239 - Summer Play
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Show Notes:
Happy June! Happy summer! It’s the second episode in our June summer series and today is all about summer play.
For the full episode, hit play above or read through below.
Surprise, surprise! I am talking about play. Last week I talked about some projects, which is basically the work of summer. I mean there’s a lot of other work that goes into summer, but you know what I mean. The three things that I want to work on and accomplish. So last week’s episode was all about three summer projects I really want to do. This week’s episode is all about summer play. Oh, I could just take a deep breath because I’m recording this episode and it’s not quite June. I’m so ready for it to be full-on summer.
Okay, so let’s jump in to talk about all the things that I am going to do this summer to really prioritize play for my family, for my kids, and also for myself. If there’s anything that I have learned from doing the type of school that we do. If you don’t know, we do a university model school which means I homeschool the kids three days a week and they attend school in person two days a week. It’s a lot in the elementary school years especially. There’s a lot of hands on teaching that I do. This past year, it has just been my two girls. My two boys were still in preschool. Upcoming this year, I am going to have three students! Beaufort is graduating preschool. He is going to be moving into kindergarten in the fall. So I am going to have three students and I am going to be homeschooling them three days a week. It’s a lot of work. We do classical Christian education. There’s a lot that goes into it. All of that to say, I need summer just as much as my kids do. I am so excited to not have to worry about school all summer long. It’s going to be great!
Okay, so let’s talk about play. If you missed last week, the thing about these episodes in June is that they’re going to be short. They’re going to be loosely outlined. I am just talking with you, my friend, about summer and my thoughts on summer. They are going to be simple and kind of carefree. I feel like that fits the summer vibes. I failed to mention this last week, but I am not doing any interviews in June. It’s just going to be solo shows. Just me, my thoughts, these quick, short episodes. We’ve had a lot of interviews this year and they have all been so good. I have loved it, but I am going to take a little break from that and chat with you. So let’s go. Let’s talk about Nancy’s plans for summer play.
The obvious is the pool. It’s actually not so obvious for us because we don’t have a pool. So it takes a lot of intention for us to go to the pool. We don’t have a neighborhood pool and we don’t have a gym right now. Basically what that looks like me texting a friend almost once a week and saying, “Hey, can we come to the pool with you?” Or grandparents because our grandparents have pool access too. I am really excited to experience a lot of different pools, spend time with friends, and make that a thing this year.
I also have an aunt who lives about an hour away. She has taught my kids how to swim and she taught me how to swim when I was a little girl. Aunt Susan, she’s the best. My kids are begging to drive to her pool and get more swim lessons. So I am going to plan, I think once a month, we’ll drive to Aunt Susan’s pool and just spend time there to get them up on their swimming. It’s going to be fun pool days!
The second way that I really intend to enjoy my summer and rest and play is get some good books and read them. So I am going to share a few of them with you. The first thing is that we have started the Green Ember series as a family. We are going to continue reading that as a read aloud for the whole family through the summer. If we finish it pretty early, I think we’ll probably switch and continue on with the Vanderbeeker series. Milly has already read all of them, but I keep hearing about it. I want to read it. I hear it’s just a delightful kids series. Green Ember is more adventure based, but it’s all animals which is kind of fun. But then, Vanderbeekers is a family with five kids who live in New York City. Anyway, those are our fun read-alouds. That brings our family a lot of joy in the summer because we can read in the afternoon or evenings and we all like to be in on it together which is really fun.
Okay, I am currently reading and will continue to read The Anxious Generation. It’s getting a lot of attention right now and rightfully so. It is a fantastic book on the effects of a phone based childhood (really a screen based childhood versus a play based childhood). It has been fascinating and helpful. I definitely want to finish that and possibly read The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt. Those are more research based and also thought provoking about how we’re raising our kids and living our lives. There are fascinating studies that he (Jonathan Haidt) has done.
Then a good novel. Guys, I am always looking for a good novel. I just finished The Women. Woah, that one was heavy and really intense. I cried. It was good. The novel that I just ordered I am so excited about. I was just going to get it from the library, but I really want my mom and sister to read it. It’s about a midwife and a murder mystery based in the 1600s. My friends in this book club I go to talked all about it. It’s called The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. Very excited to read that book. It’s a thriller/suspense kind of book. I don’t usually read those, but we’re going to see how this goes. I’ve heard really, really good things about it. I probably will add in a couple of other novels. I just have not decided which ones yet. If you can just lay in the hammock or sit on the back porch to read and then take a nap. Does anything say summer more than just a really good book? I am very excited about that.
Okay, the third thing I am going to do to really embrace summer play is create a summer bucket list with the kids. I know this is kind of cliche and you have probably been seeking things on Instagram about creating your summer bucket list. I have never done it! You would think that I would do this. I am the type of person who loves lists and I love doing things like this. But we have not done it as a family. I think because my kids' ages have felt a little overwhelming to create a summer bucket list with them. I’m like, what if we don’t do it all? That means it’s like a long list. So I think we’ll do is create the list as a family and I am going to have each person say two things they would like to do this summer. Then let that be the guide of the summer bucket list and keep it tight. Keep it nice and short. I’m not going to do a big poster board with like 30 different things. I think we’re going to have maybe a 10-15 summer bucket list and that sounds good, right, and fun to me.
Next is summer play with Will, specifically for our marriage. It includes continuing to take dance lessons. This is something that he got me last year as an anniversary present and we have been doing dance lessons every other week since. It has been so fun! Such a great thing for us to connect and do something fun. No strings attached, no work, no kids. It’s just for us. So continuing to take dance lessons and date nights is what I want to do with Will. We have a couple of concerts that we’re going to as well. I am actually looking forward to those a lot. I think we’re going to go to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in June. So continuing to do fun summer dates. I want to do a little bit of prep work in looking for fun experiences and places we can go, but I’ll get to that in the summer prep episode.
Okay, next is summer recipes. I think this is going to be really important for me, future me, summer play, and enjoying my summer. Looking for new recipes to try and focusing on summer food. We always get watermelon, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, fresh vegetables, and BLTs. I love a good summer meal and I think taking the time to try new summer recipes will be a lot of fun.
On that note, making time to actually go pick strawberries, and blueberries, and go out to a farm that’s 15 minutes from us is definitely going to be key. I think that is going to be a way that we enjoy our summer and play more.
Then the last thing I am going to do just for me… I hesitate saying this because I have said this for so many years, but I hope that this is the summer when I will start to paint. I got this painting class online 2.5 years ago for Christmas. Have I done it? No. Do I have all the supplies? Yes. I am hoping this is the summer that I will just try my hand at painting. I may hate it and that’s fine. I want to just try something creative and new that is just for me. My kids paint all the time. They always draw, color, or paint. I want to do that too! Why don’t I do Mama’s version of painting and something that I can create, draw, and make beautiful myself, alongside them?
That’s it. Those are the ways that I want to play this summer. Go to the pool, read some books, do a small bucket list, do dance lessons, date nights, try new recipes, pick some fresh strawberries, and blueberries, make some homemade ice cream (going to throw that in there because that is a non-negotiable in the summer), and paint a little bit more.
I hope this helps you think through some things you want to do this summer to play. That is what summer is all about. Taking a break from the seriousness of the rest of the year, letting loose a little more and playing.
It was Betty Williams who said,
“When all else fails, take a vacation.”
Thanks so much for listening and I’ll catch you next time.
