Social activities and goals

Social

We need people! We need the interaction. We need to get outside of ourselves. Serving is an excellent way to be social and feed our spirit (double whammy). The youth struggle with social interactions. Face to face interactions. They are so used to communicating through a device they don't know how to communicate in real life. 
For more ideas go here. 

Goals

1. Volunteer (animal shelter, homeless shelter, check your community calendar for other opportunities) Check out the justserve app to find service opportunities in your area. 
2. Join a club (check with your library, school or city hall)
3. Be more assertive https://nobelcoaching.com/emotional-skills/
4. Improve your listening skills
5. Improve your emotional self awareness
6. Be more organized
7. Sit by someone new every Tuesday
8. Choose a relationship you would like to strengthen and make a plan for how you will do that (grandparent, parent, sibling, friend, etc)
9. Write a letter or send a card to someone once a month

Activies

1. Volunteer (animal shelter, homeless shelter, check your community calendar for other opportunities) Check out the justserve app to find other opportunities for service in your area. 
2. Join a club (check with the library or city hall)
3. Play a board or card game
4. Make a card and sent it to someone
5. Plan a picnic
6. Plan a movie marathon (what will you watch, when, food, who's invited)
7. Have a water fight
8. Choose a community event to attend
9. Create a scavenger hunt
10. Read to Lincoln
11. Serve a neighbor
12. Send someone a box of sunshine
13. Write to a pen-pal (soldier, child in a hospital, favorite author, missionary)
• http://www.cardsforhospitalizedkids.com/make-general-cards.html
• https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/sponsored-content/USPS/how-write-letters-encouragement/
• http://www.operationwearehere.com/IdeasforSoldiersCardsLetters.html
• https://www.operationgratitude.com/express-your-thanks/write-letters/
• https://www.stjude.org/get-involved/other-ways/holiday-cheer-online-card.html?sc_icid=gi-mm-tg-holidaywishes
• Find people you know who could use some happy mail. My friend recently told me of some of her family struggles so I decided to write to her daughters. We'll see how that goes. 
14. Plan a family talent show

Summer

I've been obsessing a bit about next summer. I just want it to be successful. I want to create memories. I want them to enjoy their time with us. I want the kids to WANT to come back. I want them to feel loved. I want them to do more than sit on screens ALL SUMMER LONG.
So I've been brainstorming and polling and pinning like a crazy person. I love the new youth program from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I think it's so important for people to take ownership of their development. Especially in the critical teenage years.
I've been working on a summer routine/plan to get the kids off screens and trying new things. I've gone back and forth on how to implement it. Do I work in an allowance, do they just get an allowance and this is extra, no allowance and they earn everything, etc. Still ironing out those details. I'll have to talk with Bryan on that.
I'm going to ask the kids for ideas they have, give them my list and see what interests them and make sure I have the supplies. I think I'll ask my nieces and nephews as well. If they are interested in something the kids aren't, the cousins might be able to spark an interest in at least trying something else.
I've got their must do list for every day

1. make your bed
2. clean your room
3. read 20 minutes
4. do your assigned chore (still don't know what those will be)
5. work in the garden x number of minutes

That's it. Those are the things they need to do every day. When those are done, they will get 2 hours of screen time. After that, I'm still working on how more time will be added. I'm sure there will be a lot of revisions. Especially when things actually get started and I see what ACTUALLY works. There could be a lot of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Lots of wifi password changing. But I'm willing to do it, if it means there are actual memories made and there aren't video games going 24/7.

The categories for them to choose from go with the youth program spiritual, physical, intellectual and social. They will not be required to do any of them. If all they do are the physical tasks, that's fine. If all they do is social, that's fine. I won't force them to do any of it. If they choose to sit and stare at the wall because they don't want to do any of the choices or make up their own, that's their choice. Hopefully they will find a new hobby or two and move more than their thumbs.