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Learning with Dad (1 Viewer)

I'm looking for ideas on activities and life skills I can share/learn with my two children this summer.  My daughter is 13 and son is 9.  While I want them to enjoy the summer, their friends, and their freedom, I also think they need some structure and discipline.  Looking for a combination of chores/fun activities/other?  I am hoping the wisdom of the FFA can come through.

Initial thoughts:

  • Make bed every morning 
  • Rotation between laundry/dishes/trash
  • Caring for tomato plants
  • Packing for and going on a day hike at the lake
  • Painting their rooms
  • Taking down a chain link fence and building a wooden privacy fence
  • Going to a drive in movie
  • Going to presidential libraries
  • Attending some morning community work outs
  • Volunteer opportunities
What have you done or would like to do with your kids that build character/resilience?
Whatever you do, you sound like a pretty awesome dad.

 
Can anyone quantify the return on dance class? We have the same thing in Nassau county. My niece and nephew are in some dance class where the teacher is an institution. Have to buy tickets to see your own kids perform and all that jazz (no pun intended). What's the payoff? Seems that that time, energy and money would have a possibility of a return if put into a sport, or any other activity that may result in a scholarship somewhere down the line. Are there schools giving out money to folks who took dance? My kid's 1 and I have another on the way, so am still trying to figure where time may be best spent.
To each his own, but I think the time is best spent doing things your kids enjoy. If you view the value or "payoff" of kids sports only in terms of college scholarships and financial return, you certainly would never spend a penny or a minute of your time chasing that under 1% proposition.

 
Would love to instill in my kids curiosity and grit. Way more important than learning Spanish, lighting a fire or doing a pirouette imo. Trouble is how to instill these. I like nuggets attempt and whoever suggested a list and let them pick. 

 
Can anyone quantify the return on dance class? We have the same thing in Nassau county. My niece and nephew are in some dance class where the teacher is an institution. Have to buy tickets to see your own kids perform and all that jazz (no pun intended). What's the payoff? Seems that that time, energy and money would have a possibility of a return if put into a sport, or any other activity that may result in a scholarship somewhere down the line. Are there schools giving out money to folks who took dance? My kid's 1 and I have another on the way, so am still trying to figure where time may be best spent.
exercise, gross/fine-motor skills, socialization, fun...

scholarship down the road is the only payoff for kids' activities?

 
ok... tbh- all these classes and camps... are they "learning with dad"? or just stuff to keep them busy.. (rhetorical).

what are more of the things you guys are actually doing with your kids this summer? 

for me...

...

....

...

...

stuff. 

maybe.

:kicksrock:

I've got nothing.

 
I'm teaching them how to use a bottle opener to open my beer for me - once they master that I'll probably forget the rest of the list.

 
Skeet/Target shooting

Hunting

Boating/skiing

Camping

Fishing

(I have not personally gone hunting or fishing since I was a kid. Not something I enjoy really but darn it if I don't have good memories with my step-father doing those things.)
Add "sitting quietly" and you have Ron Swanson summer camp.

 
I'm looking for ideas on activities and life skills I can share/learn with my two children this summer.  My daughter is 13 and son is 9.  While I want them to enjoy the summer, their friends, and their freedom, I also think they need some structure and discipline.  Looking for a combination of chores/fun activities/other?  I am hoping the wisdom of the FFA can come through.

Initial thoughts:

  • Make bed every morning 
  • Rotation between laundry/dishes/trash
  • Caring for tomato plants
  • Packing for and going on a day hike at the lake
  • Painting their rooms
  • Taking down a chain link fence and building a wooden privacy fence
  • Going to a drive in movie
  • Going to presidential libraries
  • Attending some morning community work outs
  • Volunteer opportunities
What have you done or would like to do with your kids that build character/resilience?
2 children or 2 indentured servants?

 
My boys (13,9) are home most of the day this summer. 13 y.o. Has a week long day camp (they visit colleges for a tips program), younger son has a week at Camp Boggy Creek ( camp for kids who have, or are survivors of childhood illnesses. )   Then both at grandmas house for 3 weeks. 

