End of Summer Bucket List for the Whole Family  

The long, hot days of summer are upon us, but they won’t be here for long! Make sure that you take advantage of all that summer has to offer by creating an end-of-summer bucket list for your family. With some planning, you’ll be able to squeeze in all the summer must-dos before the days turn cooler and kids head back to school. Build your family’s list around these categories:

Food and Treats

Some foods just taste better in the summer. Schedule a time for a family barbecue, order delivery to eat at the community pool, or slice up your family’s favorite in-season fruits. To satisfy your sweet tooth, go out to your favorite ice cream place or light a campfire for one last round of summer s’mores.

Water Fun
The best cure for a hot day is water! Whether you prefer the lake, pool, ocean, or just a sprinkler, make time for some fun in the water. Depending on your family’s preference, you could boat, fish, swim, or just enjoy the atmosphere. Don’t forget the sunscreen!

Summer-Only Adventures

Some activities are only available in the summer, and you don’t want to miss them. If you’re thrill-loving family, plan a trip to an amusement park. Prefer a slower pace? Head to the mini-golf course. Summer fairs, carnivals, and outdoor music events are great options for the entire family as well.

Nature and Outdoors

Summer is also a great time to get outdoors and enjoy all that nature has to offer. You can go camping, head on a hike, or plan a picnic outdoors. While you’re outside, use your senses to truly appreciate the sights, sounds, and smells of summer.

Relaxation

With kids out of school and a slower pace at work, carve out some time for relaxation. Take a nap on a hammock, read a book, or gaze up at the stars. Plan a digital detox day where the whole family takes a break from screens and recall days of summers past.

Digital Detox: Family Fun Without Screens

A strong family bond is valuable beyond measure. It provides a sense of belonging, allows for a safe space to share emotions, and creates a reliable support system. The key to creating a strong family bond is to spend quality time together—which can be hard when everyone is glued to a device! Plan for some fun bonding time for your family by declaring a digital detox. Here’s how:

• Hold a family meeting. Gather your loved ones to talk about a proposed digital detox, framing the break as an experiment rather than a punishment. Talk about the rules for the day (for example, exceptions for using a phone to take important calls or get directions). Get everyone’s buy-in and make a promise to hold each other accountable.
• Set the stage. Before the digital detox, plan for the inevitable downtime that will occur at home. Pull out puzzles, board games, books, crafts, and other items that can provide family fun without the use of screens. Being prepared is key!
• Go on an adventure. Now the fun part! Choose one or two activities outside the house, such as a bike ride, a hike, or a trip to the zoo, that will be enjoyable for all family members. If you can, try an experience that’s new for everyone.
• Cook without the internet. These days, you can find a recipe for whatever food you’re craving with the click of a button. Instead of relying on digital recipes, break out your cookbooks, call grandma for a family recipe, or try your hand at making up your own dish. Meals are a lot more fun to cook and eat when they have a story behind them.
• Reflect. After your digital detox ends, encourage each family member to reflect on the day. Ask them what they liked best and what they’d like to do again. Take time to also acknowledge the tough parts when it was second nature to turn to a screen. Talk about what each person did instead and use those strategies moving forward.

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The Benefits of Gardening as a Family

Tending to a garden is a great way to get outdoors, get some light exercise, and ensure an ongoing supply of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. When you make gardening a family activity, there are even more benefits! Whether you have a sprawling plot, a raised bed, or a container garden, here’s why it’s a good thing to raise a family of green thumbs.

• Quality time with no distractions. When you’re in the garden with your kids, there are no screens or toys that can steal their attention. Gardening allows you to tell stories, talk about problems, and have a laugh or two. That type of quality time is just what’s needed to strengthen the family bond.
• A chance to learn new things together. Gardening is not just a physical activity; it’s a mental one as well. Young children have the opportunity to learn the basics of gardening, while older kids and adults stretch their minds to figure out problems. It’s a great way to promote a growth mindset for all members of the family.

• Healthy eating at your fingertips. It’s often a struggle to get children to eat their fruits and vegetables, but when it’s something they helped to grow, it’s a little easier. The same goes for adults, too—it’s hard to have an excuse not to eat healthily when you have a bountiful garden right outside your door.

• Easy stress-relief. Everyone feels stress in their lives, even young children who might have trouble expressing how they feel. When you notice that your child may be having a hard day, take them out to the garden. The repetitive motion of digging, weeding, and watering is a great stress reliever.

• A confidence boost. Growing something from a seed—whether a food or flower—is very rewarding, especially for kids. When children see the fruits of their labor, they experience pride and get a confidence boost that they can do anything that they put their mind to. Soon, they’ll be leading the planting rather than just helping mom or dad.

