Rethinking Summer

RH Family Making History

Questions we ask…

1. What has life been like for you in this season—as educators and as parents?
2. What are the primary challenges you are hearing from parents as they homeschool their kids in this season?
3. As you think about this school year coming to a close, what encouragement would you offer to parents who may be concerned about how to “finish well” with their kids?
4. Whether the parent of a preschooler or a high school senior, the end of a school year always creates milestones for your kids. In what ways could parents still celebrate these milestones even though they look different? What are creative ways to make memories out of these moments?
5. As we head towards a summer that may look different than any other summer before, what are intentional ways we can make the most of it? How do you balance learning with fun?
6. What is your prayer for parents today and in the days to come as they parent, teach, and love their kids through these transitions and celebrations?

Highlights:

• Parents put a lot of pressure on themselves to make sure their kids learn, etc. Extend yourself some grace!
• Good news for parents: our kids are going to be okay! Maintain a balance between structure and recognizing that things are different and that’s okay to do things in a new way.
• An important job for parents, in this season, is figuring out a way to provide peace, steadiness, and calm in your households. Take care of your families in the best way you know how.
• Obligations used to give us our schedules and now parents have the ability to plan schedules for their families.
• God has equipped us for this time and has chosen us to be the parents of our kids, knowing we would walk through this!
• Encouragement: Mark and celebrate the transition of school ending and move towards a new normal and schedule for the summer! Honor the stopping point and recognize all that has been accomplished and then transition to summer! Mark it and don’t let it slip away.
• Reflection: No matter what or how but spend time celebrating! Reflect on the peaks of the school year and things appreciated but how can we have a new outlook on what’s to come?
• What milestones or goals do you want to work on, as a family, over the summer? Establish things to look forward to.
• Creative ways to make memories out of these moments [graduation, transition from preschool to elementary school, elementary school to middle school, middle school to high school, high school graduation]:
  • Recognize the transition
  • Take an end of school year picture
  • Family cookouts
  • Participate in what schools or classes offer to celebrate those milestones
  • Milestone videos
  • Do a graduation celebration at home: especially a fun idea for the younger kids
  • Do something! Have fun! Make the most of it!
• No matter what is done, whatever we do in place of celebrating these transitions and milemarkers, it will fall under a place in memory that is cherished and possibly stand out in a unique way in their memories for a lifetime!
• Anytime we take the next step, as parents, to be intentional, it matters and makes a statement to our kids. A little bit, consistently, goes a long way!
• Summer Fun Ideas:
  • Make goals and watch them grow in those
  • Do things you always talk about doing! Plan a fun adventure or bucket list [hiking, games, etc.]
  • Use time as an advantage!
  • Spend time learning about something your kids are really interested in [cooking, building, drone photography]
  • Make family time special
• Relationships first, everything else second. Keep the main thing, the most important!
• Continue to grow in your relationship with God! And walk with your kids as they learn more about Him, too. Pray together.