 With gas prices soaring, no doubt we'll all be a bit more home this summer than anticipated. This can be very unfamiliar territory for your girls and figuring what to do with down time not at all a comfortable situation. Thankfully, there’s a great book out to help your girls recapture their imaginations: The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz.
When we were girls, we didn’t need books like this. Our childhoods were filled with free time and time to explore the universe of the outside world and the world inside our minds. Today’s kids are so preprogrammed, figuring out what to do with those unscheduled times can be daunting. They very much need this book to reclaim what we had - and what they need.
There is a lot of data supporting the need for free plan and down time. The fact that we need books to help our kids capture their imaginations is a testament to where our society has gone from and gone to. Where health is concerned, there is a lot to be said for a book that gives our girls the skills they need to just move their bodies – their entire bodies. We don’t want them to focus on just one part the way youth sports programs do today. We want them to run, jump, climb trees, play hopscotch and all the good things we did as kids. We want them to play jacks and hone those fine motor skills and the thrill of the next game. And, realize it is ok to lose this one and win the next.
There is a lot to be said for a book that gets our girls reading, creating, dreaming and imaging. My 10 year old daughter has honestly not been able to put this book down since it arrived - I can't recall the last time any book has inspired her that way.
Andi Buchanan, co-author of The Daring Book For Girls, said it best by email when she told me:
“ Our basic philosophy about these things is that we want girls to know that the world is a big place and that they have a place in it; and our "daring girls credo" is probably worth quoting: Enjoy yourself, explore new things, and lead an interesting life.”
My advice for this summer is to avoid preplanning every minute for your girls. Instead, get them this book, pour yourself an ice tea, and just sit near by and watch what unfolds! And, during the school year, use the book to help them refuel their souls after focusing in those long school days....
My Final 2cents: 
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