So this year we decided to forgo all the structured activities, overrated summer camps and rigid schedules and allow the kids (and us) to just be. It has been wonderful. It is amazing what you can come up with given the time and ability. It has been magical watching the kids learn to enjoy the simple things in life without having to rush them from one activity to another. There is a sense of calm in the house this summer. It is likely due to the friendship that is created between siblings when boredom meets imagination. It could also be due to the fact that no one is running around the house hollering for everyone to hurry up because we can't be late for swimming lessons again or the lack of stress from the chaos that ensues when you can't find the soccer shoes or the water bottles or the gas light comes on just as you pull out of the driveway in a hurry.
No, there has been none of that stress here this summer. Just a summer full of homemade fun, memories and laughter. Truth be told, our 5 year old is teaching himself to swim at the beach and the kids have enjoyed several spur of the moment games of soccer, football and basketball without the coaches, competition and rushing. Who knew?
It is so much fun to watch the kids come up with all kinds of things to keep themselves busy without me trying to schedule all their time away. I haven't even had to consult my insanely long list of boredom buster pins on pinterest! They make up their own boredom busters, especially since their screen time is limited.
They are loving the simple things like biking to the store, spending the day at the beach, making popsicles, going to the the library, having backyard water fights or playing games together.
Yesterday our oldest daughter started collecting books from around the house to exchange for new ones at our local book exchange shop.
The kids have even come to me several times in the last few weeks and asked if I needed help with anything. There is nothing that fills my heart with joy more than working around the yard or preparing food with my children by my side.
So why are we so afraid of letting our kids get bored? Why do we worry so much about what all the other families are doing? Why do we feel like bad parents if we don't enroll our kids in piano, dance, soccer, swimming, hockey, gymnastics, guitar, football....the list goes on and on and on.
We fill our homes with video games, computers and satellite TVs. We buy prepackaged craft kits with detailed instructions and spend hours planning fun things for our kids to do. But the reality is....they don't need it and less is more.
Remember when we were kids and the only time the networks would put anything interesting for kids on TV was on Saturday mornings? I don't think my sister and I even bothered turning on the TV during summer break because all we could find were soap operas and daytime talk shows. We would venture out into the woods. We would head down to the brook or build forts in the trees. We would create clubs and invite our friends to join. It didn't cost our parents a cent but we were happy as can be.
Mom used to save all sorts of things for us to use for crafts and we had a blast creating whatever we wanted and we felt proud when we created something really cool.
No one ever spent hours planning out activities for us because we came up with all sorts of crazy fun things to do all on our own. I remember jumping off the picnic table wearing pillow case capes we made and pretending to be superheroes for an entire afternoon. LOL Those are some of my fondest childhood memories.
Our kids need time to be creative. They need freedom. They need to get bored. They need to be shipped out into the great outdoors so you can wash the floors...they may head out grumbling but given enough time they will come up with all kinds of fun stuff to do out there. Truth be told, kids want to feel independent and helpful. They hate being micromanaged. Most kids would rather hang out at home than be dragged to yet another activity.
All that to say, we are having a magical summer here. A summer full of time, imagination, memories and possibilities. Every day brings with it another adventure. Maybe we will spend the night lying in the trampoline star gazing and trying to find all the constellations or maybe we will adventure into the woods in the search of wild blueberries...who knows what tomorrow will bring but whatever it brings it is sure to be spontaneous and rewarding.
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