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How to Schedule Alternative Activities to Limit Kids’ Screen Time

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schedule alternative activities

Every time you turn around, your kids are staring at a smartphone or screen. Of course, they like playing video games, texting with friends, watching television, and surfing the internet on the computer. But that can become much lost time without interacting or participating in physical activity.

There are ways to reduce your children’s screen time. Parents need to understand the importance of setting rules and reducing screen time by limiting when children can use the computer, TV, and smartphone. One way to do this is to suggest alternative activities that you can schedule on your online calendar to reduce screen time.

Here are ways to reduce the time your children spend on technology screens and alternative activities to consider.

Time For a Family Meeting

The first step to getting everyone on board with new rules for technology is to hold a family meeting. You should explain why it is essential to establish rules for the family about tech use. This is an excellent time to note that the goal is for everyone to sit less and move more. Tech use isn’t a reward or punishment but a form of entertainment with limits. For example, young children can use a cell phone for kids that doesn’t come with the internet, social media, or games.

The idea here is to explain that these rules are intended to improve your time together. As a family, everyone must commit to limiting screen time. There may be some exceptions, such as using the computer for homework or work. That does not count against your entertainment time. But everyone in the family, including adults, must be held to the same standard.

Set Screen Time Limits and Stick to Them

A house rule must limit the amount of screen time spent on smartphones, TVs, and video games. Health experts recommend two hours a day, but you can set your own limits. Maybe it is one hour. Perhaps you decide three hours is appropriate for your family. Whatever you decide, the entire family must be on board to keep screen time down to a finite time. Schedule these times on your online calendar and ensure everyone sticks to them.

Once the rule is established, make sure you follow it. Children know when their parents are not practicing what they preach. They will follow your lead. Make sure everyone knows the penalty for breaking the rule. Decide if they must pay into a family entertainment fund or lose tech privileges.

Encourage Completing Chores for Screen Time

If your child is old enough to take advantage of screen time, they likely are old enough to handle chores. Establish a set of chores for your child around the house. Schedule the time they work on them on your online calendar and when they complete them. Performing these chores helps the family, offers an alternative to staring at a screen, and provides an opportunity to reward your child.

Consider offering them a bit more screen time if they go above and beyond with chores. But be careful. The idea here is to reduce screen time, so try not to offer ways to increase it too much.

Create Family Time for Physical Activities

A great way to reduce your family’s screen time is to find alternative physical activities. For example, you can plan family walks or visit the community pool. Start a family bowling night or an exercise challenge. Find a way to offer alternative activities to your children that will reduce their dependence on screen time.

You can track the amount of time spent on physical activities and tech use each week on your online calendar. Consider the hours spent watching TV, playing video games, and using the computer. Compare that to the time spent doing physical activities. Chances are you’ll find the screen time surpasses the time doing physical activities. If so, meet as a family to discuss ways you can increase your physical activities.

Not all physical activities must be done together, although family time is fun. Give your children credit for playing outside with friends. Perhaps your children are involved in sports at school or in the community. Count that, too. Don’t forget to give yourself credit for your time at the gym.

Make Sure Your Children Get Outdoors

An alternative to screen time can be spending more time outdoors. To encourage your child to get out more, look for ways to nurture new hobbies. For example, teach them how to plant and care for a garden. Teach them how to care for your swimming pool. Expose them to the thrill of working on cars, maybe just cleaning them or changing the oil.

You can create a schedule for these outdoor activities in your online calendar and try different things. You might help your child discover a passion that turns into a life-long career.

Engage as You Enjoy Screen Time Together

There are ways to spend family time together while watching television. Plan a movie night together, something everyone will enjoy. Make special treats for the family to ensure that time is special. If you see TV ads for unhealthy foods or promoting new personal devices, discuss those. Help your children understand the difference between junk food and healthy meals.

You can also add physical activities to your tech use. For example, create a competition with push-ups or jumping jacks during commercials. The winner picks the next movie. Inspire your children by doing stretches, yoga, or dumbbell lifts while watching TV. You can increase your family’s time with physical activities while enjoying television together.

Establish “Tech-Free” Zones in Your Home

You decide when and where your children access technology. That means you need rules preventing access to tech in certain areas of your home. For example, ensure there is no tech at the kitchen table for any meal. Meal time is when families can discuss their day and stay connected.

