Each person’s idea of fun is going to be different (even in a family…especially in a family). It’s a good idea to let everyone know that and to remind them as the month goes along. The goal is that each family member gets to do at least one fun thing…without others ruining their experience with a poor attitude.
What can you do as a mom to hold the space for everyone? How can you help guide your family through the different fun activities without someone else’s attitude interrupting the fun? What do you think each person needs to hear or be reminded of going into the activities? What do you need to say that will get through to each person in the family? Do you even need to say anything? What do you need to tell yourself if your kids choose something you can’t stand as the parent? What can you do to keep a positive attitude and help them meet their summer goal?
Spend today writing about holding the space and how you can model positivity and fun during each activity. You might not need to, but I’ve found it easier to think about it a bit ahead of time and have a positive response before going into an activity in case one person’s grumpiness starts to mar someone else’s fun.
Play & Rest
Check in with yourself and your kids. Are you getting burnt out? Are you balancing play with rest? Is everyone getting enough sleep? Observe your family and see if you are balancing fun and rest. Write about what is going well or what you could work on.
Focus on Photos
Make it a point to take at least one photo of each fun outing to add to your summer story. Think about what you need to do to make this happen. Clear up space in your phone’s memory? Get a new SD card for your camera? Write it down. Think about captions.
Basic Needs
Is everyone getting his or her basic needs met throughout the day? (This includes you, mama!) Does everyone have enough water, food, and rest? Most adults and kids do better when they are hydrated, fed, and feel rested. Write about it. What do you do to make sure these basic needs are being met? Are there things you could work on? Could you push more water? Pack more water bottles? Pre-plan snacks? Make your bathroom breaks a priority? Write about it.
Revamp
Plans change a lot…especially when you have kids. Take a look at your lists. See if anything needs to shift or change. Write down your observations. What’s going well, what could shift.
“Do what we can, summer will have it’s flies.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Spontaneity
It’s a Friday. In Summer. Stop what you’re doing. Go outside. Do something fun. Give in to the Aloha Friday vibe and just make room for joy! (Then come back and journal about it).
Recap
We’re half way through this month’s Family Fun challenge! Who’s done what? Write about it—alone or with your family. Write down details of what went well. Honor the memories you’ve made in the last two weeks by documenting them in your journal. (You’ll thank yourself later when you go to put together your end of summer keepsake).