Tami Morrison is a mom of four, an instructor at Big Picture Scrapbooking, a member of the Ella Friends team at Ella Publishing, and a kid at heart. She considers herself one of the real housewives of Orange County, CA, where she stays chronically busy and one step behind the housekeeping at all times.
No one experiences summer to its fullest quite like a kid. Children, with their uninhibited joie de vivre, are uniquely wired to make the most of the carefree, possibility-filled summer days.
Take a cue from the juvenile playbook, and rediscover your inner ice cream truck-chasing, tree-climbing, imaginative self. Here are seven ways to connect with a little bit of childhood wonder this summer:
1. Go barefoot
Relish the feeling of grass or sand between your toes!
2. Run through the sprinklers
I’m pretty sure it’s a fact that playing in the sprinklers will make you feel 98% more like a kid.
3. Eat a popsicle
Which flavor takes you back to your youth?
4. Daydream
Kids have the market cornered on this skill…just ask any math teacher! Adults should cultivate daydreaming. It’s not only great for kindling creativity, but visualization can help you set and reach goals.
5. Play outside
When’s the last time you went outside to play? Skip rope, shoot some hoops, set up a tea party on the front lawn, or just ride your bike around the block a few times and feel the wind your hair.
6. Color
Grab a box of crayons, and let your imagination go wild. Coloring is a good form of active meditation, improving focus and opening up creativity channels.
7. Watch cartoons
Rent some old favorites, or check out what the kids today are watching. There’s nothing like a little cartoon humor to liberate your inner kid.
Once you’ve accessed your childhood mindset, how about unlocking some of your favorite childhood summer memories and making a scrapbook page about them? Just start writing down recollections, free association-style, and see where it takes you.
I was surprised to find I quickly filled a notebook page with my nostalgic reveries. With my memories on paper, it was easy to pare them down to a selection of favorites for my layout, with plenty of future page ideas left over.
Tip: Don’t let a lack of photos stop you from documenting those childhood memories! You can always opt for a photoless page, or Google some images like I did for visual support.
Tami Morrison scrapbooks to stay mindful of the stuff that matters, and to celebrate the fun things in life. Her latest BPS class, Kidding Around, is full of summer fun for children of all ages and their favorite scrapbooking grownups. Kidding Around is open for registration now and begins July 8. Visit Tami on her blog and on Twitter.
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