School's Out. Now What?

Articles

Jun 1

During the past year, everyone has endured heightened stress levels and changes to their normal routine. For families with children, the disruption to routine likely caused children to stay home from school, parents to work from home, or countless other possible situations that changed the normal routine at home. Although events were unprecedented last year, parents are always faced with the task of keeping kids occupied as the school year comes to a close and kids begin their summer at home. Regardless of year, some parents struggle to keep their children occupied during these summer months. Play is an important focus for the Tilton’s Therapy team, and we have a few ideas to help parents reduce stress and keep kids engaged all summer.

The Importance of Routine

When in comes to creating stability and security at home, routine cannot be ignored. Even during the “vacation” months during the summer, kids benefit from a regular routine. Although kids might want to eat when they like, stay up late, and sleep in, developing a summer routine can help them stay occupied, engaged, and reduce stress for the whole family. There are many ways to help kids develop their own routine to have some agency over their time and help them feel a sense of accomplishment.

Try using our Creating Routines Worksheets to help children stay on track. Print out or download the chart, then use the cards to fill in the morning or night routine as it is completed each day. You can use the blank cards to fill in your own goals, such as exercise, chores, or other daily tasks.

Chores and Household Duties

One easy way to establish a schedule on a monthly basis is to assign certain chores to each child in your household. On certain days of the week, each child should be responsible for completing their assigned chore or chores. To make it more fun, keep track of chores by using a calendar or habit tracker. Add a sticker on each day the chore is completed. Creating this kind of habit can help your child not only keep track of days throughout the week, but they are also developing their executive functioning skills in the process.

Activities to Occupy Time

Play is important, and time outside can be immensely beneficial for a child’s developmental skills. However, in many climates in the US, playing outside in the summer is simply not an option due to safety concerns. Although it can be difficult to fill the time spent indoors throughout the summer, there are so many options to introduce to your child and ways they can continue to learn and play all summer.

Arts and Crafts

No matter their age, children can engage in art. Sparking that creativity with different materials can lead them toward developing a skill in which they find passion. Paint, crayons, markers, colored pencils, pastels, chalk, charcoal, and so many other mediums exist and can be appropriate for toddlers and teenagers alike. Using resources like YouTube can help you find different focused projects to guide them toward a goal in their creation, but some children may be inclined to create their artwork without a prompt. Try incorporating different colors of paper or surfaces they can use to spark their creativity!

Story Time

If your child is already an avid reader, it may be a welcome suggestion that they take time reading each day. For those with different abilities such as dyslexia, reading can present obstacles and feel difficult rather than fun. Try alternative options such as Audible for Kids to help your child engage story time. It doesn’t have to be during bedtime that children read or listen to stories. They may enjoy doodling or drawing while listening to a story, or build with blocks while listening to a chapter of a book they are interested in reading. Until June 30th, Audible Stories is free.

Worksheets and Workbooks

Many children enjoy the exercises and learning opportunities they receive in the classroom. Your child can engage their brain with worksheets or workbooks in almost any subject, from math to learning letters. Many convenience stores and grocery stores sell workbooks, or you can download pages and packets based on learning focus or grade. Parents can also browse our resource section and find pages of fun printable learning exercises curated by our team of professionals. Each activity focuses on a specific developmental benefit.

Educational YouTube

Although engaging YouTube can increase your child’s screen time, there are channels which can help them learn and develop certain skills. You can even find some teacher-approved channels so you can feel confident your child is engaged and learning. Here are a few channels to promote education at home:

Finding Stuff Out

Storyline Online

Free School

It’s Okay To Be Smart

TED-Ed

Podcasts

If you are looking to reduce your child’s screen time, podcasts are a great alternative to watching a program. There are many educational podcasts for kids such as, “But Why?” which aims to answer the questions many curious kids may ask. Children can also engage in stories, music, or even guided meditations such as “Soundwalks.”

Dealing with Boredom

Although it can seem like keeping boredom at bay will help your child stay focused, boredom is not always a bad thing. Sometimes boredom is what sparks creativity, innovation, or reveals the nature of what your child needs. There are so many ways to engage the senses and keep your child learning and curious about the world while at home during the summer months. Ask them how they would like to spend each day and help guide them toward the best option. You can always refer to our resources section to get fresh ideas each day for play!

Find the full list of resources and activities here.

If you find an activity that your child loves, we’d love to hear about it! Find us on Instagram or Facebook to let us know what activities you’ve completed at home and how it impacted your children.