The sun is out, the skies are blue and the world is coming to life – summer is here and it’s the perfect time for family fun. You can get outdoors and get that all-important vitamin D (remembering to wear sunscreen, of course) – a great natural mood-booster. While summer can be a time of great enjoyment, it can also bring with it some challenges. With no school to attend, the days can start to feel long and you might find yourself struggling to entertain your kids. Never fear – we’re here to offer some suggestions on ways to boost your family’s mood this summer. Read on to uncover ways to keep a healthy body and healthy mind this summer, as we look at activities, events and recipes to keep your family in good spirits all summer long.

If you’re interested in foster care, please reach out to Orchard Fostering today. We’re available on the phone or via email – you can also fill out a form directly on our contact page. 

Healthy activities for the fostering family

One of the keys to boosting your family’s mood this summer is ensuring that the activities you and the children in your care take part in are good for both your body and your mind. By focusing on healthy activities – activities that are fun and good for you – you can reduce stress and anxiety, ensuring that summer fatigue, stress and tiredness does not set in for you or your family. There are tonnes of things you can do to boost your family’s mood this summer. Here are some of our top suggestions.

  • Investigate and explore the history of your local area: We take our locality for granted. Why not make it your summer mission to uncover the history of your local area? Bring the children in your care out walking and get them to make notes about anything interesting they notice on their investigative journey. Bring these notes home and do some research together, online, in your local library, or by asking a neighbour or family member. Retrace your walk and get them to explain parts of the locality to you. At the end of their investigation, they’ll know more about their world – and they’ll have exercised their brains and their bodies.
  • Make a playlist of your favourite summer songs and have a dance party: This one is great for rainy days! Work with your children to create a playlist of their favourite songs – and create a dance party playlist that you can crack out whenever you need to bust a move. Dancing is a great way of using up energy and can help to reduce stress and anxiety.
  • Get back to basics with some old-school playground games: Red rover, red rover… Reach back into your memories and you will find the rules for dozens of playground games from days gone by. These games are classics and the children in your care will love them. If you need a refresher, check out this website for a list of games (and the all-important rules!) you can play this summer.

These are just some activities you can take part in this summer. Check out our previous suggestions for summer activities.

Fun events this summer for the fostering family

Sometimes you need to get out of the house and experience some family-friendly entertainment. Attending a fun-filled family event is a great way to boost your family’s mood this summer. This summer, there are tonnes of family-friendly events taking place all across the country. These events can be great bonding experiences for you and the children in your care. There are great websites listing upcoming summer events (both paid and free), like schooldays.ie and familyfun.ie – keep an eye on these sites for events in your local area.

The family event we’re most looking forward to is one of our own. This July, we’re taking our carers and the children in their care on a big day out to Castleview Farm. They’ll get to experience life on a farm, interact with animals and have an all-round great time in the summer sun.

Summer recipes for the fostering family boost

We’ve talked before about the importance of healthy eating and its connection to mental health and physical wellbeing. Cooking with your foster child is a fantastic way to build bonds – and teach them an essential life skill. Summertime offers a great opportunity to expand your cooking repertoire, giving you the chance to try out new dishes. By focusing on fresh, in-season ingredients you can ensure that your family’s mood is boosted across the season. Whether it’s learning how to make a summery paella or finally attempting a rhubarb crumble, there are endless recipes available on the BBC’s website, as well as some young person-specific recipes for when they want to give you a hand in the kitchen.

If you’re interested in foster care, please reach out to Orchard Fostering today. We’re available on the phone or via email – you can also fill out a form directly on our contact page.