Every spring we discuss what each person wants to do in the summer and we make up a family summer wish list.
This year, however, Miss 13 asked an important question, “Why do we have to DO something? Can’t we just garden a little bit and do nothing?”
Well, no. Not quite. I want us to make a few memories, to retain what we have learned, and to try out a few new things.
But she has articulated an important point: let’s just relax and do nothing for a lot of the time. Like the sunny afternoon we sat in our verandah, eating popsicles and chatting. Or the evening we whiled away playing Dutch Blitz. So ‘doing nothing’ is our theme for this summer because childhood is so short and all too soon there are full time summer jobs.
Main Goals:
- Relax and do nothing
- Improve health (Miss 15 and me)
- Vacation/family reunion
- Make memories and record them
- Retain math, French, music, grammar, Dutch, and writing skills
- Garden/food
Summer School (weekdays only):
Even Days:
- math (Miss 10, Quarter Mile Math; Miss 13, hands on geometry and mental math; Miss 15, finish James Madison Critical Thinking)
- Dutch (All, read aloud; Miss 15, Vocabulearn)
Odd Days:
- Writing etc. (Miss 10, Picture and Writing; Miss 13, History of English Literature with summaries; Miss 15, to be decided)
- French (Miss 10 and Miss 13 Power Glide; Miss 15, write out French exercises in BJUP French 2 and read them out loud, rather than doing them orally without preparation)
All Days:
- Greek: 1 or 2 lessons of A Greek Hupogrammon
- Music practice
- Bible memory (Scripture Stickies, etc.)
- Exercise (Miss 10 and Miss 13, aerobics; Miss 15 and me, walking and Callanetics—unless we do something else that could be considered exercise)
Miss 15 catch up:
- Finish from last year: health, 4 Bible essays, critical thinking, some Omnibus,
- Review math in August using Math on DVD
- Watch Antony and Cleopatra and study the play using Omnibus
- Read the first few chapters of BJUP Geography
Miss 13 catch up:
- Artpack 6
Other Important Fun:
- Visit with people
- Field trips/outings (free concerts, Canada Day, museums, Shakespeare in the park, hiking trails, beaches)
- Board games
- Sport skills and fun
- Nature walks and nature notebook
- Books
- Movies
- Kitchen fun
- Sewing and crafts
My Summer Goals (besides the continuing mom /house /kitchen /garden /life /blogging goals) :
- Rest and relax
- Reread Summer Survival Guide and choose a few activities
- Update our will
- Get a passport
- Read the ebooks I bought this year in bundle deals
- Learn Greek alphabet and sounds with the kids
- Figure out a way to listen to our great composers cassettes
- Organize my paper files so I can keep my desk neater
- Prepare for a cross-country trip
- Prepare for school: decide on approach, decide on curriculum, plan year, make weekly check-off lists
Of course only God knows what will actually happen, but it is still a good idea to make plans.
What summer plans have you made? Are you planning any summer school? How about a trip or a staycation?
Very good plan. We are doing a lot less this summer, and I really needed this!
Doing less is a great idea. Refreshment and relaxation is so important!
I agree, summertime shouldn’t be so packed with stuff you never get a chance to be summertime lazy. 🙂 No school for us, we take summer off completely. Kids will be involved with helping with VBS, not me this year, I stepped down. We have family visiting in August, and of course, now house hunting has been added to the list. Makes me glad we didn’t plan a packed summer. 🙂
I’d like to do no school at all, but with my little ones, way too much will be forgotten by September if we don’t do summer school. And, really, it’s only about an hour a day. That’s not a big deal.
Have fun hunting for that house!
It’s probably good, after your busy and stressful winter, for you to take a lot of time to rest. You went through a lot, and if you move, you’ll need every ounce of energy.
We are having a cousin come to stay with us for a week this summer, doing the bookstores’ reading programs (our library doesn’t do one. Grr.), and I got a free computer game about money math skills. We also use summer for trying out activities through our city’s parks and rec program — mini horse camp, gymnastics, swimming lessons — and are also visiting different churches around our city. Some have outdoor worship in the summer. A few daytrips, but no big vacations.
What an excellent idea, to use the summer to tryout different activities! That adds spice to the summer and helps keep the winter less busy.
1. Rest and relax – love your goals and list!