With summer here, the kids are home, safe under your roof, and all yours for at least a couple of months.

When my kids were little, I loved having them to myself for the summer.

No school schedules, no book reports or homework…just lots of time to do whatever we wanted to do.

On the last day of school, we’d sit and come up with a bucket list for their summer break.

It was full of things like visiting the misfit zoo and Cameron Park Lake and the library, swim lessons, picnics, watching movies, reading, playing games, having friends over, painting at the local pottery place, day trips to the city.

I loved all of it!

I think they did, too. (I’m pretty sure they did.)

There was also lots of downtime.

As there should be.

Time to daydream, create and play.

With that in mind, have you ever considered creating a kids’ corner?

It doesn’t have to be over-the-top.

You just need an actual corner of a room, some comfy seating (like bean bag chairs or pillows).

If you don’t have an actual desk available, a lap desk would be excellent or a clipboard (I prefer a lap desk pad rather than a lap desk tray simply because the pad can be tilted to make writing on it easier.).

Your kids can make a door hanger that says something like: “Shhhhh! Being Creative! DO NOT DISTURB.”

Stock the area with blank paper for writing stories and drawing illustrations, some colored pens because it’s fun to think in color, and lots of books for inspiration.

Picture books are a great source of ideas, even if your kids are beyond them.

I like anything by Cynthia Rylant such as The Old Woman Who Named Things or The Relatives Came.

Alphabet books with beautiful illustrations are fun.

Try Animalia by Graeme Base.

Poetry books are a good choice, too.

My favorite, of course, is A Child’s Garden of Verses.

Stevenson’s poems are so image-full.

Toss in some illustrated fairy tales.

Don’t forget art books of famous paintings.

I like Norman Rockwell for this or anything with a lot going on in the paintings.

Your child can make up a story about what is happening in the picture or what the backstory is.

Another good source to jiggle the imagination are books of quotes.

They provide great ideas for story themes.

Try 8,789 Words of Wisdom by Barbara Ann Kipfer.

Really anything that makes the brain start churning.

But don’t feel like you need to buy books.

You can always get them from the library and have a rotating source of inspiration all summer long!

Tape a big sign to the wall that says, “What if…?”

It’s a fantastic phrase.

Hang a sturdy ribbon or rope so the authors can clip up their stories and watch the collection grow throughout the summer.

You can also take the stories to a printer and have them bookbound.

No matter what, make sure they’ve drawn a cover illustration with the story’s title.

Don’t forget to have them write their name on every story!

You’ll appreciate a date, too.

It’s fun to have your kids’ friends and family write a review and include those on the back cover.

Something along the lines of: “Great debut book by Tony! Looking forward to the next one!” or “A perfect book for cat lovers!” or “You won’t sleep until you’ve finished this great story about an evil king in an ancient castle.”

For more writing inspiration, check out my blog posts: Everyday Magic A to Z; Writing Exercise for Kids; and Making Connections: When Kids See Themselves in Story.

Have yourself a creative and fun summer.

(I hope you write something, too.)

~gail

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