoor games like scrabble, chess etc. to increase your child’s vocabulary and thinking power. Also, plan for some outdoor games in the evening like volleyball, cricket and lemon spoon race etc. that will build your child’s stamina and keep her physically fit.
Give her some stylish Hairstyles – Play with different hair styles to give your child a new look every day. Grab the box of hair accessories, brush and create quick, cute summer hairstyles for your little one. Go for a classic ponytail with a twist, pigtails and ponytails etc. for your little princess and try out some spiky haircut or crew cut for your little champ.
Appreciate her Inquisitive mind – Develop creative thinking skills in your child at home and encourage her to play problem-solving games and do activities that require out-of-the-box thinking. Ask your child to create a song, build a bookshelf, write short story or make gifts out of recycled paper. This will help her to stay active at home and in future, it will help her to participate in the school activities.
Beat the heat with cool Juices -Make some easy summer drinks like chocolate shake, mango smoothie, strawberry crush, lemonade, watermelon slush etc. for your child to face the sweltering heat with a smile. The cold drink recipes are easy to make and perfect when child needs to cool down on a hot day. Remember to serve the drinks in stylish mugs and cartoon glasses with trendy straws.
Try out some funky Kids’ wear – Get the ride in style look for your boys and dress your little princess in the coolest dresses with some of the funkiest summer wear for children. Try maxi dresses or layered skirts, capris & shorts for your child. Pair the entire attire with colourful flip flops with hearts, jewels, animals or any favourite cartoon character and complete the look.
Train your Lil Chef – There is no better time than the summer vacations to teach your child to cook. Let your child try “No Flame, No Fire” recipes at home. Try for some simple Sweet Corn Chat or Watermelon Popsicles. Also, invite your child’s friends at your place in the evening and serve the food cooked by her.
Watch Movies together – Don’t let your child get caught up in the blazing sun. Just be indoors and watch the all-time favourite movies with your little ones. Buy or take CDs on rent, get ready with popcorns and have some fun at home with your child .Try out some famous movies like Mighty Raju Rio Calling, Rio 2, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Cars, Kung Fu Panda, Toy Story (series) and Lion King etc..
Look after her Nutrition – Let your child learn to enjoy the taste of eating right and develop healthy eating habits. Include fresh and juicy fruits, vegetables, yoghurts, tomatoes and carrots in her diet. Make her avoid eating food in front of TV. Also, prefer steaming, boiling and baking rather than frying as means of cooking.
Take your child for Outings – Plan some weekend fun for your child. Do lots of day trips with your child and create life time memories. Take her to museums, planetariums, historical monuments, amusement parks, nearby Zoos and Malls.
Activate your child’s mind with Puzzles – Get a variety of Word Search Books, Puzzles, Sudoku, Tangrams and Ruby Cubes etc. for your child and let her apply her brain & challenge her friends to play the game. This will increase your child’s thinking power and stimulate her mind to improve the problem solving skills. Moreover, it is a fruitful way to help your child learn while having fun.
Organize a Quiz contest for your child – Host a quiz contest at your home for your child and her friends. Prepare the theme & a questionnaire and divide the teams. Also, arrange for the prizes for winners and lunch for your child and her friends. Plan for different rounds like MCQs, oral questions, one liners etc. and test your child’s knowledge.
Stimulate her Reading habits – Let your child give her imagination a full bend by reading some serious, funny, light-hearted stories that are inspiring and are just fun to read. Expose your little one to the fascinating world of stories and fairy tales by helping her to read the story books. Get the colourful books and encourage her to read aloud. This will not only improve her reading habits but will also help her learn new words and improve her spellings.
Encourage your child to participate in Sports – Plan for some outdoor sports and it can be a great way for your child to spend hours outside and get lots of exercise.Encourage your child to take up a sport of her interest such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, swimming, horse riding etc. You can also arrange for special coaching sessions for your child so that she receives the right guidance and practice required to get better at the sport of her interest. Further, this will not only make her stay active but improve social skills & concentration and develop a hobby she can enjoy for life.
Follow Travel Tips – While traveling during summers with your child, make sure you take some preventive measures. Ensure that you follow the travel tips to keep your travel experience healthy and safe during summer trips. Be sure to perform required maintenance on your vehicle, check the coolant level, headlights, brake lights, oil and make sure that tyres are properly inflated. Also, pack plenty of clean-up materials like tissues, hand sanitizer, plastic trash bags.
Make your child UV Smart – During summers, protect your child from harsh UV rays. Use sun-screens and umbrella etc. to avoid skin tan. Also, follow some homely measures like apply aloe vera gel, rosewater etc. to avoid sunburns.
Choose Variety for your child – Summers will make you and your child dull and boring. Moreover, there are many things in which your child gets involved during every summer vacations like same activities in summer camps, every time games, similar destination for trips, repeating recipes, old clothes etc. So, involve your child into a variety of summer activities. Search, explore and surf on internet different activities, entertainment modes etc. and get the best for your child.
Do some Water-Fun together – Water play is a guaranteed good time for children. There really is no better way to beat the heat than to just get wet. Whether your child is strong swimmer or new to the pool, let her participate and enjoy cool and fun summer water activities like water race, water basketball, water gun war, tug of war in water etc.
Include some Xtra Fun – Summer time is Fun-time. So, involve your child in doing some Xtra Fun like ask her to clean her room, encourage her to change something in or add something to her room, make her pick one good habit and follow it, go on a walk together and let her take pictures of surroundings, look through old family albums, visit nearby charity or old age homes and plant some trees in the park.
Rejuvenate her with Yoga – Let your child perform yoga and rejuvenate herself from homework and stress. So, put out mats for yourself and your child. Let her choose some music and try the simple poses to bring discipline, physical fitness, concentration and liveliness in your child.
Add more Zest –Add more delight into your child’ Summer Fun and make her feel special. Let her learn a fun-filled A to Z of summer and add zing to her life. Further, to enjoy every minute of the season, let your child take advantage of a spontaneous shower and sing in the rain with her umbrellas. Also, encourage your child to have a party in the dark. Invite her friends for a pajama party & make them use only torch-lights and have fun.
Lastly, remember that while enjoying the A to Z of summer fun, do not forget about her studies. Help her in completing her holiday homework, make a regular schedule for studying and help her in revising concepts in a playful manner.
So, summer is about having fun. Whatever your child does, let her enjoy it and always think that by doing this; she will gain something for herself. Just stay positive and productive, whether in the house, outdoors or anywhere. Try to learn new things and live life to the fullest.
Wishing you Happy Summers with your child!
