Saturday, June 1, 2013

Summer Ideas



Life has been super hectic and busy this spring. I think more so than last year. My gauge for this is how organized I was last year versus this. Summer break starts next Friday and I am so not ready! {Let me qualify this by saying that I am ready for the break from school, just not prepared for the days to fill. Does that make sense?} Last year by this time I had put together our Summer Schedule, decided on how chores were going to be done and created boredom jars filled with ideas for things to do inside and out. I had also come up with a post filled with 65 free things for kids to do in the Summer. Oh yeah baby, I had it together! At least on paper.......:)




So what's a disorganized girl to do? Recycle last years material! Yup, not ashamed to admit it, I'm plagerizing myself! That's allowed right?

The only thing that I have started for this summer is a list of house rules for the kids and the nanny {on the two days a week I will be working at my job that pays!} I wanted something clear and straightforward so that we had consistency between me, my hubby, and the nanny. {Makes it harder for kids to pull the wool over your eyes! Not that my little angels would do such a thing!} ;) I don't have it done yet but this list includes obvious things like being kind to everyone and showing respect for people and their things to "no friends in the house when mom or dad aren't home". So we'll see how this comes out. 

For starters here's last years summer schedule. As a recap, having a schedule is huge. Not only does it give the kids a sense of security {knowing what's happening}, it also takes the fight out of things that have to be done like chores, summer reading and their workbooks. You just blame it on the schedule! ;)


I am sure that we will make a few minor adjustments, but this works well for us!

For free things to do, I came up with this list.




In these jars I filled with slips of paper giving ideas for things to do inside and one for outside ideas. 




In this post, I shared out plan for summer chores. Each day, my kids are given 3-4 cards that list what their job is and what its expectations are. For my non reader, he still gets the cards but I go over what they say.
I am serious when I tell you my kids love this. Its not the same old "clean your room and make your bed" each day, although they often get these cards, but they love the variety and think they've hit the jackpot when they get a job outside. Me, I love that a variety of things I would be relegated to do are getting done.



Their cards for the day go on a clip with their name on it on the side of the fridge. 



Thank you for indulging me in a bit of recycling! ;) Now I'm feeling a little more on track for summer. What are your tips for getting ready for this? We have our kids full attention during the summer and we need to make the most of it!







I'm sharing this here:

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