Keep computers and televisions out of bedrooms. This is an excellent way to ensure everyone sticks to the tech time limits. But it also helps you monitor what your children watch and browse. You can also keep smartphones out of bedrooms or require them to be surrendered before bedtime.

Provide Alternatives to Screen Time

Families can do many activities together that don’t require technology. Consider going to a park together. Attend a sporting event together. Encourage your children to try hobbies that occupy their afternoons and weekends, and schedule these activities on your online calendar.

Children can learn to appreciate hobbies at an early age. Take them to a local theater production and ask if they would consider joining a youth theater group. Sign up for an art class and take your child to see if they would enjoy learning more. Offer to pay for music lessons so they can explore learning an instrument.

Other traditional options are to consider, such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, school clubs, and volunteering. They teach the value of volunteer service and plant a seed of service that your child will appreciate as an adult.

There are many ways to reduce your family’s screen time. Think of this as an opportunity to build new memories together.

10 Ways to Get Your Kids Outdoors This Summer

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Summertime is a great opportunity to get your kids outdoors and active. But for parents, it can be tough to find ways to keep them busy and entertained.

Luckily, there are plenty of outdoor activities for you and your child to choose from. Whether it’s taking a trip to the park or signing up for summer camp, there is something for every personality type.

Read on for our favorite ways to get your kids out for some fun in the sun.

10 Fun Ways to Keep Your Kids Active Outdoors This Summer

1. Go to Outdoor Movies or Concerts

If you want to spend quality time with your young ones outdoors and feel like mixing it up from the usual visit to the playground, look for family-friendly outdoor movie screenings or concerts in your area.

These are typically offered in town squares or parks during the summer months and make for a great evening activity that doesn’t cost much.

Do a quick search online or ask around at your local library to find out when and where these will be taking place near you. Try to find a movie that the whole family will enjoy, or look for a concert with kid-friendly performers.

2. Take a Splash in the Pool or Sprinklers

If you’re looking to beat the heat, there’s no better way to do it than by cooling off in the pool or sprinklers. Many local pools have special times set aside just for families with young children, so take advantage of that and let your kids splash around to their heart’s content.

If you don’t have access to a pool, sprinklers are always a fun option and can be easily set up in your backyard. If you really want to go all out, you could even turn it into a game of Slip ‘N Slide. Just be sure to supervise your children at all times when they’re near water.

3. Sign Your Kid Up For a Class or Camp

It’s important that children’s minds stay active while they’re out of school for the summer, and one great way to do that is by signing them up for a class or camp.

There are all sorts of summer programs available, from sports to art to theater. There’s sure to be something that interests your child and helps them explore their passions. Not only will they be having fun, but they’ll also be learning something new.

Classes and camps can get pricey, but many offer discounts if you sign up early or register for multiple sessions. And some even offer scholarships for families who can’t afford to pay the full price.

4. Go on Nature Scavenger Hunts

Getting into nature is a great way to spend a summer day, and it’s even more fun when you’re on the lookout for specific things.

Before heading out, make a list of items for your kids to find, such as rocks, leaves, flowers, or sticks. You can even make it a competition to see who can find the most items on the list.

Not only will your kids get some exercise by running around, but they’ll also be able to appreciate the beauty of nature. Visit nearby parks, forests, or nature trails to find the perfect spot for your scavenger hunt.

5. Try Backyard Camping

Your child can have the magical experience of camping without ever leaving the safety of your backyard.

Set up a tent, gather some activities or craft supplies, and let your child have an adventure right at home. This is a quick and easy solution to providing your kids with a private space similar to a fort or treehouse.

The great thing about tents is that they’re super easy to set up and take down, so you can do it as often as you like. And if the weather isn’t cooperating, you can always move the fun indoors.

6. Get Some Outdoor Equipment

Having plenty of toys set up in the yard makes it easy for kids to go outside and play.

A simple sandbox or water table can provide hours of fun, or you could get more elaborate with a swing set or playset. You can even find inflatable pools that are perfect for small yards.

If you don’t want to spend a lot of money, there are plenty of low-cost options such as chalk, hula hoops, or jump ropes. And if you get creative, you might be able to repurpose some of your child’s old toys for outdoor use as well.

7. Bring Your Child Along For Dog Walks

Dogs are the perfect walking companions, and bringing your child along will make it even more enjoyable.

Not only will they get to spend time with a furry friend, but they’ll also learn how to take care of a pet. And if you don’t have a dog, maybe one of your neighbors would be willing to let your child walk theirs for a bit.

