Welcome to summer! Congratulations, you made it through another school year. Kids are home from school and the days can move slower. Target hasn't yet displayed their back to school supplies so we're good to go.
Keep in mind that as tempting as it is to create summer bucket lists that overflow with good intentions to make it "the best summer ever", it's okay to just wing it. The good intentions are always just that...they're good! But remember that your kids who have been in school for 9 months, no matter how old they are, have been on their best behavior for several hours a day, five days a week. They've held it together as much as they could. They were brave when asked to do things and know things that were new to them. They put on a strong armor when someone laughed at them or they felt left out. They arrived in their classrooms in the morning ready to face a day with peers and friends, frenemies, and former friends, teachers who like them, teachers who put up with them, authority figures who scare them, and those who they look up to. It's a wild place, and they've been trying so hard to keep it together and make it to June.
They've done it and you have too. I'd be remiss to not acknowledge the parent roles in the nightly homework, the lunches made (both eaten and uneaten), snacks packed, projects assisted, school spirit attire procured, fundraiser goals met, conferences attended and all the hard conversations that were had. You're tired too. Moms and dads, guardians, and important adults in the lives of young ones, you made it through another year!
Slow down in summer. Sleep in if you can or stay up late playing outside if you can. Eat snacks in the yard. Have dinner on the deck. Enjoy popsicles on the front step after playing in the park and watch movies under the stars. Sit by campfires gobbling up s'mores and fill your sidewalk and driveway with chalk art. The low-cost, low-key fun options are endless. Try to stray from the rigid schedule of the school year and be whimsical in your summer play. Let your kids play outside as much as possible (Last Child in the Woods is a good read for more about how we benefit from time outdoors.) Don't buy academic summer workbooks falling prey to the fear that your child will "fall behind". They will be fine.
Just READ. Visit the library. Look at picture books together. And if reading isn't your thing, listen to audio books and still receive the great benefits of being whisked away into a magical land or immersed in a story from another perspective.
Don't over think it.
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