Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to choose weekly themes. Just as summer
Speaker 1: camps often follow a certain theme for a week, adopting
Speaker 1: a theme for your summer weeks can make them a
Speaker 1: lot more fun. I love camps. I enjoy seeing the
Speaker 1: brochures when I help my children choose their camps each summer.
Speaker 1: Part of the fun is seeing what different topics you
Speaker 1: could learn about. An art camp might offer ceramics week
Speaker 1: and portraits week, or makeup for movies and stage week.
Speaker 1: A nature camp might offer a water week or a
Speaker 1: creepy crawley insects week. My friend Audrey Monkey runs a
Speaker 1: summer camp and as the author of the book Happy Campers,
Speaker 1: which is all about how to bring the magic of
Speaker 1: camp home to your family. She recently wrote a blog
Speaker 1: post recommending that people choose themes for their summers pretty
Speaker 1: similar to what camps do. I love this idea. Your
Speaker 1: family could have a mountain biking theme you plan multiple
Speaker 1: such excursions into the period of a week or two.
Speaker 1: You could have a mystery novel theme where you all
Speaker 1: try some new authors from different eras. You could have
Speaker 1: a candle making themed week or a state parks a month.
Speaker 1: You could also choose particular values to highlight two Gratitude
Speaker 1: Month where you try different gratitude practices, or Service Month
Speaker 1: where you specifically plan a few excursions to volunteer as
Speaker 1: a family. To really make something into a theme, it
Speaker 1: helps to hit on the topic from multiple angles. During
Speaker 1: State Park Month, for instance, you would obviously visit a
Speaker 1: few state parks, but you might also read books about
Speaker 1: their history. Who are watching any movies or TV shows
Speaker 1: set with them as backdrops? You could try a new
Speaker 1: activity at each park, canoeing at one, bird watching at another. Yes,
Speaker 1: this all takes effort, but that is part of the
Speaker 1: fun of camp. It is serious fun. It is planned
Speaker 1: and thought through. It's not the effortless fun of scrolling
Speaker 1: through social media, and therein lies the magic. If you'd
Speaker 1: like your summer to be similarly fun, aiming for effortful
Speaker 1: rather than effortless might be worth a try. So consider
Speaker 1: what themes you'd like to adopt for your summer picture,
Speaker 1: how you might advertise them on a camp brochure. Ask
Speaker 1: your family members what themes would intrigue them together. You'll
Speaker 1: really get the wheels turning. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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