27 Jul How I’m keeping my kids busy this summer
A beautifully written testimony from one of Clever Tykes’ happy customers:
The summer has begun! And by summer, I mean, I have the kids all day every day. As a parent, this happy time is defined by the continual presence of your delightful offspring and it’s time to ask yourself that age-old question, “how do I keep my kids busy this summer?”
Maybe I’m ‘old school’ but I try not to just hand the kids my iPad or have them staring at the gogglebox the whole day. I am trying desperately to get them outside playing with their friends, playing real-life board games and reading actual books (yes, with real paper!). Personally, I see a real difference in my kid’s friends, between the ones who seemingly tap away at a screen for 10 hours of the day and the ones who spend most of their time in the ‘real world’. The latter seem to communicate with people far better and their attention spans are longer, they don’t need to be doing two or three things at once to be content.
I recently came across the Clever Tykes books, through a friend of a friend, and they looked perfect for my eldest (8 3/4) and I’d be able to help my second eldest (5 1/2) with them too. I had been impressed with their ethos and that the books were educational and would provide lots of extra things to do and discuss (and, yes, they’re real books!).
We started with Walk-it Willow, it seems to be the easiest to read and my youngest could have a go at some of the pages. All of the books are very well written and beautifully illustrated, which really helps keep the interest of children who can’t read them easily. Walk-it Willow is very funny and all the dogs provide wonderful points of interest. We then moved on to Code-it Cody. This book is less obviously about enterprise but there are still lots of important lessons to be learned. The main thing that came out of the book is that my eldest is desperate for me to teach him how to code. I know nothing about coding (as you might have guessed) so we’re going to a weekly coding club for him to learn, which I’m pleased about because everyone is saying what an important skill it is today.
We saved Change-it Cho for last, a recommendation of the friend of a friend. The reading level is slightly higher and it is more adult in the content and it is definitely the best book! I won’t spoil the stories for you but I’d like to say how enjoyable and engaging they are, especially for educational books – I’ve never read anything like this with them before.
One of the best things about the Clever Tykes books is that there are so many lessons and values in the stories that can also be developed through discussions. Every chapter gives rise to something you could discuss with your children, whether it’s about life, staying safe, enterprise or just being a good human being.
I can honestly say that the Clever Tykes books are the perfect way to keep your kids busy this summer and have them going back to school with more self-belief, more skills and an open mind!
