Summer vacation is here! As is typical for me, I have been pondering over our summer plans for the past month (maybe even longer). This year I put together a binder to keep track of our summer lists and paperwork and activity calendar.
Daily List: the things that are expected to be done each day. The list may be completed in any order, but the expectation is that the list must be done before any screen time.
- Personal prayer and scripture study
- Morning mile
- Morning things: dressed, hair done, truth teeth, make bed, put away pajamas and any other clothes
- Straighten your bedroom and put away anything that belongs to you from any room
- Practice time: piano, typing, reading, or writing
- Zone cleaning
- Personal reading (20 minutes +): record book title, author, # of pages in journal
- Math minute
- Journal (optional): write about your day, or use a writing prompt
The Details
Morning Mile: Our elementary school has a great fitness program (students come early before school starts to run/walk laps. They earn little foot charms for every 5 miles, and they have a big awards ceremony at the end of the year). All three of my children really got into it this year, and I want to keep the momentum going. We are aiming to do a mile at least 5 days a week: run/walk, bike, or scooter. Exercise is always more fun with friends, so we invited others to join us and keep track of their miles. Once a week we will get together and run laps in our neighborhood, then pass out the foot charms. We are starting next week, and I hope it works out!
Reading: my kids don’t need any extra motivation to read books, so the 20 minute requirement is not difficult. But I really want them to keep a record of what they read for a few reasons: for handwriting practice, and to give me a list to refer back to when searching for new books to read.
Zone cleaning: my children are at an age (10, 7, and 5 yrs) where they can definitely contribute to the cleaning and maintenance of our home, and with a new baby I especially need their help! Currently each child is assigned a zone (living room, kitchen, bathrooms). I made up detailed “How to clean the…” lists for each room, so the children know exactly what is expected. My 10 year old is mostly able to work through the lists on her own. I work with my 7 and 5 year old to teach and give direction. Each child spends 20 minutes a day, and that is enough to keep things looking pretty decent.
Math minute: we don’t want our brains to turn to fluff, so a few minutes solving math problems keeps us smart!
Journal: I would love to instill a habit of journal writing in my children, so we will give this a try. I still need to put together a list of writing prompts.
So these are the things that are expected each day we are at home (except for Sunday). The children also have table jobs (setting plates, cups, or utensils) and after dinner jobs (clear table, sweep floor, empty recycling).
This list doesn’t have to take too much time, although some children will drag it out for hours. We are still making plans for the rest of our days. We will spend a lot of time at the pool, and we will play and craft and experiment and learn and help others!
You can see 2014 summer plans here.