With only 4 weeks left until school starts, I'm getting to the point in the summer when I'm done. I love my children, I really do. But I'm tired. I'm tired of being the entertainer, teacher and leader of all things fun. I'm about to the point where my kids can just go back to school dumb because I'm tired of pushing summer reading, math and all forms of education. (This is why I don't homeschool!) My system this summer was quite simple and has worked for the most part. It needs some tweaking for next summer but I really liked the self directed simplicity of it. I got the idea online and loved it.
Introducing Summer Academy...
I basically made a folder for each boy and had dividers for everyday of the week. First page was a "to-do" list. This had the chore(s) listed for the day. I've done chore charts and they simply don't work for me. THis allowed me to put down what I needed done for that day. Something new and different everyday. In the pocket contained a worksheet for the day along with "brain activities". These ranged from reading 15-20 min to working a word search to practicing cursive. What I loved was being able to get each folder ready on Sunday nights and not having to think about it all week (besides the chore items)
We also instituted a behavior chart. T was used to this in his kindergarten class and since he's the one I tend to have most problems out of, I decided to try it. It worked great the days I used it. I will admit I was very quick to make them move down but let the good go unnoticed a lot. Isn't that always the case?!?! Next year I would like to do a better job and put in place a reward system for so many orange/red days for the week. Like maybe an extra dollar in allowance??
Recently we were beginning to notice our kids did not know simple bible story facts like "who built the ark?". They couldn't remember the details. Maybe it's because they are taught so much application of the bible?? So I decided to dedicate the summer to simple bible stories. I purchased this storybook bible. I bought the audio and print version. We listen to a bible story while they eat breakfast (that's when they are the quietest - ha!). If you haven't heard of this bible, it's awesome! It's told just like a story but the content is true to the bible. My kids love it and ask for it almost every morning.
So, onto what we've been up to this summer that's fun. Well, we went to Michael's and did their craft time. It's $2 for 2 hrs of craft fun. Not bad.
We did our own crafts with Kiwi crates! (Kiwi crates are craft box subscriptions and they are awesome. Go to
www.kiwicrate.com)
We've painted our own masterpieces
WE've done a lot of reading. Seeing my soon-to-be 1st grader reading simple chapter books makes for such a sweet picture.
We've had some treats along the way....
And played at the parks around town....
But the biggest winner this summer has been the pool in our backyard. Have I mentioned how happy I am we went with the house with the pool?!?! This has been the BEST entertainment for 3 boys with boo-koos of energy!
Well, we still have 4 weeks left. Stay tuned for what fun we have this last month.