Inbetween I'm looking for some online code schools to keep them busy, but have fun. Any recommendations for coding courses for kids is welcome. (Both have done the basic code.org stuff)

 
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My boys (13,9) are home most of the day this summer. 13 y.o. Has a week long day camp (they visit colleges for a tips program), younger son has a week at Camp Boggy Creek ( camp for kids who have, or are survivors of childhood illnesses. )   Then both at grandmas house for 3 weeks. 

Inbetween I'm looking for some online code schools to keep them busy, but have fun. Any recommendations for coding courses for kids is welcome. (Both have done the basic code.org stuff)
We have some courses through our parks and rec department for coding and science based summer camps.  

 
CletiusMaximus said:
This past winter I cooked a meal with my son. He picked out the meal, and we made it together. He's 12. I decided I need him to know basics of how to cook meals by the time he goes off to college. This summer he's going to learn how to light the charcoal grill and cook burgers and brats. We'll go camping and fishing several times, usually combined with trail biking. I've read to him essentially every night I've been home (when sober) since he was 3 or so and that will continue. We just started LOTR.
Just started LOTR with my 8 year old!   :hifive:

 
Going on a two week road trip through Germany, Holland and Belgium with my two teenage daughters this summer. I'm sure there will be plenty of learning opportunities

 
Nugget said:
I'm looking for ideas on activities and life skills I can share/learn with my two children this summer.  My daughter is 13 and son is 9.  While I want them to enjoy the summer, their friends, and their freedom, I also think they need some structure and discipline.  Looking for a combination of chores/fun activities/other?  I am hoping the wisdom of the FFA can come through.

Initial thoughts:

  • Make bed every morning 
  • Rotation between laundry/dishes/trash
  • Caring for tomato plants
  • Packing for and going on a day hike at the lake
  • Painting their rooms
  • Taking down a chain link fence and building a wooden privacy fence
  • Going to a drive in movie
  • Going to presidential libraries
  • Attending some morning community work outs
  • Volunteer opportunities
What have you done or would like to do with your kids that build character/resilience?
This sounds awesome!!*

*Alas, "the best laid plans of mice & men"...

 
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Brony said:
Would love to instill in my kids curiosity and grit. Way more important than learning Spanish, lighting a fire or doing a pirouette imo. Trouble is how to instill these. I like nuggets attempt and whoever suggested a list and let them pick. 
This is the main goal.  I read Angela Duckworth's book on grit earlier this year.  I want to start on Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant next - I think it touches on themes of resiliency and overcoming adversity.

 I want my kids to find things they are passionate about and develop a work ethic, to understand that hard work usually beats talent, and to be good people.

 
Brony said:
Would love to instill in my kids curiosity and grit. Way more important than learning Spanish, lighting a fire or doing a pirouette imo. Trouble is how to instill these. I like nuggets attempt and whoever suggested a list and let them pick. 
Curiosity and grit come from being well-rounded and learning lots of different things. I think learning Spanish, fire-starting, and dance are all great first steps.

 
Looking for things to entertain the grandkids while my wife watches them this summer. Got all excited when I read the thread title. Then read the thread.   :kicksrock:

 
curious about sumn. 

tho i still think the society would be better off with the old orientation of kids being expected to please parents at least as much as parents please kids, i guess it is nice, if you got it, to give your children everything they want & more, just as it is nice to have quartz countertops and cars that park themselves..

i'm wondering, though, if there are parents out there who got it but won't. is it just automatic that if you can fade the 8 large, the kids - talent or not - get dance if they want it? if there are multiple options of things to do, must they choose between them as a point of moral judgement & restraint, or do parents schlep for it all as a simple matter of expectation.

i guess what i'm asking is "is it more right for middle-class kids to grow up expecting everything they want than not?"

 
Wife just said she wants to put in a garden.  So we will be doing that as a family.  Maybe Monday if the weather holds.

 
eoMMan said:
Along with the volunteer stuff, do research on their future careers...or at least narrow down what they want to do. Heck, they could even start a small business NOW if they want. Teach them responsibility, the value of earning money and how to manage it. 
I will throw this in here, even though it's not a summer activity necessarily, but happened to go to a presentation for it the other night: Young Entrepreneurs Academy.