Make sure to start off slow and choose a route that’s not too strenuous. Once you get the hang of it, you can even add in some stops along the way, such as a treat at the park or a visit to the dog beach.

This will prepare your young ones for when they’re finally ready to take on the responsibility of the family pet in a few short years.

8. Start an Entrepreneurial Venture

It’s never too early to start teaching your children about the value of hard work and determination.

One great way to do that is by helping them start their own business. This could be something as simple as setting up a lemonade stand or selling homemade crafts.

Another idea is to create a chore list for outdoor tasks such as raking leaves or washing the car. Your child can earn a commission for every job they complete, which will teach them about money management and budgeting.

Older children can make money by offering to do chores for neighbors or starting a dog-walking service. The sky’s the limit when it comes to entrepreneurial ventures, so get creative and have fun with it.

Not only will your child learn some valuable life lessons, but they’ll also get to enjoy the satisfaction of earning their own money.

9. Set Up a Messy Art Project Outside

Artistic projects are one of the most exciting activities for children to do during summer break. However, it can be a real headache for parents if the mess ends up inside the house.

The solution is to take the project outside, where you can hose down any spills and let the sun do the rest.

One fun idea is to make action paintings by having your child dip their hands in paint and then make prints on a large piece of paper or canvas. You can set up tarps, water buckets, and towels to make cleanup a breeze while letting your kids go wild.

10. Throw a Party

Want to be the coolest parent on the block? Throw a summer party for all the kids in the neighborhood.

This is a great opportunity to get to know your neighbors while giving your child a chance to socialize. You can set up some fun outdoor games, such as water balloon tosses or a treasure hunt. And don’t forget the food!

Nothing says summer like grilling hot dogs and serving up some refreshing watermelon. Just be sure to have plenty of sunscreen on hand to keep everyone safe from the sun.

Throwing a party for your child and their friends is a convenient idea for getting your kid outside — especially if your child has a summer birthday. But let them have a summer party, even if it’s not their special day — and you can be sure that will put a smile on their face.

Conclusion

With a little creativity and planning, you can easily find ways to get your kids outdoors this summer. With so many options available, there’s no excuse not to get your kids moving.

So go ahead and get started planning the remaining summer days with great activities. If you use an online calendar to keep activities organized, you can quickly share it with other family members and neighbors — or babysitters to make sure your kids are involved in joyful experiences that will augment summer learning.

Your kids will thank you for the summers they had as a kid. That, of course, won’t happen until later — but think back to your own childhood and incorporate some of those ideas this summer, too.

And who knows, you might relive some happy memories while building some “good ole days” for your children. And don’t forget to pack the sunscreen.

Image credit: Victoria Borodinova; Pexels; Thanks!

10 Ways to Get Your Kids Outdoors This Summer was originally published on Calendar by Abby Miller.

Teach Your Kids Responsibility With a Pet

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Looking for a way to teach your kids responsibility in a challenging yet enjoyable way? Get them a pet! Taking care of a pet is one of the most fulfilling things you can do. You essentially add another member to your family that will fill the years with extra fun.

Whether you’re starting with a goldfish or bringing a furry friend into the home, kids will need some help grasping the responsibility and using it to grow. Here’s how you can help them become the best pet parents they can be:

Set a Feeding Schedule

The most important thing to do as a pet owner is to make sure your little critter is being properly fed. Setting a feeding schedule develops a good routine for your children, as well as for the pet’s lifestyle. Put a recurring event into an online calendar, and feeding time will never get forgotten.

If you have multiple kids, your Calendar can be used to rotate them through this responsibility. This ensures that everyone shares a part of the chore equally. Keeping track of whose turn it is to feed the cat will also reduce the number of arguments trying to determine whose turn it actually is.

Make Time for Activity

Most pets need some activity throughout the day to stretch their legs and keep them happy. Puppies, in particular, need to be played with a lot. Other pets, such as hermit crabs, fish, and reptiles, won’t need as much attention, but it’s still good for kids to make time for them.

Since dogs are one of the most common pets and one of the most endearing, they make for a perfect example. Puppies should be walked daily, and benefit from sticking to a routine. Help your kids pick out good times to go on walks using Calendar and help them stick with the routine they set. As a result, the puppy will be happy and healthy, and your children will learn valuable principles about commitment and time management.

Remember to Clean

Animals aren’t known for their cleanliness. So part of the responsibility of a pet owner is cleaning up regularly. A clean pet is a happy one, and a healthy one at that.

