Hi Dear Friends,

I hope your summer is off to the most wonderful start.

Here in New York, we have ten glorious weeks stretching ahead of us. The sun, the open sky, the sound of birds singing — it’s everything we look forward to all year long, a welcome trade for my usual window view of city buildings and rooftops.

Last Thursday, we packed up and headed upstate.

This Monday, my two-year-old had her playgroup orientation.

They handed the little ones smiley face cutouts. Stickers. Crayons. And said: decorate.

So I watched.

My daughter grabbed the stickers and colors were flying — dots landing everywhere, cheeks, forehead, chin — with total, uninhibited glee. No plan. No system. Just pure joy in motion.

Her little friend sitting next to her?

She studied the face carefully. Placed one sticker precisely where the eye is. Then the other. Then traced the curve of the mouth — and filled it in, dot by dot, with quiet, deliberate intention.

Same smiley face. Same stickers. Two completely different masterpieces.

And both of them?

Absolutely perfect.

The picture that started the blog!

I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Because isn’t that exactly who our children are — all year long?

One reaches and grabs and dives in. One pauses, thinks, and moves with care. One needs to feel it before she can do it. One needs to understand it before she can feel it.

And during the school year — with good reason — we often ask them both to do it the same way.

The schedule asks it. The curriculum asks it. The classroom asks it.

Structure is necessary. Routine matters.

But now?

Now is their time.

Summer is not just a break from school.

It is an invitation for each child to be herself.

Not as the student who needs to catch up. Not as the one who needs to slow down. Not as the child who fits — or doesn’t fit — the mold.

Just as herself. Fully, freely, gloriously.

This is the season to let your child’s personality be the catalyst — not the challenge.

3 Ways to Let Your Child Soar This Summer

1. Follow his or her lead — literally.

Watch what he or she gravitates toward when no one is directing them. Is he organizing his toys by color? Is she building elaborate imaginary worlds? Running before thinking? That is their genius. Let it breathe. Observe without redirecting. You’ll learn more about him in one afternoon than in a whole school year of progress reports.

2. Celebrate how she does things, not just what she does.

Did he finish the puzzle? Wonderful. But how did he do it? Did he dump all the pieces and dive in, or sort the edges first? Narrate what you notice: “I love how you figured that out.” That simple sentence tells him — or her: your way is valid. Your way is valued. Your way is you — and that is the beauty.

3. Resist the urge to even out the differences — and lean into each one with joy.

If you have more than one child, summer has a way of making the contrasts very visible. One thrives in chaos, one needs quiet. One is up at dawn, one wakes slowly. Rather than smoothing out the differences, lean into them. Create small moments tailored to each one — ten minutes that belong to him, his pace, his choice, his spark. Ten minutes of following his train track wherever it goes. Ten minutes of watching her arrange her dolls just so — oohing and ahhing over every careful placement as she lines them up. These ten minutes are where your child feels seen. This is where your child(ren) learns: I am good being me. That’s the kind of memory that lasts long past summer.

Soak it in. The arts and crafts that look nothing like the example — and the ones that look exactly like it, because he measured twice and chose every color with care.

The one who lines up her crayons before she begins. The one who races through breakfast and the one who savors every bite.

It’s all part of who they are — and it’s worth celebrating.

However you’re summering — in the mountains, in the city, at home or with a short getaway-enjoy your summer, celebrating the beauty of each child.

Because those stickers placed in all the wrong places?

They were placed exactly right.

Wishing you the sweetest summer,

The SMARTIE Buddy Team 🌱