As the sun-kissed days of summer gradually fade, we tend to recollect our summer experiences with children. We don’t want one more summer to end, we want to freeze those beautiful heart-warming days of freedom with our children, as summer gives us so much of relaxation and adventures. The best way to preserve those moments and relive them again is to create a story about them with your child.
Despite of the fact, that there are so many ways to preserve memories with digital photos, making videos, writing a journal, or even a blog, writing down a story about your summer holiday adventure with your child beats all other ways. While collaborating with your little one you will give them an opportunity to reflect, to write and read, paint, and be creative in a meaningful way. Besides, your summer story will be a gift for other family members and future generations.
Writing Stories as Crystalyzing Our Memories
While taking digital photos captures meaningful moments, writing makes you reflect and crystallize what exactly you have enjoyed the most, what has happened, and why. It shouldn’t always be a thrilling and breathtaking experience, they can be little moments of summer coziness, games, pies with fruit, family gatherings, listening to bird songs, or a walk in the park. Writing makes you stop for a moment and think, about which moment was worth writing about now, what was the most interesting and meaningful.
Writing a Story Equals Being Grateful for Your Experience
Another benefit of writing a summer story with your child is reliving your summer one more time and cherishing its precious moments, impressions, and little details. While writing we choose the best moments, warm meetings, exciting adventures, and lazy pleasures and it helps to realize how full our life is, how beautiful and exciting it is, offering us so many gifts. We write and at the same time relive our summer and fill our hearts with warmth.
My Adventure Stories about Nina and Eve
When I created my first adventure story, I only wanted to share it with my young students. I thought that the accident that happened to our dachshund was so exciting and my students would love it. After my students had read my first story, I felt I had a lot more to share with them from all of my trips around the world. Having written an adventure series about Nina and Eve for my students, I actually preserved my traveling experiences and memories. I also weaved into the plot of the stories little details about my family members, e.g. in the first story Nina’s dad is drinking black tea with caramel – it’s just like my dad does. In the very first chapter, Nina tells her pet “Mind your ears. You are a girl.” – so says my mom to our Eve. Yes, she is a real dog, not an imaginary one.
How nice it would be to take a story and read it after some time with your child or with other family members. I invite your child to join my “Young Author Experience” course, which will help them to write their own unique story.
Writing Stories: a Simple Plan
It’s a great way to spend time with your child, discussing the plan of the story, what kind of illustrations you can create, or, maybe, printing real-life photos. If your child agrees to create the story on their own, it would be exciting to read it from their perspective. Here’s a simple plan.
- Brainstorm all the exciting moments of the summer.
- Pick one that you want to write about.
- Think about the structure of your story and help your child with the plan.
- After you write the plan, work on each chapter.
- Think about which moments would be best to illustrate in each chapter.
While writing, engage all of your senses and describe what you felt, saw, touched, smelled, etc. It will make your story unforgettable. Describe the warmth of the sun on your skin, the smell of sunscreen and salty air, the taste of that perfectly ripe watermelon, the sound of seagulls, and the sensation of hot sand between your toes. This activity can also teach you and your child to be more observant.
In Conclusion
Writing enables us to savor the moments that define our summers, adventures, and our happiness. Whether you do it on your own and show it later to your child, offer them to do it, or do it together, a family story about your summer holiday adventure will be a timeless treasure for you and your family.
Read more:
Simple Ways to Connect as a Family this Fall
How to Empower Young People to Tell Their Own Stories
Important Life Lessons from Our Family Vacations
Iryna Skibenko
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