Many parents stress summer reading but forget to stress writing as well. Here are a few strategies you can use to get your youngster to write during the summer.

Writing/journaling is a fun activity students participate in every day while in school. This can be extended to include a fun summer idea for kids as well.

Kids love having a nice book with a cover in their favorite color. It gives them a sense of privacy, self-worth, and identification. While on summer vacation, writing in a journal about their trip to the beach, or the museum they visited, or family trips is one way in which they can utilize the book and continue their writing skills.

It is also an outlet for any frustration they may have and it channels it in a positive way. In fact, some kids may have pen pals and write to each other all summer. Kids like to have their own private things; a journal is one of them. It not only reinforces their creativity, but increases their vocabulary and sentence usage. If you are planning a trip by car, they can take the journal along and write about the places they’ve been and the people they’ve met along the way. They can also use the journal to post thoughts on books they’ve read. For a kid, a journal is the vehicle wherein they can express their thoughts, ideas and feelings.

Writing and language are directly related. By using a journal, they not only improve their speech, but their reading as well. They are using their creativity without having to worry about being graded. It’s their journal to write whatever they choose, and this is a fun way for them to create something that is theirs alone.

Writing/journaling as a fun summer idea for kids should be reinforced. Perhaps you have been keeping a journal. Share some of your stories with your kids, and in this way they too will want to begin their own type of journal and add as an activity every summer. Who knows, there may be a potential writer in your family.

To learn more, check out the Mom’s Talk Guide to Raising Happy & Healthy Kids – Tips and resources address nutrition, exercise, sleep, routines, and much more.

You don’t have to take an expensive vacation to have fun this summer. The following no-cost activities provide fun for the whole family.

Although you may not be able to afford a summer vacation this year, there are no-cost, fun summer activities for the whole family. Here are a few ideas.

Pick a tree in your back yard and lay down a blanket. Have some lemonade and cookies, and read the books you’ve checked out from the library. Take turns reading. Invite friends and their kids to join you. Make it a weekly event.

If your kids love pirates, make a treasure box with your kids. Have them scout around the back yard or beach for rocks or sea shells or any item they think would be cool to include. Have the kids make a treasure map and include some information on pirates found on the internet. Add some coins, and make a pirate’s flag with black fabric. Have the kids add their own symbols to it. Then the kids can bury it in the back yard or keep it on hand and add to it each year.

Gardening is another no-cost fun summer activity for kids. Have your kids plant their own flower garden. Talk about each flower; how it grows, how much room it needs, and then give the kids a title, such as Director of Water Resource (this would be for one kid to oversee the watering of the plants); or Director of Roots and Shoots (this would be for another kid to oversee the weeding), etc. Also, give your kids some watermelon seeds to plant. You never know what may crop up.

With baseball season just starting, why not have your family start a scrapbook on a favorite sports team or even choose a rookie and follow his career. The scrapbook could contain photos with captions, newspaper clippings, and sports items you may already own. Make it a family tradition. Each member can contribute to the scrapbook. Perhaps mom and dad have some stories that they may want to include in the scrapbook as well.

No-cost, fun summer activities for the whole family can be achieved with a little imagination and a lot of creativity.

To learn more, check out the Mom’s Talk eBook’s Guide to Family Budgeting – Step-by-step guide to help you establish a workable budget.