Summer is a time to relax with your family, especially while the kids are home from school. These warm, sunny days are also an opportune time to involve your kids in completing valuable summer chores!
Visit Your Pediatrician
Summer days free from the school routine are great for those necessary appointments for your children. Take this opportunity to schedule your kids for an appointment with the pediatrician before the Back to School rush. Depending on the age of your children, they may need vaccinations required for attending school, or they may need routine physicals for preventative health or to participate in sports. Your pediatrician’s office can work with you regarding your family’s unique needs.
The pediatrician, however, isn’t the only visit to make. Schedule appointments for your kids with your dentist, where they’ll get a routine exam, teeth cleaning and possibly x-rays. When you call for these appointments, ask if your children can be seen during the same block of time to make the most of your time. Don’t forget to make appointments in six months for your children, which will put them conveniently right around Christmas break from school.
Shop for School Supplies
For some of us, buying school supplies is a welcome tradition – or, it can be a necessary evil. Regardless of how you feel about buying school supplies, this experience provides a valuable opportunity to teach your kids about money.
Use their school supply lists – making a copy for each child – and have them price the school supplies that they need through store ads or shopping trips. Then, with each child, set an appropriate budget for what they need to purchase, give them the money, and take them to the store that will work best for all of you. The supplies will be ready to go, and you’ve taught your kids invaluable lessons about money!
Encourage Summer Reading
Don’t let those reading muscles atrophy over the summer. Many businesses reward kids for reading all summer long with special coupons, offers or prizes. For example, Barnes and Noble offers kids a free book with their completed reading log, while the local library gives out a packet containing free passes to local attractions, like the community swimming pool. Search the internet for “printable summer reading calendars” to see what’s offered in your area.
Budget Summer Fun
Summer isn’t all about completing chores, but the opportunity for summer fun can get away from us if we’re not careful. Use a calendar to schedule in a couple of cheap, family activities throughout the summer. Some of these might include a camping trip, a cheap matinee at the local theater, a play date at the local spray park, or a picnic at the lake. Scheduling quality time for fun will give everyone something to look forward to each week, and provide you with valuable memories once school starts.
Back on Track
As summer winds down, it’s important to reign in the schedule to make the Back to School transition a bit easier on everyone. With your kids, agree on a reasonable bedtime routine. Start using the morning alarm clocks at least two weeks before school starts so everyone gets used to the schedule. This last chore will help your whole family once the new school year begins!
Kelly Wilson is a busy mom, former elementary school teacher, and freelance writer. For more information about teaching kids to take the best care of their teeth, visit Dr. Sue Walker, a Dentist in Milwaukie, Oregon.
These are all necessary evils of summer. But, we all need to have fun with our kids in summer take them on trips and send them to camp and stuff like that as well. Let them find some new books they are interested in or learn to cook some new dishes whatever they are into. I am also a big believer in teaching boys how to do typically girl things like cooking some meals and teaching girls how to do some typical boy things like mowing the lawn and things like that. That way in the future they don’t have to have a boyfriend or girlfriend they can choose to.