Traditions are the building blocks that strengthen family ties. They are the glue that holds families together. Kids, as well as adults, love and cling to family traditions because they are predictable and stable in an unpredictable world. There is comfort in looking forward to something that we enjoyed before and we know we will enjoy again.
As summer is coming to a close, many of you will be squeezing in your last vacation days. If your summer months have flown by and you wish you would have used your time in a bit more of an intentional manner, here are a few ideas you can still enjoy.
Summer Surprise
Summer memories are made through experiencing fun new things with the entire family. Many of us fondly remember looking out the window of our family car wondering what adventures were awaiting us at the next pit stop on the road. The summer vacation has long been the tradition of many families. After all, with the kids out of school and the weather at its best, why not plan a surprise getaway. It doesn’t have to be far, just someplace special and fun for everyone. Just tell your kids and spouse not to make any plans for a specific weekend and keep the rest to yourself. Some fun weekend getaways include a visit to the beach, camping or a theme park. Make this an annual summer family tradition and be sure to put photos in your Summer Vacation Album.
The Summer Memory Book
On the first day of school every year, children are always expected to recount what they did during the summer. This year help your child share their fun summer experiences with a Summer Memory Book. It is a wonderful way to document places they have visited, books they read or fun activities they did with friends or family. Start by giving them a disposable camera to capture special moments that you might miss and direct them to collect in a box, anything that they can use to tell a story about what they did. This can be things like ticket stubs for movies or concerts, sea shells from the beach or flowers they picked while out exploring. Each month sit down with them and create a new page in the book for different experiences. Paste photos, collected items and write a brief synopsis of what they did. This is a great tradition you can repeat every year. Just think of all the happy memories that you will collect over the years.
Hi Jen! I came over from inCourage’s birthday party post, but I’ve visited here several times before. (This may be my first comment, though. *blush*)
School starts for us on Monday, so we are definitely feeling a winding down of the summer season, even if the 100+ temperatures are continuing.
I LOVE the idea of the summer memory book. That’s the motivation I need to get our summer pictures printed out, too! Thanks for the ideas and encouragement. 🙂
The memory book is such a good idea! I used to be better with pictures but now everything is so busy! I need to take time for the important things!
Stopping by from in courage. Nice to meet you!
I blog over at Ordinary Inspirations : http://www.ordinaryinspirations.blogspot.com
Hugs,
Traci
another drop in from InCourage. Hello and nice to meet you. Great blog and busy woman! I am one of 5 blessings in our home! #4 to be exact. But now grown with grown children of our own. Have a blessed day!
We always made the first day of school special by having a back to school dinner with some of the kids favorite food and a special dessert. We did this while they were in public school and for the 9 years that we also home schooled. 🙂 It helped make that first day back a reason to celebrate. 🙂
Love this Summer Memory Book idea!! I’m including it in a Gimme Five for Friday blog post I’m doing on back to school traditions. Thanks so much for sharing this inspirational idea for family togetherness. Love it!