Can you hear that? It’s the sound of kids shifting in their seats, watching the clock tick down as the final moments of the school year run out releasing them for a summer of fun. If you’re like a number of parents, you might be worried about ways to keep your kids off their tablets or phones and out in the sunshine during break. No easy task with all of the lure their devices have, so we’ve come up with these 10 Ways Families Can Disconnect to Reconnect this Summer. It’s both catchy and fun!
This post is written on behalf of OurPact by me. All opinions remain my own.
Play Board or Card Games
Yep, have the classic family game night. It’s a time old activity that leaves lasting fond memories that your children will inherently want to pass on to theirs as well! We love the classics like Candy Land, Monopoly, Life, Clue and Go Fish.
Watch a Movie Outside
String up some sheets on the back porch (including a plain white sheet for the projector) and camp out for movie night. If you don’t have a projector, check out the local park. Many of them host free “Movies in the Park” during the summer.
Grow a Garden
Keep kids learning and bonding all summer long with a garden. It’s also a great way to get picky eaters to try new foods because they’re more willing to try something they have grown and picked themselves.
Hit the Park
Not only is the park the perfect place get ride of some of that extra energy, but its usually a great picnic spot too.
Go on a Nature Hike
State parks are great places to take in nature and get a little exercise too. Plus, most of them now offer other activities on site (or nearby) like kayaking, tubing or fishing. Try doing a little scavenger hunt too finding your favorite trees, flowers, plants and animals along the way.
Create or Try a New Recipe
Even the smallest helpers can be useful in the kitchen, even if it’s just mixing. Assign more sophisticated tasks to the older kids. Nothing brings everyone together like creating a home cooked meal.
Give Them Cardboard, Duct Tape and Markers
Possibly the easiest way to fill an afternoon with creativity. You never know what they will come back with – perhaps they will make a rocket ship, a maze or a fort. Don’t be surprised when even the older kids get in on this one.
Watch the Sunset
One of our favorite ways to spend a Sunday evening is strolling down to the pier to watch the sunset and then heading across the beach to our favorite restaurant for fish tacos.
Play Kickball
Our family loved having the cousins come over for a game of kickball when I was younger. A lot of times even the adults would end up getting involved. It doesn’t have to be fancy, anything flat can be turned into a plate and any kickable ball can work in a pinch.
Leave Them To Their Imagination
Let them create a play, have a karaoke contest or just spend some time in the backyard! What they come up with just might surprise you.
Let’s be honest thought, even the most well behaved kids can be tempted to cross your allotted “device free” boundaries. Luckily there is a way to make it easier on them and you. After sitting down as a family to establish the ground rules for when devices can and can’t be used, get an app like OurPact to help ensure those rules are enforced. A must-have for modern day parents, it allows you to pair your children’s devices with your own. You can decide when their device can be used for gaming or surfing the web and it’s also an app that blocks social media so that tempting “ding” can not draw them like moths to a flame.
This post is written on behalf of OurPact by me. All opinions remain my own.
This sounds like how we disconnect. Although we do play a charades game that uses an app on one of our cell phones, it is still fun time together.
This could be helpful for those having issue like this. For me, we always keep our family connect by having a marathon movie every weekend and all outdoors activities we wanting.