Stress Management For Families

Stress is a fact of life for all people, and especially for families. There’s work, school, doctor’s appointments, activities, and the list goes on. It’s enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed. The good news is that by adopting a few simple stress management techniques, you can help your family regain a sense of calm and control.

1. Stick to a routine. Predictable patterns help to reduce anxiety and stress. While the activities of each day will differ, introducing routines in the stressful parts of the day—for example, getting out the door in the morning, dinner time, or bathtime—sets expectations for your family members. When everyone knows what’s coming, there are fewer questions, arguments, and delays.
2. Be realistic with your scheduling. It would be great to have all the time in the world to do what you want, but that just isn’t the case. Take a hard look at your family’s activities and decide if all are necessary. Scaling back to one activity per child per season, or cutting back on volunteer obligations, can help free up time and give you a chance to breathe.
3. Create a calm home environment. Making a few simple changes to your home can also reduce stress. Invest in an organizational system that makes it easy to keep your home tidy; choose warm, layered lighting; add greenery and soothing colors to your décor; and create screen-free areas to kick back and unwind.

4. Communicate. Talking about stressful situations with family members can go a long way to help as well. Your family can provide different perspectives, help to solve problems, or, at the very least, just lend an ear. This support not only helps reduce stress but also reinforces the family bond.

5. Practice stress relief activities. Incorporate stress-relieving activities into your daily life. Maybe it’s a family walk after dinner or taking a few deep breaths before bed. These small, but intentional acts provide a daily dose of stress management that will better prepare you to combat stress in the future.

Family Storytelling Night: Creating Traditions Together

Looking for a unique, fun way to bond with your family? Plan a family storytelling night! Gather your family—plus extended relatives if you’d like—to relive some of your family’s best memories, funniest stories, and even the hard times. By sharing your family history, you’ll not only deepen your connection but perhaps even learn a thing or two. Follow these tips to throw an unforgettable family storytelling night.

Pick a theme or prepare questions.
Some guidance will be needed to get the stories flowing. Choose a theme, like travel adventures, holidays, or school, or draft a few prompts to spark stories. You can tell your guests ahead of time or keep the topics and questions a surprise.

Create a cozy ambiance.
Setting the right mood can help make people feel more comfortable with sharing their stories. Make sure there is plenty of seating, warm lighting, and blankets to help people feel relaxed during family storytelling night.

Prepare your family’s favorite snacks and drinks.
No family event is complete without food, so pull together your family’s go-to recipes. Whether it is the appetizer that is always a hit, the sweet tea recipe passed down through generations, or grandma’s famous cookies, a special treat is a great addition to the evening.

Invite all to share their stories.
When it comes time to share stories, make sure that everyone feels welcome to contribute. Go around in a circle or build off of each other naturally. And remember, it’s ok if not everyone shares; listening is part of the night!

Write down your family memories.
As an optional step, take a moment to jot down highlights from the stories. You can write them out fully later if you want to create a family book or just look back on them on your own.

Plan the next storytelling night.
One family storytelling night certainly isn’t enough time to tell all the tales from your family’s history. Make it a regular occurrence to keep the family bonding going in the future.

Aaa-chooo! Keeping A Healthy Home

Even a seemingly clean house is still susceptible to viruses and bacteria that can affect the health of you and your loved ones. Fortunately, there are ways to combat these hidden dangers. Below are a few examples of the germiest places in your home and easy solutions for keeping them clean and sanitary.

The Kitchen

Towels, dish cloths, sponges and countertops where food is prepped – all these areas are hot spots for germs. To combat them, put sponges in the dishwasher with the drying setting on, or zap wet sponges in the microwave for 1-2 minutes to kill bacteria. Use a fresh dish cloth every day, and sanitize in the washing machine with hot water in between uses. Wash out the sink with soap and hot water after preparing meals and washing dishes, and sanitize the sink, drain and counters with a bleach solution at least twice a week.

The Laundry Room

The laundry room can harbor more germs than you might expect, especially when handling soiled clothing. Underwear and other undergarments should always be washed separately in hot water (at least 150℉) to help eliminate bacteria. Transfer freshly washed items to the dryer immediately after the cycle ends, and dry them thoroughly—about 45 minutes—to prevent germs from multiplying. After handling dirty laundry, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Regularly disinfect the washing machine’s tub using a bleach solution to keep it clean and sanitary.

The Bathroom

Your toilet bowl is not the only source of germs and bacteria in your bathroom. The flush handle on your toilet is often forgotten, and is one of the easiest ways to transfer sickness from person to person. The best way to cut down on bathroom germs is with weekly disinfecting of the floors, tub/shower floor and sides, and the toilet (including the flush handle).

