Some might already be on summer break while others are “patiently” waiting for it to approach. If you’re like me, you’re most likely working during the summer because of bills, bills, bills! That doesn’t mean we still can’t have fun, right? And of course, if you’ve been on this blog for a while, you know that I love presenting learning opportunities into the mix! Here are five helpful ideas to keep your mind and body engaged this summer!
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Take a Tour Around Your (or a Neighboring) Hometown
My fiancé and I are both from Alabama, and one can probably imagine the deep elongated sighs every time we see that our home-state has made the news about something less than positive (normally involving state laws). There is however a lot of rich culture in the state, many that even I wasn’t aware of until my mom recommended a walking-tour for us to do.
Because I had mostly just “explored” my home normally within the confines of an automobile, I didn’t know that our town had hidden murals sprinkled downtown! Many were commissioned to document historical moments within the town itself. History has always been my least favorite subject, but this tour was actually fun because it was like being a part of a storybook as the history within it unfolded through the tour lead.
Check around to see if your town or a neighboring one has a tour scheduled. You’ll be surprised what hidden gems are just around the corner from you!
Visit Nearby Museums
Okay, I openly admit that museums bored the living daylight out of me as a kid.
Storytime! My dad took my sisters and me to our downtown museum and that day just happened to be the scavenger hunt day! While dad took our little sister to go play in the toy bin, my older sister and I went art hunting! We were at this darn list for over an hour, and I remember that it was because we couldn’t find this one particular art piece that had something to do with a freakin’ frog!
Sigh. We zigzagged up/down/left/right and in circles until we FINALLY found this blasted painting! Feeling triumphed, we rushed back over to the front desk to trade in our finds for the prize! This lady gently took our sheets, smiled sweetly, and went, “Oh, there’s no prize! This was just for fun!” I’m not sure what monstrous glare I shot this woman, but she immediately snatched two stickers from somewhere behind that desk and tossed them at us as if they were on fire! It took me a few years after that to warm back up to museums (and scavenger hunts)…
Over the years, I have found that many museums have become more interactive! There is a huge experience difference between multiple “Don’t Touch Me” signs and a “Climb On In and Press Everything” signal! Go to Google and simply search “Interactive Museums Near Me.” I can honestly say that history is a lot more fun to learn whenever we’re actually allowed to push the pretty red button!
Go to a Theater
Storytime! Years ago, my high school hosted a voluntary field trip to go see a play in Montgomery, AL. Sign up was open to all juniors and seniors who were interested in this learning opportunity if there was room after the AP students, so I signed up as soon as open enrollment began. I waited until we were well down the road to turn to my friends and ask, “So what the heck is Othello?” Apparently, my loud mouth asked the question way too loud because a bunch of brainy students were staring at me aghast! One of my friends finally snaps through and goes, “If you’ve never read Othello, why did you come on this trip!?” “Because it got me out of school! Duh!”
I have to admit, this initial exposure to theater definitely ignited a curious interest in the art. Yes, we have the luxury of Netflix at our fingertips, but there is something special about watching a live performance! The synchronization of the music, lighting, character changes, and so much more within a condensed time-frame deserves its own blog, but for now, let’s just focus on a few of the highlights.
What makes theater fun is the customized energy it provides! With TV, cameras can zoom in to capture subtle expressions. With theater, that’s not happening unless we just happened to remember to grab our binoculars on the way! These people are having to express themselves to the MAX for the people in the back to see! Plus, for those who had the sense to read the original play beforehand (unlike me), there’s also room for impromptu jokes that just adds to the insightful enjoyment!
Quick poll: Do you spell it as “theater” or “theatre”? Feel free to leave your answer in the comments below! ?
Conventions, Conferences, and Workshops
Imagine if your favorite cartoons came to life and had the most random cross-overs in the history of entertainment. That’s what an anime convention is like! Maybe you’re not into anime but love comic books and vintage entertainment! There are conventions for that too! Looking for events specifically for family and kids? Convention time!
If you’re more into professional or creative gatherings, there are conferences for like-minded individuals to be able to network and share ideas! Workshops are also amazing if you are interested in learning a specific skill like carpentry, coding, painting, etc. Each of these events are many times added spontaneously to a schedule (sometimes due to the cancellation of something else). Just remember to constantly look up what’s going on in your area!
GSK Science in the Summer™
I had a friend reach out to me about this learning opportunity for the kids! Regardless of if you are a parent, uncle/auntie, older cousin, a friend who don’t mind babysitting young ones, I’m sure that we have all heard within a few days of summer the declaration, “I’m bored!” We could just give them the Netflix password…or…we can give them an opportunity to have fun AND prepare them for the future within our ever-advancing Digital Age.
One thing I personally wish I had more of in school was hands-on projects. I barely remember the stuff I was told to just read from the assigned books. On top of that, I only retained the information long enough to pass the test! It would dump out right afterwards as if my brain was equipped with its own trash disposal unit.
