The Ghost of Summer Holidays: 10 Ways to Keep Your Child Entertained

Summer Camp at the Best Preschool Programs in Royal Palm Beach, FL

When you think about your childhood summers, you probably remember those warm days with a hint of nostalgia. You rode bikes until sunrise, splashed in pools, endured sunburns from ignoring your parents’ sunscreen advice, and enjoyed camps from the best preschool programs Royal Palm Beach, FL.

Summer is a wonderful time to be a kid. As a parent, you probably want your children to experience the same joy and laughter you once did, away from screens and filled with activities. To inspire unforgettable summer memories for your family, we came up with this list of 10 fun activities for children during the summer!

Children Playing in the Pool with the Best Preschool Programs in Royal Palm Beach, FL

10 Strategies to Keep Your Child Entertained During Summer Holidays

Summer holidays can be both a wonderful and challenging time for parents. No school means extra opportunities to spend time with your children – while maintaining work, chores, and everything else on your plate!

If you think about it, you have only around 13 summer holidays with them as little kids – a precious, limited time. To make the most of these fleeting summers, here are ways to balance creating fun memories with your children while maintaining your daily responsibilities.

1. Neighborhood Kids’ Summer Camp

When you think about your favorite summer memories, what’s one of the first things that comes to mind? That’s right – summer camp with friends!

One of the best ways for kids to enjoy summer holidays is by spending time with their friends in a safe and controlled environment at summer camp.

Preschool summer camps offer unique experiences like arts and crafts, field trips, water day activities, and more – all under the supervision of a certified professional. For instance, here at Neighborhood Kids, our summer camp follows the guidelines provided by Florida VPK standards.

We believe that with teachers and parents working together, summers can be safe and fun!

2. Encourage Physical Activities & Sports

Did you know that extracurricular activities teach children important life abilities like teamwork, perseverance, and responsibility? If your child didn’t have the time to join a sport or club during the school year, the summer is a wonderful opportunity to start.

Outdoor activities like football, badminton, or softball allow kids to stay active, have fun with their friends, and learn important lessons that will accompany them throughout their adult lives.

3. Plan A Cooking Day with Kids

Do you hate cooking on your own? Summer is the perfect time to hire a little helper!

Organizing a cooking day is great for introducing basic chores to your child while allowing them to have fun. Start with safe and easy recipes, like cookies or cake – no knives involved! The good thing about sweets is that you can also motivate your little ones with the promise of enjoying a treat afterward.

4. Organize a Backyard Campout

Use pleasant summer evenings to turn your backyard into a paradise for camping!

There’s nothing better than making a campfire, assembling sleeping bags, and setting up a tent. Together, you can do various camping activities like stargazing, telling stories, and toasting marshmallows. It’s a great way to have fun while enjoying the outdoors!

5. Set Up A DIY Indoor Obstacle Course

No backyard? No problem! You can design a basic obstacle course challenge to keep your kids active while at home. Children love competition, and obstacle courses are excellent for training their motor skills.

Here’s how to get started:

  • Paste easy-to-remove painter’s tape on the floor to mark the course’s path
  • Use tables and tunnels made from cardboard boxes for children to crawl through.
  • Set up tape lines, pillows, or low hurdles for kids to jump over.
  • Use furniture for climbing challenges, such as couches or chairs (with cushions added for safety).
  • Place a line of tape on the floor, a narrow board, or low beams to test their balance.
  • Include tasks like rolling over pillows or soft mats.
  • For extra points, incorporate tasks like hitting a target with a soft ball or throwing a bean bag into a bucket!

This will keep them active and help them avoid sedentarism while developing their motor skills!

Let Your Child Explore Camping with the Best Preschool Programs in Royal Palm Beach, FL

6. Create an Artistic Haven

Is your child drawn to doodling, painting, or crafting? Setting up a dedicated art station this summer might be the perfect creative outlet.

Designate a corner of your home as their personal art space and give them a variety of art supplies, including clay, paints, and colored pencils. In addition to having a great time, children can express themselves and grow their imagination through artistic endeavors.

7. Organize A Summer Reading Challenge

When the Florida heat becomes unbearable, reading can be a nice way to stay fresh and indoors while stimulating the imagination.

Organize a summer reading challenge to get your children interested. Select engaging reading material and set achievable goals for them. If your child struggles with motivation to finish a whole book, offer a reward after reading three chapters.

Reading helps them learn and grow their imagination while avoiding heatstroke from playing in the sun.

8. Explore Nature with Outdoor Adventures

Summer is a wonderful time to explore the outdoors with your children, especially in a nature-rich state like Florida!

You can use this time to go on nature walks with your kid, have picnics in parks, or attempt birdwatching. This will teach them the beauty of nature and help them gain a better understanding of the world around them. As David Attenborough once said, “If children don’t grow up knowing about nature, they won’t understand it. And if they don’t understand it, they won’t protect it.”

9. Start A Family Puzzle or LEGO Challenge

Indoor games for kids are another great way to bond as a family while challenging your child intellectually. Family puzzles, LEGOs, and other problem-solving activities create opportunities for fostering creativity, intellect, and safe competition!

It’s a screen-free way to spark imagination and bring the whole family together.

10. Plan A “Kindness Mission”

Why not use this time to teach your child the importance of giving?

Help your child identify small ways to help others, like assisting an elderly neighbor who needs an extra hand with a certain chore. Go through their belongings together and look for old toys and clothes they no longer use to donate. You can also make thank-you cards together to add to the gift.

Organizing a kindness mission together can positively impact your kids and teach them about sharing and compassion.

