Summer with the Boys

Summer with the Boys: Truths and Tips from Boys Only Camp 2011

By Sensei Tom Dubitsky
September 9th, 2011

Summer 2012 will be here before you know it.  To make the most of the extra time you have with your son, here are the Top 10 Truths and Tips from Sensei Tom

10. Take it outside. The walls of the biggest rooms start to close in when the sun is shining and boys are seeing their summer break pass by out the window.

9.  Energy, energy, energy! Keep moving- even high tech play (like making a comic book on an iPad) can lose its novelty fairly quickly. 30 minutes tops before “How much longer do we have to do this?” is asked.

8.  When teaching or revisiting a lesson (teamwork, leadership, respect, or assertiveness) disguise the repetition with different activities.

7. “I don’t want to use my brain.”  Use dialoguing and parallel play to engage “heavy” discussion. Try throwing a football around while discussing homework strategy, or cleaning the garage together when asking about an incident at school.

6. Boys are often unaware that there are other pedestrians walking on the sidewalk!!!

5. Keep activities simple. Go to the park or to the beach. There is so much to discover on a hike or in the sand, or at a picnic!

4. Boys respect clarity of rules, boundaries, and fair consequences.

3. We all love and need free time. For boys, I call it “unstructured structured time.” Step aside and let them just be.

2. A motivated mind is a happy mind. Lead, challenge, and inspire your boys with simple jobs such as helping to prepare a meal or visiting the farmers market.

1. Discipline – Smishipline. It’s your summer too. Loosen the reigns a little and have fun alongside your son! (After #4 has been firmly established, of course)