No more pencils, no more books! No more teachers! Who cares about the dirty looks! The kids are out of school and looking for fun. Unfortunately, it's now up to you to provide that fun. Fortunately, I've got the solution. After struggling with having to come up with ideas to keep my kids busy, I brewed up this idea that helps to give me ideas and explore the town. The Summer Theme Jar! I'm a sucker for themes. Theme parties for the kids, theme days at work and school. Focusing on a theme can help your brain think outside the box. It keeps things fresh. There's an opportunity for something new every time, even when the same theme is used.
We got ourselves a jar, which can be fun in itself. Doesn't have to be a jar. Anything to hold all those wonderful ideas. We picked up this lovely jar and decorated it. It can used year after year, adding to the themes, each year.
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And then we cut up strips of paper, writing different themes and decorating the strips. It can be anything you want.
Here's a few ideas:
- Music Day
- Ocean Day
- Wildlife Day
- Movie Day
- Pirate Day
- Disney Day
- A trip around the world (exploring other countries)
- Storybook Day
- Art Day
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The sky is the limit on the themes. The main idea here is that each kid draws a different theme each day that you are in need of something to do. The challenge is to come up with activities and trips that use that theme. So we drew Space Day. I took the kids to Bass Pro Shops and bought some of the dehydrated camping food, which is similar to astronaut food. If you have access to a place that sells exactly that, even better. Later, we got supplies to make galaxy slime, with purple and blue colors and lots of stars! There's a plantetarium and observatory here in Vegas with the Community College of Southern Nevada. It's a great way for them to experience space.
The plan is to try and find a physical activity, a craft and a food item or recipe to match up with the theme. Pinterest is a fantastic resource to find ideas for the crafts and recipes. One of my favorites was Western Day. We watched western movies and made Cowboy Casserole, something I'd never had before. So this jar became an opportunity for me to experience new things, as well.
This year we added each of the decades, going back to the 1920's. We will seek out videos and images of what it was like to live during each of those times. Learn about specific items they used and maybe try some out. I'm hoping it's a way to expand the kids' horizons from the heavy digital age. I even added a secret "Live Like Your Parents" Day where they will not have any devices and have to try to find other ways to have fun, with the resources we were given as kids in the 80's.
This idea has become a summer family tradition for us and even as my kids creep into those terrifying teen years, when everything is boring, this is still something they look forward to. It's something I hope they cherish and carry on.
In this jar, creativity reigns supreme!
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