The girls & I have begun our second week of summer break. And, if you've been keeping up with our goings-on over on Instagram & Facebook, you'll know that I have gotten super organized this year. The last two years were a doozy of disappointment. I had no energy to coral the littles (who, I know, are not technically little at almost 12 + nearly 14) away from their electronics. I was tired of being their maid. And the girls looked back & felt like they had wasted a potentially fun summer. Which they did. We all did.
So this summer, things are a-changin'. I browsed Pinterest for inspiration, & I found several weekly schedules with catchy themes for each day. I loved that idea, so I printed out my own version. (Using Picmonkey & importing it into Word.)
Every weekend I plan the next week's activities. And on Monday morning, I display my organized work of art next to the fridge. The girls have requested that I hide each day's theme, so they'll be surprised when they take turns revealing our project or venture of the day. There's an anticipation & excitement. So far, one week + one day in, the girls LOVE it! This might be too organized for some--it's not for everyone. But I needed guidance. And this plan gives me just enough of a general theme to run with it & personalize it. And, really, some of the day's items only take minutes. Others can linger for however long we wish to hang out with them.
The girls also have a small checklist of items they HAVE to do every day. It's so I can combat bedhead & fuzzy teeth all week long. You understand. But it also includes reading, several minutes of writing + math, morning devotions with Jesus, & a minor chore or two. It hasn't killed them to have responsibility. In fact, my youngest wakes up before anyone else in the morning & gets her checklist done lickety-split. And then she naps after lunch because she's so tired from waking up so early. Haha!
Zoey noted that it appears we are homeschooling. It definitely does look that way. Which is why I jokingly call it "Summer School". But remember what I said earlier? The girls LOVE it! And I'm having so much fun planning our weeks. And here is what each week looks like (some of them are self explanatory):
MONDAY = Make Something Monday
TUESDAY = Time to Read Tuesday (this simply means "go to the library")
WEDNESDAY = What's Cookin' Wednesday
THURSDAY = Thinking Thursday (whatever we are curious about, we will research that, or do a S.T.E.M. themed project: Science Technology Engineering Math)
FRIDAY = Somewhere Fun Friday (as many free &/or cheap local places I can come up with!)
Ok, so this schedule I created is as plain & boring as can be. But I thought I'd make it available to print your own anyway. (Click the "pop-out" icon in the top right corner for an option to print.) You can jazz it up with markers & whatnot.
I'll be posting a weekly recap of our Summer Fun Schedule shenanigans, so stay tuned! Hopefully it will inspire you. (Maybe it'll also help me get back into this blogging game.)
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