I don’t know about you all, but my kids have spent the last 3months pretty much on their devices for hours each day thanks to distance learning requirements and eLearning sessions.
Now that school is finally out for the year, and summer is limping along, with every day pretty much the same as the last, the boys are doing pretty much everything they can to get BACK onto those darn screens. It is taking pretty much every parenting trick I can come up with stay one step ahead. We can not possibly keep this up all summer long. So. I am going to have to be just a little bit smarter than they are. Which is 100% the case ... so far.
Learning new tricks. They are not old dogs yet, right, so they should definitely be able to learn something new. Like juggling. Or doing a back flip on the trampoline. Or playing poker. Anything that means the screens are closed.
Sports. Summer is the perfect time to buff up. I am challenging my boys to come up with a fitness regimen that will help them stay strong (or get stronger) during the summer months, so when we show up at our next school they will be that the top of their literal game.
Packing in some of the Three R’s. Yep, I’m making them do homework. I know they are grumpy about it right now, but come Day 1 in school, they will be glad they haven’t suffered from any summer slippage. My eldest is working on his MYP project, too, because it is a big time commitment if he wants to do it well, and there won’t be as much time to work on it when we are in full move mode. It is not due until next spring well after school starts. Once school starts, though, and sports and after school obligations are in full swing, there is not going to be a spare minute let alone enough to devote to the project being well done. And yes, I am making the younger two do homework, too, because that’s just the kind of mom I am. It is either this or reports on US History (which they know nothing about).
Planning for what we will find in our new home. One of the best parts about this adventure we call ‘normal life’ is relocating every three to four years to a brand new country. This time it will be in a part of the world none of us have even visited, so all new to all of us. When the call of the devices gets too strong, I send them with an assignment to look upon some facts about our new home: places to visit, things to see, restaurants to try. It is a whole new world, and we’ll be on a discovery adventure together.... after 2 weeks of quarantine, of course.
Finally, I remind my three of the dwindling days of enjoying what we have right now: a big yard with lots if space, a swimming pool, yard games galore, a driveway big enough to have a very enthusiastic game of basketball, and all sorts of scooters and rip stick sorts of toys. We have a lot of options that we won’t enjoy during quarantine for sure, but also not when we are in our new house (that is tall and has a lot of rooms, but has no yard).
Get outside. Outside has fresh air, sunshine, the beautiful music of nature, and plenty of other benefits. Being outside is good for your mood, for your frame of mind, for your vitamin D levels... and perhaps being outside, laughing a little with your kids is exactly what everyone needs right now.