Making the most of the remaining summer vacation

The month of May is almost at an end and we are starting to have the first rains, which signal the end of summer.

Many families have returned from their out-of-town vacations visiting relatives whom they seldom see at other times of the year, while others may have extended their stay in various leisure spots of their choice to enjoy what remains of the season. There are also those families who are using their summer holidays to relax within the comforts of home.

Any whichever way we have chosen to spend our vacation, the most important aspect of having time on our hands away from school (for the children) or work (for the parents) is the opportunity to be together as a family and engage in various recreational activities like sports and hobbies, or in simple tasks or chores at home.

Being able to enjoy each other’s company under a more flexible schedule is a luxury we cannot always have during the times of the year when we are busy and caught up with personal endeavors.

Very soon our children will be going back to school, and most of us parents and grandparents will be working continuously until the next opportunity for a vacation comes along.

It would, therefore, be wise to take advantage and put to good use the remaining days of summer, for this is a great time to give our children and grandchildren the sense of belonging by passing on to them those family ideals, customs, values, traditions and beliefs we cherish the most.

In this column I would like to share some activities I had read from A Book of Family Traditions by Jayne Reizner, which you could do with your family or friends to make ordinary days special, thereby strengthening the ties that bind you together.

These activities will require cooperation and thought from each of the family members ? from grandparents, parents down to the youngest child.

Take note that while these activities will be enjoyable and fulfilling to all members of the family, specific activities will be directed to your preschooler, grader or teenager.

The value of eating together

Crazy-Meal Night. To make eating different on family night, allow each member to make a suggestion for one part of the meal. It will be a crazy meal for one may want a pizza, and another may want ice cream. If this doesn’t sound appetizing, have each person name a separate part of the meal: vegetable, meat or dessert.

A Proper Dinner. Take the opportunity to teach or affirm good manners to your children by using fine china and linen in the dining room, and practice being polite and using correct table manners.  Dad can even demonstrate how to seat a lady.

Vacation Relief. Everyone is tired after a family vacation. Mom could see to it that a ready-to-heat dish or casserole, along with juice and light snacks, be prepared ahead and kept in the refrigerator. An easy home-cooked meal the first night back home is relaxing after the stress of traveling.

End-of-Summer Dinner. On the night before school starts, serve dinner in the children’s lunch boxes. Talk about what they are excited to do or who they are anxious to see on the first day of school.

Playing together

Family Hobbies. Develop a family hobby. It could be a fitness program, collecting coins or seashells, or cooking.  Devote a specific time each week to pursuing the hobby together. You could even incorporate this into your regular family night. What is most important is that you do this together.

Activities Box. This suggestion is for the family who can’t agree on what to do for family night. During your family meeting, have everyone help decorate a box, and have each family member write his/her suggestions for activities on a card. Each week, draw out a card and do what it says. For example, play a game, watch a TV show, or have a pizza delivered to the house, etc.

Vacation Allowance. Give the children their own vacation allowance, which they may spend any way they choose while on vacation. Place no restrictions on it, but make sure they realize that this is all the money they will get. It will teach them to budget carefully and will eliminate the constant asking for souvenirs at every stop you will make.

Learning together

Gifts of Time. Teach children how to tell time by giving them a basket of small wrapped gifts and favors with a time written on each. For example, “Open this gift at 10:30 a.m.,” “Open at 12:01 .m.,” etc.

Share-a-Book Night. A cozy idea for family night is to choose a book to read together, and read a chapter each week. It may be the Bible, or a classic story.  Although there are many choices of good books to read, again, what counts most is the time spent together.

Summer School. Have your children spend some time each week during the summer reading, doing flash cards, reciting spelling words and other classroom exercises. Give pretend report cards every so often with treats for A’s or for working without complaints. This is an important and fun way to keep children accustomed to schoolwork during the summer.

Household chores can be fun

Chores Chart. Mark one inch squares on a 36-inch long strip of paper. Every time a child does a chore, he may color one of the squares. Give small rewards for a few designated squares throughout the strip. When all 36 blocks are filled in, have a big family outing.

New-Habit Week. Designate one week a month to learning a new habit. One month, one could learn to make the bed. Another month, each person could learn to put his own laundry away. Learning a new habit is more fun when you all do it together.

Keeping memories alive

Family Portraits. As summertime is often designated for family reunions and gatherings, take a family portrait in the same place, seated in the same order and position. It is fun to watch the family change as all else in the picture stays the same.

Family Slideshow. Make a slideshow or video compilation of your vacations. You may enjoy viewing this during family bonding time, complete with simple snacks and soft music in the background.

Family Time Capsule. Have your family put together a time capsule. Fill a container with messages, pictures of the family, and goals for the future. Bury the container in the backyard or garden. Make a map to use 10 years later to find the exact spot again. Assemble the family in exactly 10 years after the container was buried.  With a camera and shovel in hand, dig up the buried capsule and enjoy the past as it unfolds.

Time is gold

Our Family Night. Choose a night every week, ideally Sundays, as family night. The children may be allowed to choose any form of entertainment: games, movies, reading together, or going out. Nothing is out of the question. On many nights, it could be as simple as eating together in the family room and just talking. Even the active teenagers may be encouraged not to accept dates, jobs or anything that interferes with being together on this night.

Small Things Mean a Lot. It is often the small things that make us feel the most welcome. Lolo and Lola spend a lot of time in their porch or garden. Mixed in with the garden furniture may be several child-sized garden chairs, one for each grandchild.  This makes it obvious to all the grandchildren that they are cherished members of the family whose visits are lovingly prepared for by their grandparents.

Show-and-Tell. For family night, have an edition of show-and-tell. Each family member is to bring something to tell about or share that he thinks will be new or interesting to the rest of the family.

Aside from the suggested activities above, there are endless ways we could think of on how to enrich our family life.

There is, however, one very important aspect of family life that we often overlook and neglect.

It is our praying together to God. Young as they are, we could already instill in our children the proper values we would like them to possess as adults.

By putting a focus on the spiritual side of our lives, we are guiding our vulnerable children towards the right path of life by equipping them with priceless values to help them face the world in which they are growing up, and the emotional skills to cope with the challenges of living.

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