Great Idea To Keep Your Kids Busy All Summer

As soon as school was out, Journey said to me, “I wonder if I’m going to get picked to do that fun challenge again this summer.”   Even though she’s in summer camp, she still has quite a bit of free time when she gets home.  So the Super Fun Summer Challenge is back to help beat summer boredom!  Last year during the challenge, Journey built a lego city as an architect, wrote a business plan as an entrepreneur, saved the planet as an eco-superhero, and did our family tree as a genealogist.  And this year’s challenge will be even better!  Here’s how you can get your kids from in front of the television and in on some serious summer fun:

This summer’s challenge will run for six weeks.

HOW IT WORKS:

1.  All kids need to participate is a notebook, stuff you already have around the house and their imaginations.

2.  To participate, simply sign up using the form below.  Then, each Friday (Thursday this week because of the holiday), I will post a challenge designed to keep your kids busy with projects like the ones I mentioned above.

3.  Click the images related the challenge, print, and put in an envelope addressed to each child.  Give them the envelopes each Monday.  You will also need to provide a notebook with the first envelope.

4.  The kids have until Saturday to complete the challenge.  We have selected a time of 6:00p, but you can select any end time that works for you.

5.  They get a prize for each challenge that they complete on time. The prize doesn’t have to be anything fancy.  I gave Journey prizes like books, DVD’s and art supplies.  You can also get creative and give certificates that are good for one extra hour of television, an extra story at bedtime, something extra for dessert–you get the idea.  Because Journey didn’t realize I was the one behind the challenge, she checked our front door every Saturday at 6:00p to see if a package has been delivered.  So dad and I played along and put her prize in a gift bag and sneaked it on the front porch.

GET STARTED:

Print out this contract congratulating your kids on being selected to participate in the challenge.  It also outlines the rules.  This should be the first envelope that your kids receive.

The rules are simple:

1. They have to spend at least 2 hours a day working on the challenge.

2. They cannot watch television while they are working on the challenge. (This should be a given, but Journey is the queen of loopholes so I wanted to be specific.)

3. They should ask for help when they need it.

After they read it (or you read it to them) and sign it, allow them to open an envelope with the first challenge.

A FEW THINGS TO CONSIDER:

• If you have siblings that may not be getting along, having them do the challenges together could be a great team building exercise.
• Supplement the challenges by adding field trips to the library, a play at the community theater, a museum, etc.
• Skip the parts of the challenge that you feel are too difficult and add steps to the challenges you think are too easy.

Here’s to a Super Summer!

Be inspired,