Each type of pet requires a different amount of cleaning. For example, a fish tank only needs to be cleaned every couple of weeks instead of a litter box that might need to be cleaned out every other day. Your Calendar will reflect the needs of your pet of choice. At least set a recurring reminder for your kids to check the pet’s area, even if it doesn’t always need to be cleaned out.

This is another chore that could use the guiding hand of a Calendar. Kids will always want to play with their pets, but won’t be lining up to do the cleaning. In the same way, you organize feeding responsibilities, make sure everyone is sharing the burden of cleaning equally.

Keep a Record

While not a necessity, having your children keep a record of how they care for their pets can be an excellent teaching experience. Keeping a journal of any kind helps to improve one’s memory and communicate their feelings more effectively. In the case of a productivity journal such as this, kids can learn how to stay organized, set goals, and commit to a project.

Your kids can keep a record of when they feed, clean, or play with their pets. They can even keep health records in this journal that might be relevant in the future. Even if none of the information is needed down the road, it’s a good practice for them to stay on top of it. They can also take not of fun experiences to read back later in life as a way to preserve memories.

Make Them Earn It

Let’s talk about the time leading up to getting a pet. While surprising the family with a new dog is exciting and wonderful, you’re also dropping a huge responsibility into their laps. Try warming them up to the idea of a pet by making them earn it. You’ll be able to gauge their commitment and capabilities before you end up doing everything to take care of the pet by yourself.

Assign your kids some smaller responsibilities so they can prove they can work their way up to the responsibility of owning a pet. Taking care of a plant, completing a chore list, and being proactive with homework are all activities that can be pursued in preparation for a pet. Use your Calendar to track their progress and make sure their motivation lasts longer than just a week.

Teach About Money

Pets can be expensive. While you shouldn’t expect your kids to foot every bill, you can also use this opportunity to teach financial responsibility. Kids can be taught how to save and spend money while taking care of a pet.

Kids can earn some allowance money by doing chores that can be used to pay for pet food, collars, and toys. There are tons of little lessons that can be taught throughout this process, like sales tax, saving practices, and good old-fashioned hard work. Transactions can also be tracked in your kids’ pet journal, which can show them just how expensive owning a pet can be.

Looking back at all the pictures and memories you make, you won’t be able to imagine life without a pet. Talk it over with your family and use your Calendar to make a plan that will change your family for the better.

Image Credit: EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA; pexels; thank you!

Teach Your Kids Responsibility With a Pet was originally published on Calendar by Abby Miller.

How Parents Should Spend Their Time With Kids Back in School

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How Parents Should Spend Their Time With Kids Back In School

A lot of parents really look forward to the first day of school. Not only do they support growth and learning, but it’s also nice to have the house to themselves for a few hours each day. Summer can get pretty hectic, and school hours provide a much-needed respite.

For stay-at-home parents, those school hours provide a lot of opportunities. The question is, how do you fill up those empty hours in your Calendar? Here are a few ways parents can make the most of the time the kids are away at school this upcoming scholastic year:

Reverse the Damage of Summer

First things first, staying on top of messes during the summer can be quite tricky. However, now that your kids will be spending most of the day at school, you have plenty of time to pick up the slack left in housekeeping. Just a few days of elbow grease should be all you need to reverse the majority of the damage left by summer festivities.

Sure, it’s helpful and even developmentally beneficial to have your kids pitch in with the cleaning, especially if they’re responsible for the mess. However, school can often be a stressful time, and you don’t want to overload them too much if they’re struggling during their first week. Besides, you work much more efficiently than they do anyways.

Prepare the Afternoons

When your kids get home from school, they are going to be tired from sitting all day in a classroom and participating in any after-school activities they’re enrolled in. They won’t always be super agreeable or cooperative, especially if a long day was equally difficult. Preparing the afternoons for them is a great parenting gesture that requires little effort but goes a long way.

For example, let’s say you know one of your sons is coming home from football practice, and your other son is stressed about an application for the Honor Society. Before they even walk through the door, they have everything they need set up. Layout a change of clothes and set up a study area. The little things like this you can do will pave the way for your children to succeed no matter what they do.

Do Some Meal Planning

If there is anything kids can do well, it’s eating and eating often. Of course, they’ll be expecting dinner to be made for them as they return home and some sack lunches to take on a day when the cafeteria is serving mystery meat. So to avoid kitchen burnout, use your time while everyone is at school to do some meal planning.

