1) I want to have a schedule (with flexibility) so all of us will be more productive and on days when I’m working and they aren’t at camp or VBS (Vacation Bible School), their babysitter will also have some structure to follow so I don’t come home to chaos.
2) I want them to do chores (we started with checklists and have moved to an app. I’ll be sharing both these resources in a future post). I was just reading in Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze’s book, Smart Money Smart Kids about the satisfaction kids get from working. I’ve witnessed firsthand (on the days or nights they don’t whine) how good they feel about themselves when they accomplish something willingly.
3) I wanted to do something spiritual with them. They attend AWANA during the during the school year and memorize a verse a week easily. I have chosen a resource and will be sharing images and downloads of a verse every week for you to share.
4) I want to spend some one on one time with each child and not get lost just working from home and getting lost in surfing and social media. I also want them to spend less time in front of the TV and electronics which are easy babysitters for this busy, scattered mom who works part time outside the home.
I hope some of my topics got you thinking. If you are interested in these particular focuses, I will be sharing free resources and my trials and triumphs along the way.
It’s Your Turn (I dare you to put it out there.) What do you want to accomplish this summer (besides recovering from the insanity we call May and all the end of school year demands). I look forward to reading your comments below.
Excited to get started. Our summer has begun and I do not want it to be all TV and Electronics.
Michelle, I love these ideas and inspiration! Thank you for doing this. I’ll put my 2 cents out there…
I have a daughter who just finished Kindergarten. I’ve thought quite a bit about what I wanted for her this summer. One thing I’ve done is organize a Kids’ Summer Book Club with a lot of the soon-to-be-first graders at her school. This book club has several benefits — it promotes summer reading, encourages the kids’ friendships, and connects the moms as well. I can’t take the credit for this idea though — my sister did this with her kids in summers past. I just thought it was brilliant.
The second thing I’ve done is have my daughter set 3 summer goals. I set one for her (ride her bike without training wheels by EOS), and she is setting the other two. My husband and I are setting 3 goals each as well, and we’re posting all of them so that we can all keep one another accountable.
Thanks so much for sharing. Love the Summer Book club. Do you have a list? What are you doing with it?
3 goals is a GREAT SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) way to assist children in becoming proactive without being overwhelmed.
One of my goals was making this experiment public and the others are coming soon 🙂
Can’t wait to hear what you guys do with your summer JulieAnn! I’ll be sharing more resources in the coming weeks including a character theme for the week as well as educational ideas. I’ve also pinned a summer fun board on pinterest.