My children are now 10 and 6. They’re growing, they’re increasingly independent and very very curious. My boy is in what they call the Viking Stage- full of aggression and passion, an opportunity to direct his energies into things creative and exciting. My girl is ever enthusiastic, talented and hard working. All the ingredients are on the table for an exciting summer. The only critical piece of the puzzle is my time and energy.

This summer I’m determined to put that missing ingredient into the mix and let ourselves in for a super super roller coaster ride! Each day, while I tick off the usual stuff off my to-do list, my mind is doing its own background thinking about what activities we could plan for summer, together. I find a lot of parents asking each other and at a loss as to how to occupy their kids. So I thought it might be useful to document my ideas as well as the execution of our plans.

I have the first 2 projects germinating in my head now, and I’m already discussing the how-to’s with friends and the kids themselves.

Idea #1

Outdoor sketching for fun

Designed as 4 separate modules, I’m planning to take a group of kids accompanied by their parents/guardians to outdoor locations in the city (in the early mornings of course!). Armed with sketchbooks and pencils, the idea is to see and draw, just letting the mind and the hands wander over the pages. It’s a fun activity, not designed to ‘tech’ but to ‘experience’. I’m trying it out with a small group this summer and some artist friends are joining us for general guidance as well.

Idea #2

DIY planners for the kids

Udai is at the age when he is struggling to organize his life. Schoolwork has increased, so has social and co-curricular activity. There’s a lot on his plate. And poor mommy ends up being the planner and general nagger. So we decided to make ourselves an A3 planner for each month of the remaining school year, all the way till March 2015. We’re still thinking about how this will happen, if it will all be handmade or a combination etc etc. Aadyaa wouldn;t want to be left out, but maybe a different format might work better for her.

Here are a few absolutely awesome things we saw on pinterest that inspired us.

A handmade planner by Alisa Burke

Kimberley Scott’s bulletin board

Cornflower Blue’s Rotating to-do list (unfortunately, her blog is private)