Sunday, May 15, 2011

Summer Plans

I can't believe the first week of our Spring/Summer break is already gone! It was a pleasant week with much completed. I really like to spend the first week of break going through all of our books and pulling all of the books for next year. Having everything organized on the school bookcase and a shopping list of what is needed already to go is so helpful. I have all the books organized, my Amazon wish list organized, a rough outline of our studies and my brand new "thinking book" nearby, so I can record all of my thoughts for the upcoming year. Now that I know what we have and what we need, I can embrace our break without worrying about planning for next year.


Next year's books...

Ahhh! Now to get down to Spring/Summer break. I have two possible start dates for getting back to school, one in July and one in August. Depending on how the kids do with our break will determine how long we are on vacation. Sometimes, they are really eager to start back to school after just a few weeks and other times I am. One of my kids really does better with the same old routine and finds vacation time and having to entertain one's self to be very difficult. Another child is very messy and destructive if left to one's own devices for more than ten minutes. We have a very long summer wish list this year, so I am hoping that we will be able to make the break last until our August start date.

The kids and I wrote out our summer wish list on the last day of school. It's all on a poster board next to our front door so we can cross off what we have done. I'll be standing in several hours-long lines to sign up for free and discounted lessons ... first come, first served. 

The list is as follows:

  • Watching a thunderstorm
  • Playing in the rain
  • Swimming lessons (offered by the city for free)
  • Extend the 6 foot fence in the backyard
  • Tennis lessons (offered by the city at major discount)
  • Laying in the sun watching some clouds
  • Making emergency "to go" kits (all the disasters we've been experiencing in the Southeast got me thinking I should do this)
  • Gymnastics (probably will be done in our backyard, not in a class)
  • Go to Disney World (this will be the biggest vacation we've ever taken, so we're really excited)
  • Summer library programs
  • Perform six times on stage in "Beauty and the Beast"
  • Grandparents visiting
  • Summer movie camp ($1 a movie) 
  • Organize the basement
  • One day of play at the city pool
  • Berry picking (hoping to do lots of this so we can freeze extra berries)
  • Learning some new recipes for ds's allergy diet
  • Camping
  • Gardening
  • Play dates
  • Balloon water fight (there's usually more than one of these)
  • Catching fireflies (a favorite summer evening activity)
  • Working on our goal of going to "52 parks in 52 weeks"
  • Late night trip to get ice cream
  • Reading books
  • Barnes and Noble reading program
  • July 4th fireworks
  • Bowling (with some free coupons)
  • Mountain hiking (a favorite weekend activity)
  • Splashville (a free park in our city where kids can play in water spouting out of the pavement)
Whoo Hoo!  What a list .... We will see how much we get through! We will be striking two of those things off the list this week. Our children have three sets of grandparents. My Mother, who lives only six miles away, their Father's Dad and Step-Mother, and my Dad and Step-Mother. All but my Mom live out of state. One set of out-of-town grandparents will be here in a few days to see the kids perform. My children will be starting daily final rehearsals for "Beauty and the Beast" tomorrow. Opening night is just a few days away!!!

We do have some goals to work on this summer and a little bit of school to do. We will continue with circle time for 20 to 30 minutes each morning. During circle time, we will read a chapter in our family book, review an educational poster, do a math page and review a few sight words. The kids will also be doing lots of reading for the different reward programs in our area. 



The kids' goals for the Summer are as follows ~

Little Red Ridinghood ~ Learn how to swallow a pill and to eat more than the three required bites of beans
Tom Sawyer ~ Learn how to ride a bike and showing appreciation to older brother
Goldilocks ~ Learn how to wash her own laundry and keep her face clean

What are you all doing during this warm and pleasant season?

Blessings,
Dawn

6 comments:

  1. That's quite a list! Sounds like a lot of fun. You're going to Disney? That's huge! Praying that you have a good summer vacation!

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  2. You are so organized!!! I think I am - but not next to all you have planned! Way to go!!! Love reading about your plans. Sounds like y'all have a fun summer ahead of you. I hope the play is wonderful!

    Blessings
    Leslie

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  3. I had to keep my kids busy all the time! I think they are finally able to fill in their time without getting too creative.
    Laurie

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  4. Well, we're only in the low 50s and raining, so we haven't hit warm yet. Kuddos to you for getting a box together. I have one too. I keep it in the shed which is attached to the house but has and outside access door. If we have a major earthquake and the house falls down, it will be easy to get to versus climbing through debris to find food and water.
    That's quite a summer list! I've got a few things we want to do in Western WA before we move. I'm so sad to leave here. We have so much left to see!! And I hate the desert where we're moving. I'm definitely not a heat girl!
    Sounds like you're pretty organized for next year!! Great job!! I have to order my stuff for next year, probably later today as we hope to be moving out of the house in a few weeks and into the camper. I won't have a permament address for a while so this will help out some and give me time to get plans all ready to go. I like having it all organized to go and ready. Take care! Have a wonderful vacation!

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  5. I love your list. I love that you have the kids set goals for themselves. That, in itself, is a wonderful thing to teach them.
    Thanks for your comments on my blog. Too funny, btw, about the protests and the Nat'l. Gallery of Art coincidences. :-) ~Julie

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  6. Ooooh, I love your list!!!!
    We need to make lists like that. I love the idea of a thinking book, too. I kinda do that with the notes on my iPod :)

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