Digital Declutter: Organize Your Devices for a Fresh Start

After the chaos of the holidays, it’s no wonder that getting organized is one of the top New Year’s resolutions. While most organizing is done around the house, don’t miss the chance to organize your digital life as well. Decluttering your files, apps, and photos can help enhance productivity and reduce mental fatigue.

Cell Phone

With so much information on our phones, there’s a lot to declutter. Delete unused apps and organize the remaining ones into folders; do the same with unwanted files and downloads. Next, go through your contact list and remove those with whom you aren’t in touch anymore. Organizing photos can be hard, so start by deleting screenshots and duplicates, then grouping them into albums. Revisit your notifications as well—a few fewer alerts a day is a good thing!

Computer

Help your computer run faster by getting rid of files and applications you don’t need. Start with decluttering your desktop and continue with your documents and photos, categorizing them into folders along the way. Uninstall software that’s no longer needed and clear your cache and browser history to allow pages to load more quickly.

Tablet

Tablets are frequently used for entertainment, so they end up filled with e-books, movies, and games. Clear out any media content that you don’t use anymore to help free up space on your device. Organize the home screen with folders by how they are used or who uses them, for example, “Work,” “Relaxation,” or “Kids.” In addition, consider adding widgets for apps that you use frequently.

Gaming Systems

For gamers, decluttering can make a big difference in the performance of the system. Remove games that you don’t play anymore and clear saved data from old games (it’s often automatically saved even though you might not want it). In addition, remove accounts or profiles for guest players as well as trials and demos for various games.

The key to staying organized on your devices is to make a habit of it! Decluttering a little bit each week or month goes a long way.

Helping Kids Avoid Holiday Overstimulation

The holidays are a magical time of year for children, with fun events and activities, not to mention toys and gifts. While some children do just fine during this time of year, for others, the family parties, sugary treats, and influx of new toys can be too much. If you know that your child is one who is easily overwhelmed, you can take steps to keep things calm during the holidays.

• Maintain your routine. Children thrive on routines, so try to keep your days as “normal” as possible during the holidays. Eat meals at regular hours and keep up with nap times and sleep schedules. Doing so can help provide structure for children so that they don’t feel anxious or overwhelmed.
• Avoid overstimulating toys. When buying toys for your children, go for those that don’t light up, talk, or move on their own. These electronic toys can be overstimulating for many children. Consider toys that require imagination or movement, or offer the gift of an experience that’s appropriate for the child.
• Keep desserts and treats to a minimum. When you are at parties or family events, keep an eye on what your child is eating. With dessert tables and bowls of candy readily available, some kids will try to push the limits. By monitoring how much sugar they consume, you can help keep them from becoming overstimulated. 
• Allow time for breaks. Holiday parties are fun for adults, but maybe not so much for kids. When bringing your children to a holiday party, be prepared with ways for them to have some downtime. You can go for a walk outside for a break, bring fidget toys, or let them have a blanket or lovey to bring them security.
• Know when to call it a day. If overstimulating situations end up getting the best of your kids, feel free to excuse your family and head home—your hosts will appreciate it. For older kids who might not act out but still feel anxious, create a code word so you’ll know when they’ve had enough.

Keep Your Family On Track At School

With the school year well underway, students have had their fair share of assignments and assessments. And while they may have started the year energized and ready to learn, at this point, some of the excitement may have worn off. You can keep your children on track at school by putting these supports in place at home.

Create a homework zone.

Make sure you have a dedicated space for children to complete their homework and study for tests. Some children need a quiet space for schoolwork, while others prefer to work with some background noise. Stock the area with appropriate school supplies, like pens, scrap paper, or a computer charger.

Show interest in assignments and grades.

Ask your children what they are learning in school, check that they are doing their homework, and help them study for tests. Some children may need very little hand-holding, while others will need more frequent monitoring to hold them accountable.

Stay in touch with their teachers.

Teachers often send home weekly communications or updates before big assignments. Read these emails promptly and check in with your children as needed. If your child is having trouble understanding what is being taught, reach out to the teacher (or, for older children, have them send an email) to request additional help.

Ensure they get enough sleep.

Studies show that children who get the recommended amount of sleep perform better in school, achieving higher test scores and better grades. Elementary school students need nine to 12 hours of sleep per night, while middle- and high-schoolers should aim for eight to 10 hours of sleep a night.

Praise a job well done.

When your child does well on a test or completes a challenging project, let them know you are proud of them! Your words will make them feel good and build their confidence. This can help to motivate them to keep up the good work and improve their learning outcomes. Your praise doesn’t only have to come after good news; you can recognize their hard work at any point.