Kids Health Notes

10 creative ways to welcome summer!

by Grace on June 17th, 2008

SCHOOL IS OUT! SUMMER IS IN!

Every student looks forward to the last day week of school. No one can really concentrate on anything, lest along school work. How can you make the last week of school special, and the first days of summer filled with anticipation?

Here I compile Ten fun ways to celebrate the start of summer.

Celebrate the end of school: Kids’ art projects. Instead of filing away your child’s art projects they bring home on the last day of school, pick several favorite artwork and transform them into these creative projects.

1. Kids’ Art T-shirt. Scan a favorite artwork in the computer. Print in on iron-on transfer paper and make a t-shirt.
2. Personalized notecards. Scan the art and resize it to fit blank notecards. The child can use this as thank-you letters to his teachers, or write notes to his favorite classmates during the summer.
3. Display them museum-style. Frame art projects in inexpensive portrait frames, and display them along a wall of the house or his bedroom.
4. Scrapbook them. Scan the artwork in the computer and print on heavy cardstock. Use them as background for photos of your child during the school year.

Welcome summer with a bang. Children look forward to everything that summer holds for them, but without a plan for the rest of summer, things can get boring pretty quickly. The first three ideas below will get the kids to anticipate summer. The last three are ideas to jumpstart activities to do the rest of the season.

1. School-year finish line. Make a banner that says “Welcome to Summer” and tape it across the open door into your house. Get your child crashing through the banner to officially start summer! Present a trophy or medal to celebrate your child’s non-academic accomplishment and milestones.
2. Kick-off summer with a splash. Get ready with water balloons, water guns and sprays. Soak the kids wet as they get off the school bus and start a water fight! (Best done with neighborhood kids!)
3. Summer Brain-freeze. Treat the kids to ice cream! Even more fun, make it a fastest-eating contest, guess the ice-cream flavor contest, or get the family to share a huge plate piled with different ice-cream flavors .
4. A bucket full of fun. Head to a local craft store with a beach bucket for each child. Have them fill the bucket with art supplies and games to do for the summer. Then go to the library or book store and pick out summer reads, enough to fit in the bucket.
5. Get them early into sports! Get the kids’ sports equipment out on the porch or backyard and have them go at it. Then schedule a regular sports competition or leagues for the kids for the rest of summer, including biking, swimming and whatever sports they fancy.
6. Have an adventure! Over dinner, make concrete plans for the summer. Prepare travel guides and maps and, include the kids in planning short road, museum or day trip for the summer months.

Some ideas used from FamilyFun; image: sxc

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