June Blog - Adventures Await

Part 1 - Writing - How to Write Summer Adventures for Kids

Hello and welcome to the start of summer adventures where imagination never ends and each day brings new fun in outdoor happenings!

Summer reading and writing for me was always fun and unexpected. Growing up near the Atlantic Ocean in Rockaway Beach, NY offered many wonderful; and memorable occasions. Our public library was literally around the corner from where I lived so I had access to all the books I loved to read.

The summer is a great time to read and write about adventures in the daily life of whatever you do and wherever you are. When I wrote "My Baby and Me," I wanted to make my readers feel like my characters had fun while they experienced all the adventures in the story and also frustrations of being separated from the baby doll in the story. When my little girl character "lost" her baby doll, even though it was only misplaced or hidden nearby, I used the real life trips that my daughter and I took to the mall and ice cream shop to bring a connection to the mishaps parents and children often find themselves in when they go out into the world adventuring in a variety of outings.

If your child goes to a camp or a sports club for social events, there are tons of themes to write about. For example, if a story about a rabbit, a lake and a dog (or animal of choice) sounds interesting, then your theme could center around how this dog does not chase the rabbit as one might do in "real" life, but how the dog and rabbit become friends by needing each other on their meeting and develop a true friendship during a series of tasks at a nearby lake. When writing themed stories, the best way to start is from one's own experiences. Summer themed stories have lasting effects on readers and are so relatable for many young minds.

Another summer story favorite is creating an adventure journal to record summer memories of fun places you've visited or a fictional story about the adventure that took place from an imaginative person you brought to life while reading about an event like a carnival or celebration. Our creative juices can flow from all kinds of places and people we know and don't know. Remember that the month of June is National Great Outdoors Month! Time to be one with nature and find your center among the sun, flowers, trees and babbling brooks. Keep scrolling to find your printable "Adventure Journal" to use and record your summer time fun!

Part 2 - Education- Summer Learning Fun: Keeping Kids Engaged

For those families who live on the East Coast like I did growing up in Rockaway Beach, Queens, NY, I was in school until June 23rd. Summer couldn't have come at a quicker pace, especially living one block away from the Atlantic Ocean!

Each summer, we dragged our beach gear, which consisted of a bucket, shovel, a few other plastic tools to dig in the sand, our towel, chair, good book for summer reading, an FM radio for all the new and cool summer tunes on the top 40 stations, lots of sunscreen and money for the hotdog and ice cream vendors (who walked in the hot sun and sand along the beaches and boardwalk for a few blocks selling food and drinks to all the folks who came down from the Bronx and all points North) to stay hunger-free and cool for hours, all in a large tote bag, except for the chair, and plopped down to spend the day by the sand and surf. It was like a vacation only a block from home. I was fortunate to live where the boardwalk was filled with food stations and bathrooms for convenience. Spending days at the beach with a good book and a few friends was the best time growing up. Little did I know then that I was combining summer fun with learning as I engaged in my daily summer activities.

Staying inside was not an option, unless we had chores to do, so my friends and I made the best of our summer beach time building sand castles, collecting shells and staying "cool" with a series of water events while staying "cool" in the sun (see what I did there, ;)

Some kids don't grow up near a beach but instead go to a summer camp or another type of structured environment aimed at sports, dance, gymnastics or other physical activity where learning is right in the program outdoors. Bringing learning in the sciences and math is a great way for kids to combine summer fun and develop a routine to keep their minds fresh and active.

If you have a pool in your life, you can make great fun for your kids by using foam noodles, squirty water guns and floating devices which all can work to provide some science and math fun while cooling down in the sun. This would especially be a great lesson for the families who homeschool their kids and can closely be involved with their progress. Here are a few ways to use these items for a day or week of laughs and fun.

• Create a two foam noodle "boat" and see how many ways you can find ways to float. It's harder than you think! Using a timer, see how long you can stay above water without falling in! How about practicing precise aim for accuracy using a squirty water gun, a plastic ziplock baggy opened and hanging from a pool noodle with duct tape for tightness and then aim to fill the baggy with as much water before the timer goes off? Games like these are not only fun to try but can engage kids in teamwork and help them learn strategies by brain storming ways to make it work.

