It is time to begin thinking of summer activities for your children. If you have Primary aged children you may consider putting together a summer group. This group will give your children a structured activity once a month. It is also a chance to have your children maintain their friendships with church members. This is especially important if you live outside of Utah, and your neighbors aren’t necessarily members.
You can have as much structure or as little structure as you want. You may consider planning a craft activity each week, along with a story time. It might be nice to include a scripture story as part of the playgroup. For older children you may plan games that test scripture knowledge. You can get a lot of ideas from The Friend.
Additionally you can have your children begin good habits in the summer. You may encourage your older Primary children to begin reading their scriptures on their own each day. You can have a rewards chart that they mark off. You do not want this to become a negative or nagging experience for your children. I would never force your children to sit down and read the scriptures, but if they have a reward they are working towards, it may help to encourage them in a positive manner.
The summer is also a great time to help build your children’s self worth. You can do this by having your children do things that they enjoy. It is also important to compliment your children every chance you can. You can encourage your children to be kind to each other as well.
Of course you should allow your children to have a lot of downtime during the summer. That is one of the joys of childhood. It also allows your children to be creative and use their imagination.
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