4 Ways to Get Your Engage With Your Child This Summer

Summer is a fun-filled cherished time for families with children. It is a time to give growing brains a break from the classroom while also spending valuable time outside engaging in outside exploration. For many families, this can be a time filled with summer activities, including summer camps, sports, and playdates. For families who like to have their child involved in a structured summer program, finding the right options for their children may be a challenge.

Some children might need encouragement and guidance in finding the excitement of partaking in a summer activity. Here are some ways to help get your child excited about summer:

1. Involve Them In Your Summer planning

Taking the time to discuss summer activities with your child can make all the difference. Allowing them to have a choice in what they would like to engage in allows them to feel like they have options and not as if they are forced to do something they have no interest in doing. Like adults, children can benefit from having a contributing voice in what they do and when given the opportunity to choose, they may approach the summer with more enthusiasm rather than anxiety.

2. Highlight Friendship, Fun, and Faith

When the opportunity to make friends becomes a part of the equation, children are often more excited to participate. Though there is always an exception to the rule, encouraging your children to be involved in a group setting will help them grow in their social skills and friendship-building, while also engaging with new friends. Through shared experiences, team activities, and small groups that form from these summer gatherings, children can build meaningful long-lasting relationships with one another.

Courtney Barbito, Director of Auxiliary and Volunteer Services, from Mount Paran Christian School shares, “Summer programs give children the opportunity to grow in ways that look different from the traditional classroom. Camps help students build confidence in unfamiliar settings and form friendships outside their usual circles.”

When children know that they are about to enter a fun environment, they are more likely to go about it with an open mind where they can make lasting relationships through shared experiences, team activities, and small groups. By taking the time to encourage your children and prepare them for what their daily activities may look like, they can start their day off more confident than not.

3. Practice Independence in Small Steps

There may be times where your child feels nervous about being in a new environment with people they are unfamiliar with or nerves from being away from home. There are small steps that you can do to help them practice independence before the summer months begin. Encourage them to pack their own bookbags for school or church, arrange a playdate with new friends, or send them to a half-day preschool program so that they can get used to independence and time away from home.

Allow them to collaboratively come up with a daily routine with you so that they can understand that these are the things that are done independently each morning: “When I wake up, I brush my teeth and change into my clothes for the day.” Talk to them about what camp days will look like and let them ask questions, reassuring them that it is ok to want to know about new surroundings. Reading books about going on adventures and visiting new places can also help ease worries.

4. Celebrate the Accomplishments

“Summer camps are a great way for children to dive deeper into specific interests,” says Barbito. “Kids explore new passions, and strengthen skills in a fun, low-pressure environment.” These experiences provide an opportunity for parents to reinforce what was learned and celebrate the wins.

Throughout the summer, as your child is going to these new activities and camps, sit with them and have conversations about their days. Ask them about their favorite activities of the day, if someone was kind to them, or if there was someone they might have been kind to. Inquire what their likes or dislikes were of the day so that you learn more how they may be wired for future opportunities for extracurricular activities. When they make a new friend, try a new activity, or create a new craft — praise their accomplishments. When children find connection with their summer experiences and positive reassurance from parents in their daily activities, they feel more connected socially and feel better supported in their environments.

Where Can You Find Camps That Offer Well-Rounded Summer Programs? 

Many schools, churches, and recreational centers offer various camps throughout the summers as well as during school breaks. Take time to look at offerings throughout your community to get a better idea of what would support your family and provide a safe and loving environment for your child. Though most camps have a range of pricing options, many churches offer complimentary Vacation Bible School that is staffed by the church with volunteers offering a week long activity filled environment that supports Bible learning. Schools like Mount Paran Christian School offer seven weeks of summer program offerings with a wide variety of activity choices from ages as young as three years old all the way to high school age.

Summer camps are a great opportunity to allow your child to grow independently in a safe and engaging environment. By allowing your child to be involved in the planning process and sharing their experiences with you, you allow them to grow in their interests and excitement to meet new friends and encounter new activities they might not otherwise be able to engage in. Have the conversation with your child and make this next summer the best one yet.

Diana La is the Assistant Director of Communications at Mount Paran Christian School.

To learn more about summer programs at Mount Paran Christian School, please click here.