Summer Stuff

Hooray! School's out and it's time for some summer fun (mixed in with some summer learning and structure). I'm going to let you in on a little secret about me. I love schedules and I love making lists! This trait also has its own vice. I am not very good at spontaneous fun. Since I am aware of this downfall in myself, I have tried to come up with a summer schedule that mixes in a little bit of everything. So, here we go, my summer schedule (in list form):

1. Summer School -- I am a big believer in keeping kids minds engaged during the months away from school. So, each morning I will be holding summer school, and I am Teacher Mommy. I did this last year and my girls loved it. They have been begging me to be Teacher Mommy because they have "really missed her." So, I bought a couple of workbooks from Wal-Mart, tore out the pages, 3-hole punched them and put them in a binder--one for each of my girls. So, 4 mornings out of the week, we will be working in the books as well as doing a few other school things like Show & Tell, Free play (or recess), Snack Time, and an occasional activity that corresponds with the letter(s) we are working on that week.

2. Afternoon Activities -- Each day in the afternoon I have planned a small outing or activity.

On Monday, I will give each of my girls a piano lesson. I am not an accomplished pianist, but I will be teaching them the basics using the Pre-Reading Lesson book of the Faber method. Then I will have them practice for 10 minutes before Summer School each day of the week.

Tuesday is Park Day. We have a few parks in our small town (including the playset in our backyard), so each Tuesday, I will have my kids choose one park to go to and we will rotate through them all summer; and who knows, maybe we will even have an occasional picnic lunch there as well.

Wednesday is Library Day and Reading Afternoon. Our local library has story time on Wednesdays, so I plan to take my kids to that, let them pick out a few books, then spend some time in the afternoon reading books.

Thursday will be Computer Day. On this day my kids can play games on the computer (check out the sidebar for some links). My oldest also has a Didj, so she can play on that if she chooses.

Finally, Friday is Friend Day. I'm not saying that my kids can't play with friends on other days of the week, but Friday is devoted to inviting a friend over to play in the afternoon. I am hoping to have my oldest daughter invite some of the friends who will be in her class this coming fall.

3. Boredom Busters -- I have seen this idea in several places out in blogland. HERE is one from The Idea Room. HERE is another from A girl and a glue gun. I am not very crafty so, mine will just be in a little jar without anything on it. (I'll be lucky if I even put something on it that reminds me what it is.) My list of boredom busters is a good mixture of fun things to do with just enough work thrown in there to make my girls think twice before they tell me they are bored. (I plan to do a post with a more complete list very soon.)

4. Cleaning Time -- I'm thinking that this will not be my kids favorite thing, but I think it is time for my girls to learn how to do some more advanced cleaning jobs around the house. So, I have a jar with popsicle sticks in them. On each stick, there is a job for them to do. So, each morning, they will choose a job, then we will follow this routine: If it is the first time they have drawn that job, I will show them how to do it. On the 2nd time, I will help them do it. The 3rd time, I will watch them complete the task. And the 4th time and each time after that, they are on their own. (I will make dots on the sticks so I'll know how many times they have done it. This job also needs to be completed before Summer School.

4. Trips -- What about family vacations, you ask? Well, we are planning on taking one vacation to spend time with some family we don't see often. I am also hoping to take my kids to visit my parents will my husband stays home to do some projects around the house and yard. (He may go to his "real" work during that time, too.)

So, there you have it. That is our summer. I'm hoping for the best, and hoping that my scheduling self doesn't get in the way when an opportunity for some spontaneous fun rears its head.