It’s creepin’ up, girls – summertime! Yay/uh oh – right?
Well, if you made it to our MIC in May w/Kym Carter, you might remember one of the best tips she gave: “Ask your kids to list 3 or 4 things that THEY want to do this summer.”
Odds are good their lists won’t include “attend all VBS programs in a 10 mile radius” or “over commit and overstress” or how about “attend 20 skills camps so I can become an elite athlete and receive a college scholarship…even though I’m only 8″. Mamas…we all do it. We panic…we want to fill up the summer so they’ll HAVE FUN and NOT MISS OUT. Well, how often do we stop and ask them what they want to do?
Hmmmm. Interesting idea.
A few of us have already done it and been surprised by the answers…what do you think YOURS will say if you ask? Give it a try. And then, make it happen (w/in reason of course – you can’t always fulfill every dream, but you can fulfill more than you think, I betcha). Kym suggested not just SAYING it will happen, but actually getting a calendar and letting the kiddos SEE their special request “scheduled in” on the family calendar. Give them something to look forward to. Take this opportunity to let them know that they matter.
So, whether its just while you are driving home from school OR if you want to make it a little more of an event, you can download the “Summer Wish List” from the downloads tab on this blog and print them out for your sweeties to fill out. (What a cool keepsake, too eh? And, it’d be supercool to post them on the fridge – mark them off as you complete them!).
Get excited about summer…and take some time to ASK THEM what they want to do. You’ll be surprised, I promise.
"I wanna go the pool w/my friend"
“One of mine came to the table with ‘build a hovercraft’. Not sure we will tackle exactly that, but I am looking into a model building kit that we can work on throughout the summer.” – Amy D
“Avery told me he wanted to go to the store and buy a Ferret…uhh – I don’t think so EVEN if you argue that that should be considered an activity.” – Denise J
“Sleep in and Disney World!” – Kellie S
“Fishing, ride on a train, camp out and go bowling – so far! All achievable so I guess I am lucky on that one 
” – Dawn J
“Maya wants to go to a movie w/a friend and Braeden wants to rent the CAC gym for an hour and have a bball tourney. Oh my word…totally DOING both. Never would’ve known…” – Kris M
