Summer Jars Beat Summer Boredom.

Summer break is pretty much here for most kids, and soon the honeymoon of being home will wear off.  They will be muttering the dreaded words, “Mom, I’m bored” in their best whiny voice.

You know the one I am talking about.

Well, not any more.

Without saying a word you can now point to  this sign…

… and  they will choose a stick that has an activity (something they helped come up with) to rid them of their boredom. Depending on the ages and size of your family, you can have one family jar or an individual jar for each person that they individually create. Don’t forget to make one for yourself so you can also cross of those items from your  summer bucket list!

 Here are most of the items I used besides the obvious glue, scissors, and sand paper.

I got these jars awhile back from Home Goods  and  wanted to add some beach sand and a few seashells just to capture a little summer inside my jar.

Then I cut out my scrapbook paper into strips. Which, by the way- paper shopping to me is almost as exciting as clothing shopping. Almost. I have been drooling over the  Indie Chic line of paper from My Mind’s Eye ! It’s eye candy for me!

I then found some left over lace from this project and a scrap of ribbon I had laying around. I had to cut the ribbon in half  to be able to thread it through the lace, so it  frayed a bit which I actually liked the additional vintage look it gave. So, I frayed it even more.

After gluing the paper and ribbon around the jars I added the mini chalkboards that I got at Craft Warehouse. They had a clothes pin already glued to them so I clipped them to the wooden sticks and placed them in the jars.

Now for one of my favorite parts- coming up with a list of Summer activities!  Keep in mind that they should be reasonable and something you would be okay about  them or you doing right at that moment.

I already had a 6×6 designer pad from the Indie Chic line ( I am telling you- I love paper) that coordinated with the paper. It was a perfect size for the sticks so, I outlined them and cut them out.

Then, I used Mod Podge and glued them on the sticks. Finally, after sanding the edges, I was ready to add the clear label that I had printed with our Summer activities.

And there you go. You now have a Summer Jar!

Don’t let an ounce of that Summer time to go to waste!

 Don’t click out of this post just yet. I still have to give you my counselor lecture on the importance on continuing a routine throughout the summer. Too often, Summer becomes a free for all and although it is important for our children to have the freedom to relax and explore new things other than school- they also still thrive in a little bit structure. Often times I see children in my practice who do fabulous when school is in session but fall apart by mid summer. I encourage continuing a modified version of your schedule (visit here for ideas on a visual schedule) that allows children to continue with regular activities such as reading, learning, chores, and allowing room for them to use their creativity. You don’t want to be too rigid, so keep a daily routine but allow for them to have freedom to build creativity and autonomy within that boundary.  And the bonus of summer is that with them being home more- you actually get to spend more quality time with them! Take advantage of that and include activities that you can do together in your summer jar.  Having Summer Jars in our home has really helped force myself to walk away from the never ending to do-list and enjoy the summer day with my son.

Summer Jars can:

-Increase child’s desire to take charge of their own activities.

-Decreases power struggles- because you are taking it off of you telling them what to do.

-Become a tradition they look forward to and will always remember.

-Create memories they will have with their parents and strengthen relationships.

Okay my counselor hat is coming off. Thanks for sticking with me!

Want to know what is on my summer list? Go here to weedstowishes.com and find out!

Now, I want to know what’s on your summer bucket list?

xo