They have locations all over the country (for anyone who is interested), though it looks like there is one in KS if interested: http://yeausa.org/about/current-locations/?dest=Lawrence%2C+KS%2C+United+States&lat=38.9716689&long=-95.23525010000003

It is a 30-week program during the school year where the kids actually work with a variety of mentors on their own business ideas and actually write business plans and do pitches.  It definitely takes a lot of initiative, but it it is only $695 (:ElFloppoHeartAttack:) for the year, which honestly seems like a good deal.  It's for kids 11-18 and doubt we will be doing it right now, but just thought I'd throw it in here since I just saw that.

Also, https://www.volunteermatch.org/ is good place to look for volunteering opportunities.  This is one thing that I am still trying to get lined up for my way-too-entitled 12-year-old daughter for this summer.

 
I also think there is a business in finding old random #### at thrift stores or garage sales and trying to sell it online, like in an etsy shop or on ebay.  At worst, it should be a minimal investment and could be a fun activity searching it out.

 
13 yr. old daughter wants to play golf.  Just ordered some clubs - none of her friends live within walking distance so she needs something to keep her occupied this summer (though she does have cheerleading camp stuff).  

I hope she takes to it, though it certainly will give me a chance to spend that much more time with her.  I am lucky, we already spend a lot of time together watching tv shows (The Office/Parks & Rec) and playing card/board games.  

 
Looks like rain tomorrow, so I think I'm going to take them to the museum and then we're going to build rockets.  

 
Curiosity and grit come from being well-rounded and learning lots of different things. I think learning Spanish, fire-starting, and dance are all great first steps.
Means to an end. I don't disagree. 

Just need to keep the end game in mind rather than resting your laurels because your kid knows a Philips from a slotted screwdriver 

 
If your kids are in the 5-10 range I highly recommend Lowe's Build and Grow on Saturday mornings. I think Home Depot has a similar program. 

 
Super proud of my 20 year old son and the summer he has lined up.  

Tomorrow he will finish a four day camp in Glendale, California, for young adults that grew up with heart issues.  He had three surgeries when he was one.

Part of the camp is spent on how to manage this the rest of their lives and one day on instruction for being a camp counselor for the ages 7 to 17 kids that go to heart camp every summer on Catalina Island.

Then he's driving to Phoenix where he will start an Engineering internship that starts on June 1 and lasts seven weeks.

And them he will fly and meet us in Salt Lake City as we fly to Prague for an 18 day river cruise to Amsterdam. He has been working on his German since we decided to go a few months ago.  

He has grown leaps and bounds the past year and he'll probably double that in the next ten weeks.  

 
Nugget said:
Connor taking down his first chain link fence - LINK
Nice job on the safety goggles, but I see at least 3 other OSHA violations in this picture.  Shorts, no-gloves, and those definitely don't look like steel toe boots. J/k

 
I'm working with my 3 y.o. On the values and shapes in the card deck, then we can move on to basic strategy.

Then we're working on monetary values before heading to quantitative analysis

 
Gawain said:
Can anyone quantify the return on dance class? We have the same thing in Nassau county. My niece and nephew are in some dance class where the teacher is an institution. Have to buy tickets to see your own kids perform and all that jazz (no pun intended). What's the payoff? Seems that that time, energy and money would have a possibility of a return if put into a sport, or any other activity that may result in a scholarship somewhere down the line. Are there schools giving out money to folks who took dance? My kid's 1 and I have another on the way, so am still trying to figure where time may be best spent.
Some exotic dancers can make 6 figures easily. My little girl is enrolled in a pole dancing camp.

 
Nugget said:
I'm looking for ideas on activities and life skills I can share/learn with my two children this summer.  My daughter is 13 and son is 9.  While I want them to enjoy the summer, their friends, and their freedom, I also think they need some structure and discipline.  Looking for a combination of chores/fun activities/other?  I am hoping the wisdom of the FFA can come through.

Initial thoughts:

  • Make bed every morning 
  • Rotation between laundry/dishes/trash
  • Caring for tomato plants
  • Packing for and going on a day hike at the lake
  • Painting their rooms
  • Taking down a chain link fence and building a wooden privacy fence
  • Going to a drive in movie
  • Going to presidential libraries
  • Attending some morning community work outs
  • Volunteer opportunities
What have you done or would like to do with your kids that build character/resilience?
Glad you weren't my Dad. I'd rather go to summer school.

 
I'm working with my 3 y.o. On the values and shapes in the card deck, then we can move on to basic strategy.

