Surviving Summer Vacation (Ebook Shorts) , livre ebook

© 2014 by Kathi Lipp
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www . revellbooks .com
Ebook edition created 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-2011-0
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007
Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Published in association with the Books & Such Literary Agency.
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
1. And Summer Begins . . . 6
2. Responsibility 10
3. Mom Time 13
4. Gardening 16
5. Reading 21
6. Music 25
7. Creative Activities 27
8. Food 31
9. Adventure 36
Sneak Peek of I Need Some Help Here! 38
About the Author 44
Books by Kathi Lipp 45
Back Ads 46
Back Cover 47
1 And Summer Begins . . .
I’m an awesome starter. If there is an idea that I love, I will get it rolling.
Need someone to get the PTA excited about the new “Get a Night Off of Homework” fund-raiser? (Wouldn’t that be the most lucrative fund-raiser ever?) I’m your girl.
If you want someone to lead the brainstorming session on how to bless the nursery workers at church, I’ll lead the charge.
But when it comes to printing the passes or cleaning up after the appreciation brunch . . . well, I’ll do it, but not with the same enthusiasm as when I started the whole project.
Yep, I’m a starter. And that is never as evident as it is with summer break.
I’ve bought all the books. The ones that say, “Just follow our plan and you’ll have the summer of your dreams.” These books contain more detailed plans than a military attack on a small nation. Just reading the books made me feel overwhelmed and exhausted.
You see, I’ll make the plans. (I’ve even been known to make an Excel spreadsheet of our family’s daily schedule.) I’ll buy the materials for all the craft ideas. I’ll buy the ingredients so we can make Shakin’ Summer Smoothies.
And by week three, I’m out.
I’m out of energy and ideas for how to keep these kids entertained over an entire summer. I wonder why I was so excited for summer to start, and I search for the number of the school board to lobby for classes to start early this year.
At some point I realized I’d been approaching summer all wrong.
I was approaching it like a teacher : lesson plans and activities to make sure that my kids never uttered the forbidden word of summer— bored . But I’m not a teacher who has to make sure that all my kids pass a standardized test at the end of the year. I’m a mom who wants to have a summer with more fun, less stress, and the feeling that we can come out on the other end a little bit closer to each other. What I really needed to do was plan things we would all enjoy and invite my kids along for the ride.
Instead of me buying a junior gardening kit for my kids to plant seeds and watch marigolds grow, we planted a pizza garden together and made marinara-based meals all summer long. A fun activity and actually getting dinner on the table? Score!
Instead of spending the day watching my kids get tokens and try to conquer each other in a ball pit, I planned trips to the farmers’ market in a neighboring beach town so we could not only have some summer fun but also do some much-needed shopping for the rest of the week.
Instead of me spending half an hour of setup on a finger-painting project that my kids did for five minutes—and then spending forty-five minutes scrubbing “washable” paint off the walls of our kitchen—we worked together to create mosaic stepping-stones to put in our garden.
I finally realized that if I wanted to keep up the summer activity schedule, I had to schedule activities I actually like. Instead of creating crafts for my kids to do, I planned experiences for us to share as a family.
This summer your job is not to be camp director or summer school teacher. You’re not in charge of entertaining your kids. Your job is to connect with them on things to do together.
Now does that mean that you never set them up in a corner with a good book or (yikes) a DVD? No. Even Mama needs a break from all the connecting sometimes.
But when you take the attitude that everyone in the house is going to enjoy their summer—not just the kids—it will relax your entire household. You’ll feel less pressure to entertain, and you won’t be as disappointed when your kids don’t want to do the macramé beading project that you just ran all over town buying rope and beads for.
Here is my simple summer manifesto to create a summer our whole family will enjoy: I will not summer alone. Trying to plan every activity every day on your own is exhausting. Gather your forces and your friends and take turns figuring out how to have an amazing summer. We had a “summer swap” where every Monday, two of my friends and their kids would come to our house for some cooking activity. On Wednesdays we would go to Tina’s house for a craft-type activity, and on Fridays we would go to Sharon’s for pizza and outdoor play in her massive backyard. You are going to have more ideas and more fun yourself if you find some friends to team up with. I will plan activities that will not cause me to slip into a mind-numbing coma. What is it you love to do? Read? Plan trips to the library. Cook? Spend some time coming up with recipes you can all do together. Remember, you are not a hired entertainer for the summer. Make it a time you will enjoy as well. I will remember that work is good. If your summer is anything like mine, it’s still busy, but the appointments are a little less critical. (We may be running late for the park instead of school.) This is the time of year I like to get some of my projects done. After all, kids aren’t the only ones with projects. One of the key factors in surviving summer is this one secret that no one tells you: your kids can experience as much joy mixing up some homemade pancake mix for the whole family as they can doing an art project. I will not pick a project based on how the pictures will turn out on Pinterest, my blog, Facebook, or Instagram. Talk about setting yourself up for failure. Don’t put that pressure on yourself. If something turns out adorably, snap a shot. If not, still take a picture—you’ll make all your friends feel better about their projects gone wrong.Your goal is to have fun and connect with your kids, not show up on Martha Stewart’s blog. I will not view blank time on the calendar as slacking off. Every family has their own summer rhythm, and it’s not your job to keep up with any other mom. There are some kids who need a whole lot of structure during the summer, and others who would rather be left in their room with their new favorite book for a good chunk of the day. Figure out where you and your kids fall on that scale and plan accordingly. I will plan some “space” for my kids. Kids who are constantly entertained by media will never enjoy the simple pleasures of the library or building a fort out of a scavenged refrigerator box. Make sure you have summer hours when it comes to screen time. Create some blank space where there are no screens allowed. Sure, the computer can be educational and fun, but when that becomes your children’s only source of occupying their time, being outside and reading will start to lose their charms. Yes, there may be a detox period, but it will be worth it to have some unplugged kids.
I want you to have a great summer. Get some stuff off your checklist, have some fun with your kids, and enjoy the (sometimes) slower pace of summer.
Praying God’s Word
Better one handful with tranquillity
than two handfuls with toil
and chasing after the wind. (Eccles. 4:6)
Father, I want to have a summer that is marked by peace and joy, not hustle and bustle. I pray that you would order our days and guard our senses and our hearts.