101 Things To Do This Summer

Need some inspiration of things to do this summer? We received this tip from Mary Acunzo.

101 Things To Do This Summer offers a lot of variety in activities, from simple activities to larger endeavors that can become lifelong hobbies. Some can be done indoors and rely on imagination, while others stress outdoors exploration or community service. All of the suggestions are accompanied by links for more information on getting started with that activity. What a great resource!

I think there is more in that list than I can possibly do in one summer. Have fun!

Give your Kids the Gift of Boredom

Boredom is actually natural, healthy and necessary.

When you pull the plug on the computer, TV, and video games, you're almost certainly going to hear complaints of boredom from the kids, just as Bruce Barber of famarama.com humorously describes for us in this 1-minute radio spot on Boredom (The Family Minute, MP3 format).

Boredom helps develop other skills in your children. They learn how to rely on themselves to make fun, use their imagination, and develop longer attention spans which are a necessary compenent to problem solving in the real world. Boredom helps kids develop motivation and concentration skills, so as a parent, don't try to entertain them, and don't think that it's your job to fill their spare moments with activities.

Let them stare at the ceiling for 30 minutes. There is far more brain activity going on while laying on the floor staring at a ceiling, than staring at some entertainment on the screen.

Anybody can Benefit from a Little Turnoff

If you spend some time looking at PC-Turnoff's pages, you'll realize that we're talking about children and families as the primary participants of PC-Turnoff Week. We don't expect most of the working world to grind to a halt and go outside and play in the sun for a full week. (We can hope though! Can't we?)

But there are intelligent, possibly overscheduled people, who realize turning it all off for a while has significant benefits.

Here is one perfect example in a post on a blog (web site) called "To-Done!" that we came across today, titled Have a Low-Tech (or No-Tech Day):

"In an effort to maintain my balance I’ve taken to trying (yes, trying, I’ll admit to not being 100% successful) to spend a couple nights a week and at least a day on the weekend away from the computer, at the very least, and away from most technology all together. When I’ve been able to do it it’s been great. I’ve been noticing that the next day I’m much more creative and highly energized. As well, despite the fact that I do have a bit of catching up to do, it feels like I’m more productive overall. Could be just a coincidence, but perception is reality right?

"This also has allowed me to take care of quite a few long-standing to-dos and want-to-dos. You know those things you just never seem to find the time to take care of? It’s pretty amazing at how much you can get done in the absence of those things that are in place to help you get things done and make your life easier."

To-Done! is a web log about personal productivity and work/life balance.

Do your kids have Nature-Deficit Disorder?

We are going to get a copy of Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv, to add to our summer reading pile.

[...] in the last 30 years, says journalist Richard Louv, children of the digital age have become increasingly alienated from the natural world, with disastrous implications, not only for their physical fitness, but also for their long-term mental and spiritual heath.

Louv argues that sensationalist media coverage and paranoid parents have literally "scared children straight out of the woods and fields," while promoting a litigious culture of fear that favors "safe" regimented sports over imaginative play. Well-meaning elementary school curricula may teach students everything there is to know about the Amazon rain forest's endangered species, but do little to encourage kids' personal relationship with the world outside their own doors. And advances in technology, while opening up a wealth of "virtual" experiences to the young, have made it easier and easier for children to spend less time outside.

Link to Salon interview with Richard Louv

Hat tip to Question Technology where we saw this book mentioned.