7 Summer activities to bring your family team together….for (almost) free!
Ok, so summer is not just coming it’s here and at The Rowe House we are excited to have a fun filled summer that will hopefully teach us love, more patience and kindness and really craft our sense of family adventure.
Yes, we are jumping on a plane for 5 hours and heading to my home town for a week (ekkk…) but there are a whole slew of things we want and will do right here in our own home to work on building our family team strong without have to break the budget!
So, let’s back track a little shall we? If you have been around here for a bit you will know that we are huge on family at The Rowe House and building our (and others) teams to fulfill God’s great design. We also believe that big things have, will and can happen within the four walls of your own home. It’s been said many times that the next revival will not happen in the church but in the home. So, with that being said, we believe every single thing that we do as a family matters and has a purpose and learning to weave the gospel into our everyday mundane lives is essential to fulfill our kingdom roles.
So, summer adventures, messy ice creams and late night fires all play a part in building our family team strong in order to do the most important kingdom work. Why? Because real and meaningful family changes are one’s that can be implemented and used in any and all of our rapidly changing and mundane lives.
So, ready to find some ideas that may work for your family and situation?
A long and country (ish) drive.
One of my most favourite memories is looking into my rear view mirror and seeing my sweet little 4 year old with his hands out his window, eyes closed and hair blowing in the summer breeze. At that moment I realized the importance of teaching our kids to find real and lasting joy in the simple and mundane things of life. If some fresh air, some bright summer sun and a drive where there is nothing to do but chat, sing and enjoy the breeze does not make us happy that we’ve got some work to do right? But let’s be honest - your youngest may cry or scream when he drops his pacifier, there may be a fight over who choses the next song and some loud “i’m bored" may be sung from the back seat but all those things will just grow your patience. Take a deep breathe and know that your hard work and good intentions will pay off.
Plan your days/weeks together
If you are like us, you still have a job outside of the home to do during the summer even though you may have extra littles running around so planning things out is essential. Recently, we started bringing in our oldest two to help plan out the days and weeks for a whole slew of reasons but our biggest reason is so they know their voice is heard, matters and their help in this team is needed. We use a really simple template I made on Canva (you can use it too here) but use whatever works for you to make sure you are all on the same page. I also use to great calendars from amazon that help our boys know what the day will look like and what their responsibilities include.
A backyard (or park) cookout
Who doesn’t love a hotdog that’s burnt on the outside and still cold on the inside? How about a burnt marshmallow that is flung through the air and narrowly misses the dog? No? Just me? Camping may not be your thing and eating outside may just add extra stress and work but here’s the thing - sitting around that smokey fire is such a lesson in love, kindness, patience and self control. We only have to roasting sticks so patience is a necessity. When things catch on fire or fall into the pit controlling frustration and anger is a must. When every boy wants to help build the fire Dad needs an extra dose of patience but when we can get it together and sit around enjoying our work there is nothing but love and excitement and memories built. So grab that $5 pack of hot dogs, skip the buns cause kids don’t eat those anyways and widdle some sticks to see just how your backyard can teach you so many lessons.
Do a project together
Maybe it’s something that needs to be done around the house or maybe there is something in the community (contact your local Salvation Army and I am sure they will have something for you to do) but working together with your hands is such an important lesson for a family team. Build, serve, create, organize, bake, whatever it is - find a big or small project and do it together.
Set goals together
Maybe someone has a goal to read more books. Maybe there is an activity that someone else wants to learn or maybe, you are like us and you want to try all 80 flavours at the local ice cream shop before the summer is over. Setting goals together can not only be fun and give you something to do on those lazy summer days but it also helps everyone in the team understand the importance of setting goals and working hard to obtain them, even if it is to conquer all the ice cream in 60 days!
Playground Crawl
We love a good playground and once we find a favourite we like to stick to our old faithfuls. But venturing out and discovering a new area can be really for and super cheap. Got a few extra dollars to spend? Grab some fries from a different restaurant every time you go to try and find your best local fry or pack a picnic lunch and make it a weekly rhythm.
Use the time to create good spiritual rhythms
Love the weekly park crawl? Carry it into the year and make it part of your family sabbath? Setting goals together is fun? Set a goal every month to develop Godly characteristics. Project is fun? Keep serving all year long? The car rides are relaxing - make it a weekly habit and blare that christian music. Summer is a great time to find things that fill everyone’s soul and then carry those things into the whole year.
Summer doesn’t have to be a time where the calendar is full of exciting activities and different experiences in order to give your kids some culturally made up right of passage of “the best summer ever”. Summer can be a time to learn and grow closer together as a family team so where life picks back up just a little some strong foundations have be built and your family can do more to point others to Jesus.
Dont stress. Don’t break the bank. But be intentional this summer and craft activities that do more then just “happen” but built a strong Godly foundation for your time.
Happy Adventuring!