• Another fun activity is a team doing a triathlon of jumping through hula hoops, doing laps in a pool and ending with a trampoline ( big or small) bounce, jump and twirling event all recorded and timed so the math part is involved.

  *An added bonus can be doing this event in conjunction with the Summer Olympics. Keeping a white board with team names and scores can spark a neighborhood goal to "beat the clock" as the kids engage with each other during the days and times of activities.

Outdoor time means watching our feathered friends and listening to the sweet sounds they make each day. A DIY bird feeder ( or bird house ) can help keep them close by all year long. Building one from a pre-made set or making your own using plastic bottles, pine cones, milk cartons and paper tube rolls can be fun and inexpensive as you feed your feathered friends.

Remember - June 5th, (sorry this post is a bit late) World Environment Day. Plan an outing and take note of the things you can do to help protect your surrounding environment each day.

So, if you hear your kids say, "I'm bored, there's nothing to do," and they have friends, family and a few "tools" handy to create this kind of fun and learning, remind them that summer is for being active while learning new things too!

Part 3 - Parenting - Planning Screen-Free Summer Adventures

One of the best parts of summer for me growing up was always knowing me and my family would go on a two week vacation by car and packed to the roof when my Mom and Dad were able to schedule the weeks we would go. My Dad was a self-employed contractor so he was able to take time off in the end of July. My parents believed it was important for us all to travel and know our country and geography. We happily piled into the family vehicle of choice at that time ( my Dad usually had a station wagon or large Chevy Carryall, an early version of the modern SUV) and headed to Pennsylvania and the Delaware Water Gap or Maine and points in between during my early years. My parents and four siblings and I spent many hours driving to get to our destination. Once we arrived to our campground or cabin we spent time hiking, canoeing, picnicking and flea marketing during our time outdoors. No televisions were around, it was just books we brought from home, games and cards we packed and post cards we picked up at the general store in town to send back home to family and friends.

Going to landmark destinations filled with history and lots of tales of yesteryear makes for an enjoyable and interesting trip. When planning family outings to spark a connection and creativity, look for places that have several historical landmarks, for example in Philadelphia, The Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross House, and The Franklin Institute, a science museum filled with "human body" exhibits and how explains how our bodies work inside and out with live shows and demonstrations with interactive experiments for the youngsters.

If a week away is not on your radar for some away time but day trips make more sense, look for aquariums, zoos, parks and garden exhibits that offer time to stroll the grounds and enjoy nature's beauty. Museums are always a great day trip too, offering good family time for travel and time to connect.

When I did day trips with my three kids, I had each of them carry a small backpack with a few snacks, drinks, a sketchbook, pencils, markers, etc to draw and write about our adventure for the day. We often took the "Metro North Train" on the Hudson Valley Line from Westchester to Grand Centraln Station in NY on days when walking around Manhattan was fun spending the day together.

Local farms also make good day trips and if you're lucky, you will see a few cows, horses, goats and chickens in their habitats all scattered doing their thing. The wonderful thing about summer adventures like these is there is always a story to tell, not only about what you saw and did, but often the connection to how it is implemented in your own life in the day to day necessity we have for these products. We visit these places so we don't lose sight of how important it is to be with family while we learn and grow in awareness of the world around us.

Speaking of family time, June 18th is National Picnic Day so find a nice cozy spot to have lunch on a blanket somewhere in the outdoors and start a family story telling session that can be a tradition for years to come! There are so many great books to use for story telling and re-telling: Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm, The Gingerbread Man, The Tale of Peter Rabbit and many more. Some books have been read for years and are considered folk tales handed down throughout centuries so some do not have original authors. A library with a nice children's section will most likely have lots of books on Story telling. Each family member can read a few lines from one story or even make up a story as you go along! You never know where the story will lead!

Enjoy the month of June and don't forget to come back in July! That's right, the focus will be independence in all things WRITING, EDUCATION AND PARENTING! Stay cool and I look forward to being back next month! :)