PPP150: Ten Screenless Summer Activities

08Jul 2019 by Shelly Davis

The last three Piano Parent episodes have focused on the value of limiting screen time and increasing physical activity. If you haven’t listened to them already, be sure to catch them after you finish this episode. They will inform the thought process behind the list of ten we have for you this week.

PPP147: Teacher Chat – Screen Time

PPP148: Developmental Fitness with Vicki Conway, part 1

PPP149: Developmental Fitness with Vicki Conway, part 2

Click here to find previous tenth episode lists.

Listen to the full episode here

1. Picnic in the park or your own backyard

Maybe you pack a lunch together at home or go through the drive-through. Sit at a picnic table or put a blanket on the grass. Going on a picnic can help develop spatial awareness Vicki Conway mentioned in episode 148. Notice how your child responds to sitting in the grass. How do you respond? Talk about the sounds you hear and the things you see. Dog? Kids playing/screaming? Traffic noises?

2. Go for a walk

I’m always amazed at the details I notice when I’m walking in my neighborhood as opposed to driving through. There are different things I must give my attention to when I’m driving. I can’t really look at the flowers in the neighbor’s yard or notice the details of their front patio. Duane and I enjoy walking and hiking when we vacation. It’s nice to simply slow down and enjoy the view. (I’m still looking for that picture of the message in the sidewalk!)

3. Visit the local zoo

Another opportunity for lots of walking and talking. Ask your piano kid which animals are their favorite. Share memories of your trips to the zoo when you were growing up.

4. Go on a scavenger hunt for quirky place

When Duane and I travel, he spends months preparing for the trip. Admittedly, this does involve a lot of screen time but he scours the internet looking for things to do at our chosen destination and things to look for along the way.

Roadside America is great website to find interesting places in America.

You really can stand on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and get your picture taken.

One time we stopped in Metropolis, Illinois and got our picture made with the Superman statue in the middle of the town square.

Did you know that the famous London Bridge (yes, the one from the song) was actually relocated to Lake Havasu, Arizona?

We love finding the largest – whatever – pecan, pencil, golf tee, wind chime (Casey, Illinois has a lot of fun BIG things to see if you are in that part of the world.)

There are probably quirky things in your own home town. Tyler, not far from me is known as the Rose Capital of the world, This summer I plan to take Tracy on a short little field trip to walk through the rose garden here. Tyler also has a giant piano tombstone in one of the city cemeteries.

5. Go jump in a lake (or swimming pool, if you prefer)

Screen time and swimming definitely do no mix! Moving arms and legs, either together or opposites is a great bilateral or cross lateral activity.

Moving your body bilaterally helps your brain with understanding abstract concepts like rhythm, symbolic representations, understanding the point of the story when reading.

Cross lateral activities help your brain become more efficient with classifying and sequencing, important skills when spelling or doing math problems.

6. Bake some cookies together

I’ve probably told you before that Tracy has Celiac Disease. This means her body doesn’t process gluten found in wheat, rye, barley so she follows a strict gluten-free diet. We have declared Thursdays this summer to be Crafty Cooking Days. For the cooking part, she is letting me know what types of foods she would like to learn to cook. We share some screen time to find a recipe then we go to the grocery store together to get all the ingredients. It’s a great skill for her to learn to cook her own meals. It provides some great time for us to spend together and it gets us both out of our phones.

7. Make a craft

My mother is a seamstress. Her mother, my grandmother was also a seamstress. They both taught me different sewing skills as I was growing up. I have sewn clothes for my girls and made a few quilts. It’s time for me to pass this skill along to Tracy.

Maybe sewing isn’t your thing, grab some paints and a blank canvas and see what happens. The goal is not a museum quality painting, the goal is spending time together, making fond memories.

8. Visit a Living History Museum

I love these places that have old buildings in a park-like setting and there are people dressed in period clothing doing various chores or jobs that are less common today.

One of our favorite things, when we visited Epcot, was to talk to the people from all the different countries. Even though Tracy was a little old for the Kidcot program we took advantage of the opportunity to talk to people from all around the world. We spoke to people from Morocco, Mexico, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

A quick Google search will show you many living history museums in your part of the world.

9. Play catch

It seems like the iconic father/son activity is to toss a baseball back and forth to each other. I’ve heard that females tend to be able to talk freely with each other but males do better if they a preoccupied with another activity, the talking flows from the activity. If that’s the case in your family, grab a ball and head outside!

It doesn’t have to be limited to baseball, though. Take a Frisbee when you picnic at the park, bring a beach ball to the pool. Tossing and catching a ball or Frisbee helps your child become more efficient with eye-hand coordination (eye-foot coordination if you have a kickball), depth perception, spatial awareness, and body awareness as they get the parts of their body to work together to toss or catch.

In addition to playing catch, you can take turns bouncing the ball on your left, directly in front of you, and on your right. This helps with center line which is so important in test taking and dealing with performance anxiety.

10. Jump Rope Contest

I probably saved this one for last because I am least excited about doing it. When Vicki talked about the importance of jumping and it’s effect on understanding math concepts, I knew this was something Tracy and I need to do.

She doesn’t think she’s good at math, I suspect there is an underlying problem and I’m hoping jumping rope will be part of the solution. To make it fun, I bought each of us our own brand new jumping rope and I plan to see if we can learn any jumping tricks or out jump each other in our contest.

Conclusion, call to action, resources

My temptation is to let the whole summer pass without making any intentional plans to get outside and put away my phone. Taking the time to plan some fun activities and put them on the calendar will help to put them into action. Even one day a week, like my Crafty Cooking Thursdays will give me a reason and a desire to connect with my kids and make some good memories.

What do you and your kids like to do away from the screen? What quirky places have you visited? I’d love to hear about them! You can share in the comments section of the show notes or leave me a message on Facebook or Instagram @pianoparentpodcast.

Thanks for listening!

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