Parents and Children Celebrating Summer Together

By Christina Wallerstein
PlayWorks.net

As summer comes, let's resolve to celebrate the season by slowing down and savoring what makes summer the season we dream about all winter.

Outdoor activities are a hallmark of summer, and children and adults alike delight in getting out of the house and into the sunshine. What better time for families to play and learn together?

Plant annuals, then cut flowers to bring indoors. What says summer better than vibrant marigolds, sunflowers, and zinnias? Each comes in a variety of sizes, heights, and colors. If space is limited, plant a color pot of your favorites.

This will entail a trip to a nursery. Allow time to wander among the plants, learning the names of plants you like. Take snapshots of favorite flowers as well as pics documenting how your garden grew and plan on recalling your summer gardening adventure by making a one-of-a-kind scrapbook once cooler weather forces you inside again.

Children too young to print can dictate commentary; anyone who likes to draw can add garden inspired drawings.

Favorite blossoms can be laid between sheets of parchment paper and pressed between the pages of a thick book for a "straight from our garden" treasure.

Grow vegetables. Harvest and delight in the flavor of homegrown tomatoes, even if your garden is a pot on a patio. Check out square foot gardening, lasagna gardening and vertical gardening techniques for easy and bountiful harvests. One family nearby has successfully turned their urban parkway into an amazing intensive garden with a wide variety of vegetables, including corn and pumpkins, as well as giant sunflowers. I delight in walking by and watching their garden grow.

Visit your local farmers' market and breathe in the fragrance of locally grown fruit ripe from the tree. Most farmers offer samples, allowing shoppers to savor the flavors before choosing their favorites to take home.

Studies show that children who participate in the growing of food gain an appreciation of where the food they eat comes from and are more willing to eat healthy foods. Meeting farmers and sampling their produce can spark an interest in fresh food and lead to more adventurous eating. Consider inviting your child(ren) to select ingredients for a simple meal that family members prepare and enjoy together.

Lie on the grass and watch clouds float overhead...Search for a four leaf clover...
Make daisy chains and clover necklaces...Watch butterflies flit among flowers...Chase fireflies...Run through sprinklers on a hot summer's day...

Take a walk in the rain. Just the thought of that makes me envious, living as I do where summer is the dry season.

Mix up a solution of 12 cups of water, 3 cups of liquid detergent, and 3/4 cup of corn syrup, and blow bubbles. Look around for everyday objects suitable for bubble making. Here's one idea: those green square plastic baskets from the produce section of the supermarket.

Play hide and seek...Run in a sack race...Jump rope...Shoot marbles...Throw jacks, then unwind and sip ice cold lemonade...Make popsicles from fruit juice and ice cream from your favorite summer fruits...Laze away an afternoon with a good book, ideally in a rocker on a porch with an iced tea by your side, if you're lucky enough to have a porch...Take a nap in a hammock under a shade tree, if you get the chance.

Play games outdoors on a picnic table. My favorite is Think-ets, a game of tiny treasures stored in a small cloth drawstring bag. Just naming and talking about each one is fun, but that's just the beginning. Soon you'll be choosing favorites, alphabetizing, discussing similarities and differences, and playing memory games, as one trinket goes missing or another gets added or one shifts position, all while eyes are closed. No peeking allowed. Think-ets inspire creative imagination and storytelling and tuck easily in a pocket for take anywhere fun. [You can find these at playworks.net].

At Playworks, we prefer cooperative games, believing that learning to work together cooperatively beats competition when family and friends come together to play.

I recently discovered Family Pastimes, a family owned and operated company in Canada that specializes in such games. We're adding their best children's games to our website, www.playworks.net, and invite you to see for yourself what sets these games apart. I can tell you that any board game that can be played repeatedly and enjoyably by children and adults alike is a treasure. I recommend Max for starters. It's fun for all and provides ample opportunities for learning, thinking, and problem solving.

Whatever else you decide to do this summer, spend time with family and friends, sharing simple meals and making memories. Breathe deeply, smell the roses, jasmine, honeysuckle, or whatever fragrant plants grow where you live, and celebrate summer. It will be gone all too soon.

PlayWorks.net offers one of the most extensive arrays of therapeutic toys anywhere, specializing in toys kids with autism as well as for all kids in general.