So on Facebook I asked for simple, creative suggestions for me and my kids this summer.
Some people gave me exactly what I was looking for...like the suggestion for a bowl of ice and a wooden spoon on the porch. Some folks gave me their opinions about summer and that was good too.
Here is how we handle things and why.
Take one former teacher turned organizational freak of a mom + one child that would love to be doing anything and everything with everybody all the time + one child that would like to do next to nothing and be happy with that, usually with one other person of his choosing + one Daddy that travels increasingly more = my need for a summer plan.
This does not mean my kids are scheduled to death, definitely not. It means I have a plan to deal with 2 kids that want to do different things a lot of the time. However given a little direction, they are happy to do anything together.
So they both love school and do well there, and that makes me ask myself, What about school can work at home?
1. We can post and follow a few summer rules to avoid constant nagging about behavior. Let's pick a few things to work on this summer.
2. We can start each day by talking about what we are going to do that day, a circle time of sorts. We will talk about the weather, for my boy that lives for that sort of thing, sing a song, read a book, and just get the day off to a peaceful start. That outlook avoids all the questioning that comes with a schedule that changes daily.
3. Then set up some time to do the things kids love to do... discover more about words, investigate number concepts, learn cool things about the world around them, create things, have time to let their imaginations and their bodies run wild
That is enough for now. Tomorrow I will tell you about the color coded calendar :-)
