Schoolfamily.com - Helping parents help their kids succeed at school

This is the last week of school in our neck of the woods. The kids, of course, are jumping for joy! The parents, well, they are kind of split when it comes to summer vacation. Some revel in the lack of schedule and the slower pace. Other parents say they are a bit anxious about all the down time. If you fall into the latter category, fear not! There's no shortage of ideas for ways to keep the kids active and happy over the summer months. Here are a few, fun summer activity ideas that we came across: 

• Maybe you have a child who uses all their spare time to write stories and poetry. Or, maybe your child is a good writer, but needs a little nudge to keep them writing over the summer. Either way, this writing contest is sure to inspire your budding writers to put pen to paper. 

• When your child asks to watch television or YouTube videos, tell them to get on the other side of the camera! Hand over your home video camera (cell phone camera, etc.) and give your kids the chance to show off their creativity and passion for the environment. ENERGY STAR is running a really cool video challenge. Have your kids join the fun by recording a video (2 minutes or less) that showcases the great things that you are doing in your home, school, workplace, and community to become more energy efficient with ENERGY STAR! Then upload it to www.energystar.gov/changetheworld.

• Summer is a great time to encourage kids to step outside themselves. What better way to do this than getting your kids to volunteer?!  If you're not sure where to begin, try calling your Chamber of Commerce or visit Volunteermatch.org. Both are excellent resources for volunteer opportunities! 

• During the school year, life can be so hectic that sometimes we do too much for our kids and don't involve them in decisions as much as we should. C'mon admit it...we all fall into that pattern at times.  This summer, why not make a conscious effort to have your kids do more planning. Do you have a vacation that still needs planning? Have your kids do the leg work and research! If you are all set with plans, then how about handing over the money for your vacation entertainment budget and letting your kids call the financial shots. I bet they'll learn a lot and maybe even have a bit more appreciation for the times you say, "No we are not getting an ice cream cone -- we just had one yesterday!"

• Help your child tap into his or her inner entrepreneur and start a business over the summer. This recent Huffington Post article, Good Summer Business Ideas for Kids 11-17 , has some good pointers on how to get started. 

• Our teacher blogger, Connie McCarthy recently made an excellent suggestion in her post, Take Advantage of Your Town's Summer Programs. This is such an inexpensive way to have fun and stay connected with other families in your community. Stay local and save on gas, too! 

One last suggestion. All of the above are fun ways to keep kids active, but they also need some down time and, yes, time to get bored! The last thing kids need is to be over-scheduled in the summertime! 

What are your kids up to this summer? We'd love to hear what adventures and activities you have planned ... or they have planned! Share below in the comment section.