The last month of school, I agonized... planning summer goals, bucket lists, projects, chores, library excursions... not to mention lining up sports/theatre camps and swim lessons! I wanted to make sure we made the most of the two months off from school and I remembered summers' past where the day needed quite a bit of structure in order to be defined as a success in my mind. Down time equaled four children melting down and running chaotically through the house.
To start, I wanted my kids to plan on accomplishing tasks every day. And this is funny... I went over the grand idea to have 5 "must do" activities daily with the kids. This included: physical activity, housework, 20 min reading, journal writing, and some sort of practice to accomplish a goal be it musical, intellectual or physical. We held a family home evening to discuss this scheme and I presented it with as much enthusiasm and hype as I could possibly muster. "This is going to be SO much fun!" "Wait till you hear what we are going to do". After presenting the idea, Evelyn came back with.... "Mom, exactly what about this is fun????" She's always been one to fight against the grain, especially when she feels a parental control issue surfacing... ha!
Later, as I was showing my friend the board, I disclaimed that I'd probably not be able to really stick with the plan or get to half the things I had in mind and she mentioned, "well- you're shooting for the moon! Won't be the end of the world if you just hit the stars." It was exactly what I needed to hear!! That little statement redefined my goals for the summer when it came to the kids. I decided that it was nice to have these various goals and ideas in place, but that if we only got to "journaling" one day a week and not every morning as would be ideal... hey! that would be good enough!! And so on and so forth.
I've embraced a much more laid back attitude than I had originally intended and I've realized that my kids are actually amazing at entertaining themselves a good portion of the day! They don't need me to plan every second anymore. Often, I am able to just sit back, relax and watch them find their own "fun!" And when we happen to have a morning where we are not headed out first thing, I do try to make the most of it and enjoy that time to teach the kids, assign chores, and get to some of the items on our bucket list. Other days, we are busy meeting up with friends, attending vacation bible school, hitting the beach or having Grandma and Grandpa down for a visit... and that's every bit as awesome.
I do love having the kids home for the summer.... it's an adjustment not to have any "me" time! But it's growing on me very quickly! And I ADORE not having to wake at the crack of dawn, pack lunches or work through hours of homework!!! Plus, my kids are pretty fun to be around.
A few fun events that helped us kick off the summer right:
Grandma and Grandpa's new pool was finished and they hosted a wonderful "Slip into Summer" party! The kids loved this inflatable slide-- HUGE hit! We also celebrated Father's Day for Blake and Grandpa and enjoyed the kids favorite "grandpa's chicken" which is really prime rib- haha.
Also enjoyed a fun School's OUT summer party at the Reese's home... highlight was swimming and the outdoor movie/concession stand with popcorn and candy to suit every child's liking.
The last day of school was so much fun. We met at a friend's pool and enjoyed a long afternoon of yummy food, lots of swimming, lots of friends, and so much fun chit chat.
The kids have loved going to the art classes at Micheals and creating some of their own little projects at home. I can't believe how much my boys actually like to "craft." I'm lucky!
Every so often there is quite the mess to clean up... haha! But it's worth it!
Man, we've been making a LOT of snow cones! The kids do it all on their own... and the station is located OUTSIDE. It's a win win.
Ev and her friends put on a fun little "carnival" for the boys. They had cups to knock over, a ring toss, bean bag toss and I helped make the prize station. It was so cute!
Here are a few of the fun ideas I had in mind as summer began:
A journal jar.... the kids each received a little summer journal and are able to pick out a topic to write about in that journal.... very fun!
Spending a lot of time covering social skills, manners, and 7 habits again this summer!
We've been switching out who is the helper in the kitchen and I'm loving it. I don't have the patience for all of them to be my special "helpers".
Some fun summer reading missions and a "go outside" envelope of ideas for when the kids are getting too rowdy... they pick a card that gives them an idea of what to do outside.
