Four Ways to Keep Your Children Engaged This Summer
The kids are out of school, the sun is shining, and the days are long. While it’s important to relax during the summer months and enjoy the weather, it’s also a great time to be productive and engage with your children.
“Parents should take advantage of the extra time they have with their children to create memorable and valuable activities their children will remember for years,” says Allendale Columbia Assistant Head of Lower School Martha Bjorklund. 
“These activities will aid learning and keep their developing brains working all summer long.”
To make the most of the remaining summer days, Bjorklund recommends trying out the following activities with your family:
Take advantage of your local library’s summer reading program: Let your local library do the work for you! "My local library" earned the #7 slot on the KidsOutAndAbout.com Top 20 Places to Take Kids in Rochester list for 2017, and there's a real reason why: Our local children's libraries go over and above in connecting kids with books and ideas. Summer reading programs allow children to keep their reading skills sharp by offering age-appropriate book lists and theme-related rewards. Visiting your local library weekly to get the next installment of books can be an exciting activity to add to your children’s summer routine. Don't forget to chat with the children's librarian or the person behind the information desk at your library: They live for that.
Write, write, write: Help your child start a journal that they write in for a few minutes every day. To keep them engaged, provide topic starters, such as “If I had an online store, what would I sell?” Children might also like to pen letters to friends and relatives, write up grocery lists or even make the household to-do list. Adding drawings of their own observations or from their imagination gives kids an added creative outlet for their memories and ideas.
Spend time outside: Cherish the sunny days summer brings and spend time outside with your kids. Take a walk around the block, explore a nearby park or take a day trip to a destination nearby. KidsOutAndAbout.com has a list of great summer hikes to take with kids in our area. Young children can count animals they see, or make a scavenger hunt out of your adventure by asking your children to spot items such as a flower, flag, or dog.
- Visit a museum: New York is full of museums to explore, including some right here in Rochester! Spend your day playing with science at the Rochester Museum & Science Center, or learn more about the Women’s Rights Movement at the Susan B. Anthony House. In addition, for the month of July after the Corn Hill Arts Festival is over (the second weekend of July), the Strong National Museum of Play features a display of award-winning fairy houses from the Festival as well as other traveling exhibits and good old standards to keep young minds fascinated and bodies engaged. A short trip to Mumford (a 20-minute drive from most places in Rochester) brings families to the Genesee Country Village, where the 19th century springs to vividly to life and connects all ages with the past. The George Eastman Museum is free to kids 12 and under.
For more ideas, check out KidsOutAndAbout's Master Guide to Summer in Rochester.