Back to the Days...

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have

 always been the two most beautiful words in the English

 language.” 

- Henry James

One of the very best parts of summer is being able to just relax - days spent poolside with popsicles in hand and nothing to do but cloud gaze and day dream. Unfortunately though, relaxing these days usually involves staring at a screen - iPad, phone, TV, computer, or otherwise.  Children (and adults) are forgetting the simple pleasures of being able to entertain themselves instead of always needing to be entertained by something.  That's why my mom created this specific unit - which she calls "Back to the Day of Pooh"- to help bring back some of the magic of the good old days- and to remind us to slow down, un-plug, and be present in our lives.  (For a more complete look at this unit, see my previous post HERE!)

To kick off our summer right, Beckam and I shut off TV, phones, and computers, and spent this last week doing nothing but enjoying summer... the old fashioned way!   

Here's what was on our list:

Go to the Park

Eat Ice-Cream and Go Swimming

Blow Bubbles

Do Sidewalk Chalk

Have Old-Fashioned Ice-cream Cookie Sundaes

Watercolor

Play Hopscotch

Beckam didn't totally get Hopscotch but it was a fun way to just practice  recognizing numbers. 

Eat Popsicles

Other Ideas:

Picnic lunches

Bowling

Night Games like "Kick the Can" or "Ghosts in the Graveyard"

Card and Board games

 Play Croquet

 Jump Rope

Ride Bikes

Read a Fun Novel Together

Go back to the days and ways of your 
own childhood summers
(Share with your children what you liked to play as a kid, or what your favorite treat was.  Or, have them ask a grandparent what they liked to do for fun when they were little.) 

Hope you all are having a fun-filled and relaxing summer too!