Best Preschool Programs in Royal Palm Beach, FL Summer Activities

Fill Your Child’s Summer with Laughter at the Best Preschool Programs in Royal Palm Beach, FL!

Summer break is an ideal time for your child to relax and learn about their world in a fun way. From morning nature walks to solving puzzles together, the memories you create during the summer holidays aren’t just for your child: they’re unforgettable moments for you, too.

Make the most of this special time with Neighborhood Kids and create lasting summer memories that you’ll look back on with fondness. Contact us today to learn more about our summer activities!

Children and Music: A Healthy and Beneficial Link

Music at the Toddler Preschool in Boyton Beach FL

Did you know music is one of the few activities that use both sides of the brain, logical and creative? It helps build important brain connections, helping children learn numeracy, literacy, and emotional skills. Incorporating music into play in the early years positively influences your child’s early development, so we always foster music at our toddler preschool in Boynton Beach, FL.

Most importantly, music is fun! If your child is having fun, their brain is open to learning. Here is a guide to help you foster your children’s growth with music while understanding what we do to encourage them.

Toddler Preschool in Boyton Beach FL Explains Benefits of Listening to Music

How Music Affects a Children’s Brain

Music is humanity’s universal language, allowing people from different cultures and languages to connect, communicate, and express their feelings. While everyone has their preferred music genre, it’s hard to find someone who dislikes music entirely.

Besides being a worldwide source of connection, music can also be a highly beneficial educational and therapeutic tool for children. Music activates and stimulates a child’s early-developing brain in several ways.

Building connections through external input is the primary goal of early brain development, and music offers a rich and additional input source for developing brains. It can trigger the limbic system, which controls memory and emotional management processes. Moreover, music helps release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that increases feelings of well-being.

What Are the Long-term Benefits of Music for Kids?

  • Skill development
  • Enhanced language skills
  • The ability to learn foreign languages
  • Better mood and emotional regulation
  • Memory and concentration
  • Increased self-confidence

Some other ways in which music helps developing children include:

Music and Physical Health

Music can benefit your child’s physical health by motivating them to be physically active.

For example, music can encourage dancing, which helps reduce muscle tension, improve coordination, and foster overall physical abilities. It is also a beautiful way of incorporating healthy habits for your child.

Additionally, research has demonstrated that music influences the neurochemicals in our bodies, strengthening the immune system, preventing infection, and reducing the risk of obesity.

Besides listening to music, making music is also beneficial. Playing an instrument has been shown to help with posture, balance, and physical control. In particular, playing drums and action songs can improve gross and fine motor skills, hand independence, and dexterity.

Toddler Preschool in Boyton Beach FL Explains the Importance of Music

Music and Stress

It has been demonstrated that music improves well-being and supports a child’s healthy development by reducing stress and anxiety. Researchers have found that listening to music can lower cortisol levels, the “stress hormone.”

Listening to, singing, and creating music can also impact children’s emotions. These activities can help activate the body’s natural feel-good chemicals, such as oxytocin and endorphins. This can boost their spirits, assist them in resolving issues, and give them a way to express their emotions.

For that reason, music is one of our biggest aids in soothing overstimulated kids or those who have trouble regulating their emotions.

Music and Learning

Besides fostering a healthier lifestyle, music is a key tool during learning.

According to research, music can enhance memory, focus, and overall well-being at any age by stimulating the brain. This can help children learn to read and speak while improving their memory and attention skills.

Many children’s songs are made to teach ideas like counting, pairing, and problem-solving. Additionally, by connecting facts with a melody, music can be used to teach science and other age-appropriate subjects.

Music and Creativity

Whether it is playing an instrument, writing down lyrics, or just making a racket, it all counts. The act of creating music requires focus and often collaboration with others. This experience can encourage a child to be more sensitive and conscious of their feelings while also creating something of their own in the process.

Music and Social Connections

Social development is more important than ever in today’s world. When incorporated into educational settings, music can be highly effective in fostering healthy and constructive social development and preventing and resolving social problems.

Some studies have shown that including music in the curriculum strengthens social ties and promotes better social adjustment. In those studies, music generally made children’s attitudes more positive.

Additionally, music fosters a sense of community or camaraderie. Young people can connect their emotions to something else when they listen to their favorite musicians, making them feel more understood and less isolated from their feelings. Along with improving empathy and self-esteem, creating music with others can also enhance cooperation skills.

Tips for Supporting Children’s Well-Being with Music

Music is a potent instrument that has an impact without the listener’s awareness. However, there are some pointers to optimize its advantages to promote kids’ growth and welfare.

  • Play Music Every Day: Play a range of musical selections and discuss with kids their feelings before and after listening. Offer songs in different languages, including ones that incorporate noises they can recognize daily.
  • Dance: Move to music in the backyard or throughout the house, enjoy getting active, and encourage kids to express their feelings through various body parts. Share different music styles with them so they can express themselves in many ways.
  • Don’t Be Afraid to Sing Along: Children are often less inhibited than adults when it comes to singing. Break the ice by singing along to music. Your child looks up to you as a role model, and your singing can encourage them to try new things and express themselves.
  • Create Your Own Music: Get creative and let children experiment with music. If you have instruments, that’s great! If you don’t, you can create your own instruments with a food container and a pair of chopsticks.

Why the Best Toddler Preschool in Boyton Beach FL Encourages Music

Encourage Your Children’s Growth with our Toddler Preschool in Boynton Beach, FL

Singing, writing, or listening to music can be incredibly empowering. It gives kids and teens a platform to express their emotions without us even realizing it. Music can help them find the right words to express their feelings.

Here at Neighborhood Kids, we want to become an institution you can rely on to foster your children’s early development. Contact us today to learn more about our curriculum!