Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Summer Journal

Wednesdays with Whitney

Now that school is letting out the kids have the whole summer ahead of them to run through sprinklers, hunt for fairies, and drip delicious popsicles all over the newly painted patio!  Summer is a wonderful time to lose track of…well, time. However, when the summer comes to a close you want the little ones to remember all the fun things they did. Try starting their summer memories off right by creating a colorful summer journal for them to use and record their fun summer days’ activities with!

Supplies
·        Notebook
·        Crayons
·        Camera

Directions

1. Start the hype over the summer journal early on by letting the kids pick out their own notebooks. Let each notebook speak to each child’s personality; perhaps fairies for the dreamer and paint splotches for the artist!

2. Next, make sure each child writes his/her name in the front of their journal – we don’t want memories getting lost or traded throughout the next few months!

3.  Be sure to label the days on each page for the little ones to both keep track of days and to sneak a few extra lessons in there (days of the week and months in the year).

4. Finally, let your charges draw away on each page at the end of the day. If your charges are older, ask them to write out what they did in addition to the pictures to keep their spelling skills up to snuff over Summer Break. If your charges are younger, feel free to draw the pictures for them but be sure to let them have full control over what you are drawing so they can remember the summer as they saw it.

5. Optional Bonus: Have the kids add pictures to their journals! The world is so digital and visual these days; most kids know how to use iPhones and tablets better than their nannies. So let them put those skills to good use by documenting their summer digitally. Add an educational twist by having them look for letters or numbers in nature!

Source: Whitney decided to start keeping a journal with her charge when she realized that the little one couldn’t remember all the fun they had had their previous summer together. It has been a staple ever since! 

Check out Whitney's new venture at nannymag.com.  Stop by next Wednesday for another fun project by Whitney!

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