Friday, June 30, 2023
Jocelyn Philbrook
Summer Ideas for Kids & Faith
Welcome to Summer! For my family, summer is a favorite season. We spend more time outdoors, enjoying local experiences and a bit of travel. Everything shifts a bit as the kids go from full school days to more relaxed schedules with growth focused on other areas.
Here's the other thing that happens in the summer for my family. My kids attend Saint Patrick’s Academy. It was initially a plan to help Connor in a smaller environment, but I’ve grown to love the inclusion of faith, virtues, and learning that comes with this school. When school is out, we use the flexibility to take advantage of being away for the weekend. It creates a situation where bringing God into the discussion has to be deliberate, but how do you do that for a 6, 8, and nearly 11 year old?
I’m so used to doing a quick internet search and finding the answer to any question that I was surprised by the lack of resources. You have to really dig. It prompted me to attend another local faith group discussing parenting. They had some great ideas. So I started asking other parents I knew were focused on providing a Jesus-centered life for their kids what they did in the summer.
Below is a collection of ideas that people suggested or said they do. Some are time-intensive, and others feel more doable for my life. I hope this helps others think about this question. And, of course, if you do something that isn’t listed – please send me a message or comment. I love hearing what other parents do to keep God a focus for their kids.
1. Plan to go to church with friends. Kids will be excited to see friends they’ve missed being out of school.
2. Get a Bible game to play during family game night. (Amazon apparently has a bunch.)
3. Write letters to God. Have each family member take 10 minutes to write a letter to God. It could be something they appreciate, a concern they want to share, or light-hearted complaints you’d like to “file."
·I got *a lot* of initial pushback when I did this. I let Connor or Henley draw a picture for God instead. I set a timer, and when the timer went off, everyone wanted 10 more minutes.
I let them choose if they wanted to share with me or keep it private. I decided to share mine so they could understand what I was thinking.
4. Choose a gospel to read as a family (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John). Decide on a timeframe (days or weeks) and divide the chapters accordingly.
Schedule a "questions night"—a time for your family to get together and discuss your kids' questions about God. Do it throughout the summer.
6. Look for signs of God’s love and point them out during your travels. It could be witnessing a random act of kindness or someone being especially nice in a difficult situation.
a. This is a favorite for my kids because they do it during school.
7. Say a prayer as a family whenever you see a first responder.
a. I’ll share that we implemented this one. It gives us a chance to think about how fantastic first responders are and practice a few prayers.
8. Take a picture of your kids in front of a new church you visited on your summer travels.
a. You could share it here!
b. The person that offered this suggestion said that they didn’t always attend service at the church, but they did try to visit the local church in any new town they visited. Their kids loved seeing all the differences and similarities in how people pray.
9. Learn a new prayer as a family. Give your kids a list of prayers, and let them pick the one they want everyone to learn this summer.
10. Plan on doing random acts of kindness this summer. The parent who does this shared that they’ll decide in the morning when they will do it. They decide as a family what those acts could be, and then the kids look for opportunities throughout the day to complete them.
As you can tell, we only tried two of these so far, but I want to try some of the others on the list. And I really want to know if you try any of these what works and what doesn’t.
Happy Summer!