What’s interesting about the GSK Science in the Summer program is that it allows kids to have fun and personally engage with real-world projects connected to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Education. Kids have an opportunity to explore their interests at a very young age! In turn, can actively apply what they learned to their normal classes. And the best part? The program is FREE! The program is only provided in specific cities though, so check here to see if there’s a program near you and to learn more about this amazing opportunity for our young future leaders.
Now let’s hear from you!
This is a very small list of ideas! What are some other things that you enjoy doing during the summer? Have you ever participated in the activities listed above? If so, what did you learn or did you enjoy it? Please share your stories in the comments.
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And as always, remember to just live your life one story at a time.
Take care,
Kyndall Bennett from Kyrabe Stories
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I loved the theater in the summers. Great tips!
My goal is to see The Lion King on Broadway! I saw a behind-the-scenes and I am AMAZED at the work that is placed into every performance!
Thanks for the list! Great ideas.
Much love for visiting the blog! Thank you so much! ❤
I am all about the beach and being outside. Our summers are short in Massachusetts and I need to take advantage of it all. I am going to be in Huntsville, AL this summer. My son is attending space camp and I will be working from a hotel. Any recommendations on things there to do in the evening?
? I think I have visited Huntsville, AL twice (family gathering and college visit) and both times were over a decade ago! Although I’m sure that many more things have been added since then, I recommend the Botanical Gardens if you get a chance. They do however tend to close in the early evenings (unless there’s an event, I believe). I might bang my head against the wall over our laws, but I will praise our food! If you’re a fan of southern dishes in general, Blue Plate Cafe is the restaurant to go! Great prices for the portions and a decent list to choose from!
I love anything that is outdoors (weather permitting) in the summer after being cooped up all winter!
Same here. I think my body has some type of automatic shutdown function whenever the temperature drops too low!
Great ideas! We love to visit the mountain towns of our state of Colorado in the Summer months and check out what each place has to offer, such as local eateries, museums, hot springs, visitor centers, and etc. (BTW…I spell it as theater.)
Stevenn and I really want to visit Colorado! Once we get a chance to plan some trips, we’ll have to reach out to you for some recommendations!
Great suggestions! I wouldn’t have thought of conventions…they look like fun!
I highly recommend them. Not everyone may be fans of anime, and that’s fine! The conventions also have fun food vendors, weapon design displays, book sales, info/networking seminars for creators, and a lot more!
Our family motto is “A Life-long Journey of Learning” And this totally goes along with that! Learning and keeping your mind sharp should happen no matter how old you are
That is a wonderful motto to have! A person who stops learning also stops growing! ❤
Yes girl we LOVE all these local things to do too! Also, another fun thing is Local farmers markets and craft fairs and community events as well! Love this post and everything you write! Keep it coming girl!!! 🙂
OMG, I forgot about the farmers markets! I miss the ones in Savannah, GA since we moved to Florida right after my college graduation! I’ll have to add that idea to another blog. ❤
Love the idea of getting out of the house and discovering fun things around your neighborhood like a museum! I love taking the family to new places right in our backyard =)
I highly recommend trails within an hour’s drive of your home as well! A majority are free to walk, and if there is a fee, it’s sometimes based on a carload instead of individual entrance (or donations too)! ?
Great ideas! I just moved, so I have a lot of exploring to do, but it’s always good to remember that you can find fun things to do in your hometown.
Congrats on the move! Exploring a new location each week I think will definitely help the new area feel more like an adventurous home!
We enjoy field trips and family activities. You have some fun ideas listed! We also enjoy parks and hiking, we enjoy looking for roadside oddities, and we, of course, like to explore new to us places.
Thank you! I like the idea of roadside oddities! It’s amazing how much more fun a trip can become with surprises along the way!
Fun ideas! I spell it theater and my husband spells it theatre (he’s from the UK!).
I love it! I personally spelled it as theatre while drafting the post, but then debated on which version to use. Same as when I spell the color “grey” when others spell it as “gray”
Kepping youreself engaged during relaxing times is for sure an imporant part! Otherwise our mind and body gets lazy. Thank you for sharing this wonderful tips!
Thank you, Anna, for coming by! It means a lot!
Great post with great ideas. As a child I went to museums with school classes and with my mother repeatedly. After awhile I never wanted to see a museum again. It’s been a long (very long) time, but I think I will take you advice and hit the museums again this summer!
Lol, I truly think the experience will be better with the interactive museums! Push all the pretty buttons for me!
I truly believe people can have a lot of fun just exploring their surroundings, and for nearly free! Great post!
Thanks, Cynthia! You speak the truth! There are so many fun local areas to explore!
Looks like a really cool place! Thank you for sharing!
No problem! Thanks for checking out the post!