By planning out your weekly meals, you can do your grocery shopping more efficiently and even cut down on cooking time. Leftover dinner can provide lunch for all your kids the next day or even provide some meal variations for the entire week. If you’re deciding what to cook at three in the afternoon, you’re already behind.

Nothing will make meal prep as easy as an online calendar. List out the meals you want to try throughout the week and plan around your shopping trips. You can even coordinate with other families to share meals with some of your kids’ friends.

Enjoy the Alone Time

Let’s face it; you’ve earned some ‘me time’ and should start cashing it in. The extensive family time in the summer is incredible but admittedly exhausting. So kick up your feet for a spell and enjoy a few hours of peace and quiet after months of chaos.

Try to make your alone time a little productive or at least enjoyable. Opt for reading a book or picking up an old hobby before binge-watching the latest season of Grey’s Anatomy. If it helps, use your Calendar to intentionally plan solitary activities that will ensure the entire afternoon isn’t spent napping.

Improve Yourself

As an extension to that alone time, you can take a page out of your kids’ schoolbooks and look for some ways to improve yourself. For example, you can brush up on your math skills to help with homework, or even continue your own education using the plethora of online classes available through universities around the country.

Other ways to improve yourself include getting more exercise or maintaining your mental health. With kids out of the house, it will be much easier to fit in a long daily workout or book a Calendar appointment with a counselor or therapist.

Not sure what challenge you want to face? Check out the app store on your phone for some simple ideas. Some apps can teach you new languages, give you creative writing prompts, or even how to do basic coding.

Start a Side Hustle

Being a stay-at-home parent is both admirable and awe-inspiring. However, it can be noted that some of these parents sometimes don’t feel completely fulfilled when their kids spend long hours away from home. One way to fill up the time while providing for both the family and society as a whole is to start a side hustle.

Some side hustles are easy to get into, like downloading a food delivery or ridesharing app and picking up the odd job around town. Others require more creativity but can be more rewarding, like selling arts and crafts online. There’s really no limit to what you can do, from baked goods and homespun clothing to lawn care and painting.

Thanks to the magic of technology, it’s also easier than ever for stay-at-home parents to pick up a part-time job. In addition, working remotely opens up many more doors from employment with flexible schedules for even the parents with jam-packed Calendars.

Challenge yourself to do more with the time you’re being given this school year. Set goals using your Calendar and work alongside your children to become better people every single day.

Create a Summer Reading Program for Your Kids

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Create a Summer Reading Program for Your Kids

School’s out for summer, but that doesn’t mean the learning should stop. Parents will be looking for ways to keep their children mentally engaged with some of the extra time they have off. Of course, reading isn’t an on-off sport. Reading is year-round fun, relaxation and enjoyment.

Reading is one of the best academic activities your kids can participate in throughout their entire lives. In fact, reading is an essential component of child development, so you’ll be setting your kids up for future success by getting them to read during their offseason and all year round.

The Three B’s

I’ve always said that the three main components for good readers are the three B’s. Books, Bookshelf, and Bedlamp. Have these three available and your child will be a reader.

Create a Summer Reading Program for Your Kids

A great way to get your kids’ reading organized is with an online calendar. The following tips will help you make this summer a summer of reading while still balancing the rest of your fun in the sun.

Take a Trip to the Library

Kick things off by taking a trip to your local library. The library will contain all of the books your kids could ever dream of. Sign them up for library cards and browse through all of the books until they find one they like. There will be many options (and opinions) at the library that are not available at home, providing a greater chance for each child to find a book they’re interested in.

Additionally, most libraries will host learning activities throughout the summer that your kids can attend. While at the library, ask for a schedule containing all of the events and activities that are planned for the coming months. Add the books you’re interested in, onto your online calendar so your kids can participate.

The library also has lists of Cauldacot Book Awards and other Award-Winning Books that can be enjoyed.

They also have reading level lists that can guide the parent. I sometimes have my kids (grandkids) read a level or two lower so that they can speed through stacks of books. It’s a blast. “Yeah, I read 250 books this summer.”

Speeding through stacks of books cements little concepts that the children have missed in reading. It also helps kids gain a deeper concept of remembering content. Be sure and have conversations, “tell me what this book was about,” and “what was your favorite part of this book?”

