Summer Activities that Make Teaching Responsibility to Your Kids a Breeze
Some of life's most important lessons are best learned outside of the classroom. Now that the school year is over and your kids are spending more time at home, there's an amazing opportunity to begin teaching responsibility to your kids.
While your kids might not like the sound of more lessons after school ends, there's plenty you can do to make learning about responsibility fun and exciting.
Fun Summer Activities Make Teaching Responsibility Easy
You don't have to set up elaborate lessons or download free printable worksheets to keep your kids active and learning all summer long. Teaching responsibility to your kids - whether that includes handling money, doing household chores, or taking on personal responsibilities - is much easier when you pair the lessons with fun activities.
Not only will your kids be eager to participate, but since kids learn best during play, the lessons will stick with them long after summer break ends.
Set up a Weekly Chore-Pick Game
Getting your child to clean their room may be a feat in and of itself, but you might also want them to take responsibility for cleaning up common areas, such as the living room or kitchen counters.
Make this fun by creating a family chore wheel filled with chores that will benefit the entire family, or add color-dot stickers to Jenga blocks, then play a few rounds of Jenga until everyone has ended up with a chore. Once a week, play the chore-pick game and set a deadline for chore completion.
Create a Family Savings Goal
You may have your own savings goals, but have you ever thought about taking your kids through the goal-saving process by including them in a family savings plan?
Choose something that benefits everyone and, ideally, won't take too long to achieve, such as a day at the water park. After all, summer is short, and you don't want your kids to lose interest in the goal. Hold a family meeting to announce the savings goal, and let your kids in on key activities along the way, such as researching the cost of the water park tickets and finding coupons or discount days. You can also create a visual savings poster to keep everyone motivated, and brainstorm ways to save money at the grocery store.
After they go through the process, help them open up their own kid savings account.
Offer up a Kid-Friendly Service
In order to earn money, you need to deliver on promises made to others at your job. But does your kid know that this is how money is earned?
Let each of your kids take turns being a consultant for the household. Explain to them that a consultant finds areas that need to be improved - at home, in a room, etc. - and then comes up with a plan for what to do, explains why it's important, and then delivers on the idea in order to get paid.
Mini-projects you can suggest to your kids include:
- Finding a better way to organize the family command center
- Setting up a family calendar so that everyone can write in their schedules
- Rearranging the kitchen everything-drawer
- Creating a homework station for the fall
Whether it's letting your kid become a consultant for the day, turning chore-picking into a game, or using the ideas above to come up with your own, teaching responsibility to your child this summer can be a breeze.