I have always loved taking advantage of all of the amazing summer adventures that hometowns share. My kids were always involved in the library program, swim lessons, and going to the local lake. My sister used to love going to the the local theater programs.
Those are all amazing ways to stay active! I took a few swim lessons, but I wish I had taken more advanced courses. My life depends on doggy-paddling now!
That’s funny – I have the same trash disposal brain! I master whatever I am expected to be good at in the moment, but if I feel like I don’t need it any longer, it’s gone! Back on topic – I feel there is a lot of San Antonio I haven’t really explored yet. Great ideas to hunt down in the city – especially some of the hidden outdoors experiences!
? I’m glad that my brain isn’t the only one that does that. I’m sorry that yours share the same fate! Definitely explore as much of your local area as possible!
Great Ideas! I have them all on my list!
I hope you have a super amazing summer with that list!
Love all of these options! I’m totally on board with loving the more interactive science exhibits and museums. I love being able to touch and do all the things 🙂 I’ve never been brave enough to dress up and go to a convention, but maybe I’ll give that a try!
Many people just wear a t-shirt of their favorite cartoon to start off with! ?
I live in DC so touring my hometown is always a good time!
I want to visit more places outside of the South, so that’ll have to be on the visit list one day!
I spell it .. theater. Great ideas for summer adventures. I love museums. My son loves conventions!
I took my mom to her first anime convention back in 2013. I was surprised that she considered dressing up the next time she gets to go to another one. ?
I have so many kids of all ages here, so we spend the summer exploring every piece of water play we can find. Indoor pools. Outdoor pools, spray parks, beaches (we have water everywhere within the city) and water parks. I usually include some kind of scavenger hunt everywhere we go…. from find things with the colors of the rainbows (find six red things, 6 blue things) for the preschoolers to find 5 connected things that you can use to tell the Littles a story on the way whom… ie. water, pink swimsuit, two bottles of sunscreen, a lifeguard and a lady bug. I have great story tellers! 🙂
It’s great that you and your family can explore so many options! ❤
Love vacations that stay close to home – there is so much to explore around my hometown and great reminders to check out the local stuff!
I wish we had explored more of the last state we lived in. It’s so easy to forget that one’s home area still has many places to explore!
I am totally with you about the hands on stuff…we learn so much more by doing. When I was in school a million years ago it was mostly in your desk reading from a text book learning (sigh). My son has attended the RTX convention in Austin (gaming and video) a number of times and he loves it, so yes about conventions too!
Right!? I barely remember much from high school, but the things I do remember are activities like the field trips, the medieval festival we had, science projects, the hands-on stuff! Just about everything else my brain said, “Oh well, this is just taking up space. Delete!”
These are awesome. We looked at HSK in the summer, but even though the GSK facility isonly ten minutes away, they are doing their summer camp an hour away. 🙁
If your town has a recreation or convention center nearby, I suggest checking out their summer schedules! I’ve found random shows and activities to attend just from those alone! The prices to participate may vary though.
Wonderful tips! I love going to the museum.
Thank you and awesome! I hope it has plenty of things that allow being touched!
Great ideas, love seeing everyone have fun! We’ll be working through the summer. Craig has a 81′ yacht that he’s doing a major re-haul on that’ll take months. I’m busy with the business and now shooting photos for local restaurants in the tri-county area. For fun we paddle board and hunt through thrift stores for unique kitchen items! 🙂
Yeah, I miss having a summer vacation. If you enjoy doing photography, then I hope this summer opens up plenty of opportunities to explore fun new places in your area!
These are great suggestions! I love taking the kids to the museums and being outdoors. Anything outdoors is great.
We like to look up nature trails within an hour’s drive. We’re lucky to have a bunch near us that we randomly choose from (yay Florida)! So far, only one of them we had to pay for entry, and it was less than $10 for both of us together. Maybe there are some trails near you that the kids would like to explore!
These are great ideas! We need to switch up our summer routine!
If you and your family like the outdoors, I recommend looking up “trails near me”. Many are either free or super cheap and allows for great exploration near the home!
These are great ideas! I’ve enjoyed participating in all but the last one. I too appreciate combining learning with fun. It “sticks” better that way! ?
I’m glad that you’ve gotten a chance to try different activities that help the knowledge stick! Each activity will have a hit or miss. As long as you find what works for you, then it’ll be worth it! ?
We love going to the theater, exploring museums, visiting theme parks and taking new adventures!! Summer is a great time to embark upon these family journeys.
I glad that you and your family get to explore so many things! From your blog, I see that you get to explore Disney a good bit as well!?
We moved to the area just about a little over a year ago and my husband knew that Disney would be a high point for me. Yes, we go over quite a bit….but we’ve also spent many years living in various places where there was nothing to explore. Needless to say, I’m very grateful to be near soooo much now.