What Helps to Make a Memorable Summer?

I love my goal to publish a blogpost once a week on some aspect of the DISC System and its application in professional practices or its usefulness for individuals and families. I want to continue to provide enough information to make a difference in your office and your life; to share what I have found to be successful so you can put your new-found learning into your personal and professional practice immediately.

This time of year, however, always nudges me to take a few weeks of break and focus on Summer Goals. First, I do believe that school and the routine that goes with it are a very positive thing! But this month, cheers are resonating as children (and teachers) are released for the long-awaited Summer Break.

For many households, however, those cheers soon turn to moans of “I’m bored!”

(BTW – that is one phrase I didn’t allow in my house – or it triggered Mom’s “Bored Speech” that went something like this: “Do you know what the word “Bored” means? It means your Brain is DEAD! You have a bright mind – you can think of something interesting, fun, outside or with friends to do! And there are always more books to read!”)

My goal was always to make summer memorable… and to get through it with our sanity intact.

So I want to take a couple weeks to focus on the Start of Summer and how to make it a memorable one.

In our family, on the last day of school, we picked up our children, blind-folded them, and took them to some kind of outing to celebrate. Often it was a trip to our small local zoo, with a picnic… or something else we knew they had been anxious to do. Sometimes it was just having ice cream and park time together. But we wanted to do something that said, “This is the beginning of a special time!”

We all have children in our Circle of Influence. As parents, aunts or uncles, or grandparents or even neighbors, we can set up the children in our lives for success this summer. This is an excellent opportunity for extended family to come alongside the children.

It is very easy to approach the Summer Break from school with apprehension. But I want to encourage you to instead approach it with some goals:

• Sanity, not just survival
• A closer relationship with the children in your life
• New experiences to share with friends or family
• Helping a child’s individual development
• The children in our lives will know we are “On Their Team”
• Making special summer memories

Some of the Best Summer Plans include:

• Basic Chores – bed made, room neat
• Reading – more on this in the coming weeks
• Help with meals – set table, stir, chop
• Outdoor activities – ride bikes, swim, fly kites, hike, ball-playing, climb trees, swing, picnic
• Visit nearby places – zoo, parks, museums, Kids’ Discovery Zones
• Pinterest Lists are full of ideas

One book I always relied on for a positive summer was Sanity in the Summertime by Linda Dillow and Claudia Arp. There are still some copies of this to be had on Amazon.

Linda and Claudia have filled this book with ideas, recipes and practical suggestions as well as time-honed wisdom.

Some of their best ideas that we thoroughly enjoyed incorporating into our summer were:

• Have a Children’s Day once a week – schedule a trip to the zoo, take a bike hike, spend the day at the lake with a picnic, hike in the woods
• Have a “Just-Me-And-Mom” time with each child – can be even a short time of a story shared, or a longer picnic together; the key is flexibility and pre-planning
• Teach a child new skills – cooking, gardening, home care, writing a letter, ball skills
• Set up a “Super Summer Challenge” – pick 1 – 2 specific goals for the child to accomplish in each of 6 life areas: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Home, Creative, Musical

I hope these lists and ideas encourage you to make some plans and preparations for your summer.

Also, for a review of Planning Summer Vacation, just click here for that blogpost: “The Intersection of DISC Styles, Time and the Family Vacation.”

QUESTION:  What is helping you to approach the Summer Break with anticipation instead of trepidation? I’d love to hear your thoughts and observations. Please share in the comment section below.