Participating in theater is about so much more than playing dress-up. There are significant cognitive, physical, emotional and social benefits to participating in live theater. Many of these benefits are just what our visual-spatial kids need, but are also a safe, fun way for our more auditory-sequential kids to develop their “other” side.
When my kids were young and it was time to plan their summer activities, I wanted to provide them plenty of multisensory opportunities. The “lazy days of summer” are not enough to keep kids happy and stimulated. They are much more engaged and satisfied when they’re busy making, doing, learning and playing. All throughout the summer we would sign up for a variety of organized activities, such as swimming lessons, sport camps, theater programs and art classes. And we stocked the house with lots of fresh new creative play options.
As parents, we expect that our schools provide an emotionally and physically safe environment for our children – and that includes no bullying. The good news is that most schools meet our expectations by enforcing no-tolerance policies on the issue, and take great measures to deal with bullying appropriately, even mandating that teachers attend workshops on learning to recognize and prevent it.
I’ve gathered an assortment of fun activities to keep your kids busy. There are activities you can do In the House and activities that are Out of the House. And within each category, there are things kids can do independently and things to do as a family. You could even get a bit of mom time in!