When I think about Summer my mind goes to swimming, camping out, bare feet, fireflies, bar-b-q, homemade ice cream, and running around in Granny's yard with my cousins while our parents all sat in lawn chairs or the porch swing and talked.
These days I hear about kids who are in summer school or working on assignments they were given that MUST be completed by the beginning of the school year. WHAT HAPPENED TO SUMMER?
I remember that intense sense of anticipation near the end of the school year. That fantastic feeling of knowing that for 3 months (these days it's more like 2), I would be FREE! I could play with friends every day in my yard or theirs, have sleepovers in the middle of the week, swim at the local pool until my skin looked like a prune, and then eat a popsicle in the hot sun and not care at all that it was running down my arm. It was such a feeling of pure joy.
I'm sure all kids still have the feeling, but the actual SUMMER has dwindled drastically and these days it's harder for two working parents to figure out what to do when their kids aren't in school, much less find a way to allow them the freedom of a summer without school.
My own child is 18 so I am not dealing with those issues, but I do think there are ways to give kids a bit of THE GOOD OLE SUMMERTIME.
There isn't one answer and I certainly don't claim to know how everyone can give their child that summer of total freedom that I had over 40 years ago, but there are lots of great camps where kids can explore the outdoors or the indoors depending on their interests.
As a final note I will add that my group, Rising Star, right here in Studio City offer kids ages 5 - 16 a musical theatre experience that is a great time. Check us out and whatever you do HAVE A GREAT SUMMER.
