By: Dallin Rahlf

Do you remember what it was like to go back to school grades k-12? I don’t know about you, but I wrestled with a couple emotions. On one, I was absolutely furious about losing my freedom of summer and essentially being able to do what I wanted. I could ride my bike, go swimming, play football, lounge, and do all the things that made being a kid awesome. The thought of going back to the ol’ 7:20am to 3:14pm was nothing to look forward to. On the other hand… something got me absolutely HYPED for back to school shopping. I’m not one to get excited about notebooks and different colors of binders and organizing them into classes, but it was sick.

Going back to school doesn’t have to be all bad. Families shouldn’t stop having fun just because there’s a little more scheduling in the day-to-day life. Follow our tips below on how to have fun with the whole family despite school being back in session.

1. Family dinners together.

Did you know that only 30% of families eat dinner together? Growing up in a home that emphasized our family dinner time, it made me grateful that my parents put forth the effort to have us all in one place at one time. We’d laugh, talk to each other, catch up on what we did that day, and enjoyed mom’s awesome cooking.

Eating dinner together is something I will never regret. I’m glad that I got over myself in those rebellious teenage years to still eat dinner with my family every night. It’s something we still do as a family whenever we take vacations together. If you need a couple more reasons to start the daily tradition in your family, check out this Harvard study.

2. Plan to have a family night out when the schedule allows.

This one can be tougher than it seems. There’s nothing particularly difficult about going out on the GetOutPass to an entertainment center, or an amusement park, or a trampoline gym. The entire process is rather simple in theory. What’s difficult is planning to do it and following up with it. Sometimes you’re gonna feel lazy and not want to leave the house for the 11^thtime. You’ll find it a much better idea to just sit around on the couch and veg out. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes that is great. But I can’t stress enough how much fun it is for the whole family to get out of the house and visit an attraction all together. 

The toughest part is just to get out the door. Once you do that, everything takes care of itself. Try to find the weeknight that works for everyone. If that doesn’t work, use some time in the weekend to go somewhere. It doesn’t have to be an all-day thing—an hour of fun is worth the effort.

3. Have each person have their “night” for a week.

This is a fun idea that can help each person in the family show off their unique talents and interests. Each person in your family has 30 minutes assigned one night of the week. The family comes together and does the activity of that person’s choosing. It can be watching a certain show, going out for a fun dessert, playing a game, doing something silly, etc.

When we did this as a family, it was such an exciting week for everyone. I can still remember times when I was 5 years old when we did something like this. I was stoked to have everyone play hide and seek. What made it so memorable was having mom and dad play this “childish” game and giggling with everyone! The whole idea is easy, fun, and lets everyone get to know each other a little better. My brothers and I had an awesome experience with this 

4. Have a homework party

“Homework” and “party” are rarely two words I put together in a sentence but stay with me on this one. You can try and plan a 30-minute chunk where everyone does their homework together and mom and dad help with some tutoring. My parents would do this for me, and it was super nice. Mom was great an English, and dad was great at math. It was cool to see them take time out of their busy lives to help me out.

Don’t be surprised, however, if you find yourself falling behind on the current trends of how they’re teaching how to do things. I am astounded at how different my 5^th grade nephew’s process goes for solving math problems. Plus, I feel like kids are getting smarter and smarter, so by the time they’re hitting middle school I’m starting to get nervous about how much I remember about the French Revolution or how to balance an equation. If you need to, hit up YouTube University for some pregame help on solving for x. There’s no shame in it. All of us felt as stressed as our boy Robert Parr. 

5. Have a big event in each month

I totally understand when some families say that they have literally no time to go out and do something fun most weeks. With school, jobs, practices, working out, after school activities, play dates, homework, and so much more, it can be stressful to do something unique every week. No worries, my friend. Sometimes the best reward for all that hard work can be a great, big event that the family can all get excited for.

Mark your calendars with whatever you pick and make it your goal to do it. Is it a trip to an amusement park? Going to the movies and getting the massive bucket of popcorn? Paintball? Weekend trip to the lake? Whatever it is, make it something exciting for the entire family to set their sights on. Kids deserve it, YOU deserve it, and it will keep you excited for something every month.