Last summer we nearly blew it. In Indiana we are fairly new to daylight savings time. Thus, we aren’t used to it being daylight till 10:00 at night. A chance remark let us know that we were missing a huge summer memory with our youngest daughter. We were reading a book that mentioned fireflies. “What’s a firefly?” asked our daughter.

“Honey, you know—the bugs that light up at night.” Blank stare. As I thought, I realized that, though we were playing outside till after 9:00 each night, she had never seen a firefly. We made a date to stay up late and catch fireflies. We finished with ice cream sundaes on the porch—a wonderful summer memory. One we nearly missed.

Summer goes quickly. By mid-June firefly season is nearly over. Unless parents strategically plan—we can miss some of the best summer moments with our children. While there’s still time—make a list of all the special summer memories you want to create with your children. Then, pull out your calendar and schedule at least one per week for the rest of summer. With camps, coaches, church groups, and extended family all scheduling summer events, it’s easy for our family plans to get lost in the shuffle. We find ourselves shopping for back-to-school specials and realizing that summer slipped by without our doing any of the activities that make summer special for our family. A few too many of those, and the children get past a stage without our sharing the memories together.

The key—be as proactive about scheduling as everyone else. Get activities—even the little but special—on the calendar and guard the time. When we do this, we get to the end of summer and have a bounty of shared experiences that build family.

If you need help getting started, a few suggestions:
• Chase fireflies (of course!)
• Have a bonfire and eat s’mores
• Go fishing—be sure to get necessary permits (children typically don’t need,but adults do)
• Take a long bike ride
• Lay in the grass and watch clouds
• Pick fresh berries
• Rent paddleboats
• Read a spooky story by campfire/candlelight
• Run in the sprinkler
• Visit the zoo
• Feed ducks
• Play badminton
• Have an all-night movie night—each family member picks their favorite movie and snack, pile the pillows and blankets, and enjoy
• Visit an ethnic festival
• Go to a drive-in
• Have a marathon euchre game
• Throw rocks in a pond, lake, creek, river. . .

You get the idea. With a little intentional planning, this summer can be a series of mini-adventures where you build your family through the memories you create.