Hey there Big Picture students. Tami Morrison here with big news! Guess what? Kidding Around is back this summer by popular demand. I am super excited! If you’ve taken this class before then you know that it is jam-packed with fun summer activities and journaling prompts to keep the kids busy and engaged and expressing themselves through writing and creativity. The content, once again, is mostly new, meaning I will be repeating a few activities and prompts that were popular in the past, but there will be lots of new stuff as well. I base the assignments this year on the Sky Blue Smash Book which will be available to order through Big Picture once you’ve registered.

Oh, and I’ve listened to your feedback and included even more writing prompts for your kids this year. Now if you haven’t taken Kidding Around before, here’s what you need to know. Kidding Around is a memory keeping and art journaling experience for kids. This is my third year teaching it and it evolves just a little bit each year based on new ideas and feedback, but essentially your child will receive a daily assignment via email Monday through Friday which will include a journal prompt or an activity to do, or sometimes both. Monday through Thursday they’ll be writing and creating in their journals based on the prompts. On our FUN-tastic Fridays – those are reserved for the more involved or messy or field trippy types of activities to give you a little extra time over the weekend if you need it. All of the activities will be available at once in a handy calendar format in the classroom so you’ll be able to look ahead and plan accordingly or go back and catch up on assignments you missed if you need to.

I’ve got to say, this is one of my favorite classes to teach because not only do I love seeing the kids embrace the assignments and express themselves creatively, but I also really enjoy helping you moms out with keeping your kids entertained over the summer. Trust me; I know how hard it can be. I’ve got four kids of my own, two all grown up and a twelve and an eight year old at home, so I am more than aware of the challenges of that less structured time over the summer and that desire to create an amazing summer for them that’s memorable and fun without going crazy or going broke. It can be a really tall order to cram all of those good intentions into those 11 or so weeks of summer vacation.

So, if you want to be that super cool Mom who does fun stuff with their kids over the summer, but you just don’t have the time or the knack for coming up with all the ideas or the funds to enroll in all kinds of camps and activities to keep them busy, then this is the class for you. For the screaming deal of just five dollars a week you’ll get a month and a half of sanity-saving boredom-busting prompts that will make you look like Super Mom. And bonus, your kids will also be practicing their writing skills and combating that dreaded summer brain drain, hopefully, while they’re having fun. Plus, they will end up with a great memento of their summer told in their own voice. Seriously, how cool would that be to look back on? So give yourself a break this summer, sign up for Kidding Around {3}, and let me help you make this a fun and memorable summer for your kids. I look forward to seeing all of you who have joined me before, and I hope to see lots of new friends as well. It’s going to big fun!