Be sure to add your own reading schedule on your Calendar also so that the kids can see that you have your own personal reading goals. Yesterday I said, “Well, I finished the Oprah book, “What Happened to You?” My grandchild said, “What was your favorite part, grammy?” “I saw you cry.” Wow! I thought. Then I remarked candidly, “It was a hard book to read, but I learned many things, and I think maybe I was hurt as a kid.” It was a solemn talk.

What book talks are you having with your kids?

Plan Reading Times

Many kids are taking the initiative to do some reading on their own time. If your kids fall under that category, you are lucky to be able to guide them into exciting adventures in reading. Scheduling specific times for reading is great. My mom would let us read together as a child if we had showered and were ready for bed at 8:00 PM. We ran to the living room to get the best seat and read whatever we wanted for an hour.

Ask your kids when they would prefer their reading time to be. Do they like reading right before bed or in the afternoon when it’s too hot to bear going outside? Or both? Set those reading times into your online calendar and resist the urge to assign anything else at that time for your kids. Let them relax and unwind with a book.

Add Some Incentives

When pushing your kids to be more productive this summer, don’t be afraid to use incentives as encouragement. Make sure reading isn’t used as a chore. Reading is fun — free time. Always provide wonderful books for the family trip. Occasionally have a special treat. We’ve done the read at the park, read in the balls at McDonald’s, read at the mall, read on stairs outside the capitol, the lawn of the museum, on the bike trail — and many other “kids’ choice” reading spots. (At midnight on the lake with flashlights.) Epic!

Work to make summer reading an experience — a great experience.

Some schools have reading requirements that your kids will have to meet this summer. For this type of reading — I try always to support the schools — and I try not to show the “bad face” about it. For example, an hour of reading can qualify them for an hour of video game time or a chance to go hang out with a friend. This way, your kids will know that before they can participate in other activities of choice — they have to give some time to clear off the school reading assignments.

Being read to can be just as good as private reading for young kids, especially those just learning how to string words together. Reading to your kids can become a daily tradition that everyone looks forward to and will make a happy addition to your online calendar.

Favorite childhood stories

This summer might be a good time to introduce your favorite childhood stories to your own kids. A recurring event set for each night can mark the time everyone snuggles together to listen to Mom or Dad read aloud.

As a child, whoever got to the living room first got to sit on the back of the sofa and brush mother’s hair while others read. This was a singular event each night because mother’s hair was perfect and never out of place, and her hair was not touched at any other time.

Try something unusual. Reading and how well you read will affect an entire lifetime — you can give this profound gift to a child.

Make sure to answer any questions your kids might have about the story or words they don’t recognize.

Put Together a Movie Night

We know that books are always better than movies based on them. Luckily, kids aren’t typically as harsh of film critics. In fact, it can be quite exciting to watch the cinematic version of the book they just finished reading.

Set a goal with each child to finish their chosen book by a certain date. When that day comes, plan a movie night together in your online calendar to enjoy the plot of the story on the big screen. Grab some popcorn and dim the lights and watch the tale unfold like never before. I love to have neighborhood kids over for these events.

Bring the Stories to Life

Besides the silver screen, you can bring stories to life with other activities that bring reading to life. For example, let’s say one of your kids finished reading a nature book. Plan a day in your online calendar to go bird watching or go to the zoo to see real-life examples of what they read.

Adventure and fantasy books have a lot of potential for creative activities for your kids. Spend some time creating the perfect Harry Potter wand or drawing pictures of dragons together to spend a summer afternoon.

The last couple of weeks, my granddaughter went to a pirate and ocean summer camp. They read about oceans and spiked the kids’ interest with pirate things. She made an aquarium, a bed of coral (out of pipe cleaners), sea kelp and they made a wonderful spyglass. Interactive stuff, when reading, helps your kids exercise other aspects of creative thinking and expression.

Stay Consistent with Summer Reading

Don’t be the parent that enforces a strict reading schedule — just enjoy the experience. For summer reading to have a lasting impact — don’t just enjoy — feel joy. Your Calendar will be your weapon of choice when developing an at-home reading program, and it will help you be consistent so that you don’t have to do all of the rememberings yourself. What a great time to live with all of the tech-helps to make it easier.

Set up all your reading times and events in your online calendar. Then, your reminders can prompt you to take action on your plans. Soon, your schedule will turn into a reading habit that no longer needs an online calendar to hold you accountable (it will still help, however).

This will be a summer for the books as you incorporate reading into every day.

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