Make muddy, creative memories this summer
The most memorable summer Lauren Runion can recall was when she was 8 or 9 years old. Her parents decided not to do a vegetable garden that year, which left an unclaimed patch of dirt in its place. As children do, Runion and her three younger siblings took this dirt patch as an open invitation to build a muddy wonderland.
“We got hold of the hose and created canals, landings and all sorts of things,” remembers Runion. “We had a vision and a dream and we were building toward it. It took about three days for my mom to put the ‘kaputs’ on it because she was just tired of hand-washing the red mud out of our clothes. But that sense of free-range, wild imagination was so magical.”
First as a school art teacher and currently as the owner/teacher of Yellowbobbypins Art Camp, Runion has made a career of inspiring those imaginative moments in children. So, we asked Runion to give us her top tips and tricks for creating a memorable summer for children and adults alike.
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Boredom can be beautiful
While it is tempting to provide entertainment or education for every minute of summer, Runion cautions against it.
“Oh, you're bored? That's fine! You're allowed to be bored,” laughs Runion. “There's so much research that just says boredom is where the next great idea comes from. And if we don't ever give our kids permission to hit that space where they're bored, their ideas aren't coming.”
Summer is outside
Yes, summer in the South is hot, but being outside has innumerable benefits that go beyond fresh air and physical health.
“We want our kids to have long attention spans, but we don't put them in a place where long attention spans are required,” Runion says. “Yes, kids are asked to pay attention at school, but it's cut off after a certain time when there’s a class change or you have to move on to the next subject, whereas Mother Nature doesn't do that to us. She says, ‘Hey, the sun's up, come play,’ or ‘The sun just went down, are you going to lay out and look at the stars?’ Mother Nature has a long attention span and asks the same of us.”
Getting outside doesn't mean you have to plan a daily hike or go foraging through the forest for dinner. A memorable summer can be as simple as buying a tomato plant and learning how to care for it.
“It's playing the long game,” Runion says. “Seeing something through, watching the evolution and seeing what changes and what doesn't, can capture your attention and your imagination.”
Water works
Of course, water can go a long way to beating the heat, but it can also spark imagination.
“Instead of taking your car to the car wash, put on your bathing suits and wash the car as a family,” Runion says. “Of course, it's going to end up with everybody being soaked and chased around with the hose, but just being silly in that moment, that's the memory and that’s just as valuable as a pool membership or waterpark pass.”
Create “yes” spaces
Going from the structure of school to summer can send a house into chaos. Runion recommends creating designated “yes” spaces to help establish boundaries and encourage play.
“Think about how many times a day you have to say no to your kids,” she says. “Being able to say, ‘in this space, the answer is yes,’ encourages kids to trust and explore their own ideas.”
Runion suggests setting up an outside “yes” space and an inside “yes” space. An outside space can be a spot in the yard where kids are allowed to dig and make a mess to their heart's content (please include shovels, water buckets and other fun, muddy things). If a messy spot in your yard gives you pause, Runion says a large container of dirt and the hose will also do.
An inside space can be as simple as a silicone mat where Play-Doh, paints and whatever other creative outlets your kid enjoys are all fair game as long as they stay on the designated mat.
Summer stock-up
While it is tempting to buy every toy an Instagram influencer deems essential, Runion says memorable summers are essentially free to any family willing to dance in the rain and get a little messy. Here are a few things that can facilitate summer magic:
- Different sizes of bowls and muffin tins from a thrift store can be used for anything from mud pies to freezing little toys in water so kids have to figure out the best way to rescue them.
- “I like to stock up on sidewalk chalk,” Runion says. “I don't just mean four pieces. I mean a 48-count set or something like that. It has so many imaginative uses beyond just drawing on the driveway. You can color trees, use it in the rain to make a rainbow river or hammer the scrap pieces into colorful dust.”
- Lastly, Runion’s favorite summer essential is a white or clear shower curtain. “Kids just love to paint and heaven knows no parent needs another painting to decorate their house. So let them create their works of art on a shower curtain, let them show it off and take whatever photographs they want. Then they get the hose and have even more fun while they spray it clean.”
Social slow down
Between the backyard barbecues, playdates, camps and vacations, summer can be endlessly social, but Runion says there is value in alone time.
“I celebrate the time in summer where kids can kind of brush off other people's opinions of them and kind of nestle into who they truly are as human beings and grow stronger in their own identity,” Runion says. “This is a time for a child to go deeper into the things that they're passionate about. And if that means they go to a summer camp, do it. If that means they hang out with someone that shares their interests, great. Or if it means that they explore their passion on their own doing whatever it is that sparks their imagination, there is magic in that too.”
Summer school
While the summer slump or slide is a real thing, its antidote doesn’t have to be a rigid learning schedule. Instead, it can be as simple as creating a reading list and offering small rewards for each book or learning life (and math) skills while cooking a menu the kids have designed.
“Once you grow up and leave the school system, you don't usually have tests anymore,” Runion says. “You just have to do something until you’ve learned it. And maybe your boss will say thumbs up or thumbs down or you get a raise, but in our day-to-day lives, we cook a meal and our family goes, ‘well, that was amazing.’ Or they say, ‘Hey, that was really good, but next time add a little more salt.’ And so you cook it again the next time and do it better. I think in life (outside of school) we learn in microdoses. Summer is that chance for kids to practice honing skills in a way that replicates life rather than school.”
Picture perfect summer
This summer, take the photos where everyone is smiling at the camera and you can’t see the pasty white sunscreen that has mixed with the red mud on your kids’ cheeks, but also consider taking photos of the mess.
“When I look at photos of my daughter, there's really sweet, perfect photos of her smiling and looking at the camera, but it's those photos of when she painted her entire belly and her highchair tray was covered in it and I captured the pure chaos – those are the photos and moments in life that really make you smile,” Runion says. “When you're an adult, life is still messy, but it's not as cheerful. So, embrace the mess – within reason – and make this summer memorable.”
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Make muddy, creative memories this summer
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