Then we're working on monetary values before heading to quantitative analysis
Social worker:  "Now honey, tell me about these 'bad beats' your Dad keeps talking about.  Is he hurting you?"

 
13 yr. old daughter wants to play golf.  Just ordered some clubs - none of her friends live within walking distance so she needs something to keep her occupied this summer (though she does have cheerleading camp stuff).  

I hope she takes to it, though it certainly will give me a chance to spend that much more time with her.  I am lucky, we already spend a lot of time together watching tv shows (The Office/Parks & Rec) and playing card/board games.  
How often do you get to play golf?  Is there a course nearby and is it some what affordable?

I'd like to try this with my son in a few years - once my daughter can drive it will free up some golfing time.  The local municipal course lets juniors play for free with a paying parent.

 
Glad you weren't my Dad. I'd rather go to summer school.
I'm glad you enjoyed school so much.  Today my son has a scout day camp from 8:30 - 2:30.  He'll come home and chill before his baseball game at 6:00.  It is Taco Tuesday at Casa de Nugget, so we'll be cooking up some ground beef to go on his favorite doritos hard shell tacos.

The girl is still in bed at 10:00 am.  She has leadership training at the junior high from 12:30 - 3:45 for one of her school activities next year.  She will then come home and snapchat with her friends until it is time to whine about tacos.

 
Nice job on the safety goggles, but I see at least 3 other OSHA violations in this picture.  Shorts, no-gloves, and those definitely don't look like steel toe boots. J/k
Fence is 80% done - We only bent about 11 more OSHA standards.  I am going to have him help me build the gates.  We'll go pick out the hardware and layout the pieces - he should be able to start a couple lag bolts and drive in a couple screws.  Once the wood dries in a couple months, I'll see if he is interested in rolling on some stain.

 
Fence is 80% done - We only bent about 11 more OSHA standards.  I am going to have him help me build the gates.  We'll go pick out the hardware and layout the pieces - he should be able to start a couple lag bolts and drive in a couple screws.  Once the wood dries in a couple months, I'll see if he is interested in rolling on some stain.
Good stuff.

I was sitting around yesterday, and my 9 yo starts digging through my scrap wood. I had taught him to use an old-fashioned hand saw the other day.

Anyway, I'm not really paying attention, and he's measuring wood and using the saw and everything. Next thing you know, he comes to me and says:

"I need to you to drill these 6 screws into my wood pieces so I can finish my table."

Sure as ####, he had designed this small table that we can take to fish camp this year so he can lay out the lures he and I make. Cut all the wood himself - all I had to do was assemble it. It's a pretty nice little table. Not perfect, but beautiful in my eyes. We then painted the top and stained the legs. Pretty cool to see him do that.

 
I'm interested in something like this for my 13 and 15 year old sons.  Unfortunately I'm not really skilled in anything myself.  My parents were "self taught" as far as their handiness went, which was to say not very far.  I did get myself a new grill for an early fathers day present.  As I was putting it together (mainly using the power drill to do all the screws) I thought to myself I should be teaching my boys how to use the drill.  Beyond using the drill, yard work, and changing the oil in a car, I don't have a lot of skills to pass on.  The rest of what I do around the house, fix it wise, is just google and fumble through it.  Not exactly "skills" to pass on.

 
So I come home, and now he wants to make a matching stool for his table. He grabs some more scrap wood, measures out his pieces, and hand cuts 6 pieces.

Comes to me an hour later: "Can you help me put this together with your drill now?"  :wub:  

I could cry. 

Anyway, we put this thing together, and he had cut the bench part of his stool at an angle so you could "lean forward daddy as I sit."

So we put it together, it's pretty damn solid, and a coat of stain later it's ready for a coat of poly tomorrow. 

 
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So I come home, and now he wants to make a matching stool for his table. He grabs some more scrap wood, measures out his pieces, and hand cuts 6 pieces.

Comes to me an hour later: "Can you help me put this together with your drill now?"  :wub:  

I could cry. 

Anyway, we put this thing together, and he had cut the bench part of his stool at an angle so you could "lean forward daddy as I sit."

So we put it together, it's pretty damn solid, and a coat of stain later it's ready for a coat of poly tomorrow. 
Awesome.  

 

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