We are officially done with grade level schoolwork ... or "organized school" or ... heck, whatever you would call it around here. The kids have slowly been finishing up things and now you can stick a fork in us.It's summer time, but in a house full of special needs and issues it cannot mean a free-for-all. So, here is our summer day:
8:00 wake up kids and breakfast time
8:30 Do strong sitting, Learning Breakthrough and jumps on the mini-tramp (if you haven't already)
Then complete a daily brain teaser or puzzle of some sort (my favorite sites right now are Griddlers, Brain Teasers and Brain Boosters).
You can do your chores in the morning. If not, you have to start right after lunch (which is right around noon).
Summer time "regulars" for us are:
* pretend play with Webkinz, and their homemade Webkinz village (which now has lighting, thanks to all the kids learned from their TOPS lab book on electricity)
* water hoses, sprinkler, water balloons (and, of course, trips to the pool)
* fire in the fire pit when it's not 400 degrees outside
* riding bikes and scooters
* board games for those 400 degree days
* now that the kids are older, I create my own summer reading program (and the prizes always include a trip or two to Dairy Queen)
* trips to the library are always popular
* playing in our box of sand (this year I'm adding a giant tub of dry beans and making a fresh bucket of dry rice, for indoor play)
* aluminum foil! Just hand them all a big piece and give them 15 minutes to make something - their creations always make me chuckle
* give them brushes and cheap watercolors and allow them to paint just about anything outside ... the sidewalk, the car, the fence, the windows, etc. It washes away with the next rain
* super hot days also call for building indoor tents and forts - it's a MUST!
9:00 pm is still bedtime. We are very strict about sleep in our house, and summer does not change this. Last night was a rare exception. Our oldest had a late ball game, and the Biggest Loser was not over until 10:00 pm. Yet, times like this are very few and far between. There are direct links between the physical, emotional and mental health of children/teenagers and the amount of sleep they get at night. Sleep is not important. It is vital.
I pay attention to ideas I can snatch from other people. It's summer, so I can walk in one day and say, "Hey! Let's do THIS!" Remember, there are no original ideas ... just stolen ones from someone else's blog!
Happy Summer, freaks.
13 comments:
I think I'll add in the strong sitting and mini tramp. Good thoughts.... Bear has a good prospect for a job so I am REALLY hoping that pans out. It would be so much more beneficial to him. He'll be 17 this summer.
Oh...one more things. Your tent idea reminded me that we have a little pop up tent. We put it on the deck and they can sleep in it when it isn't too hot. They can also read in it when it is not 300 degrees. We are further north.
I would like to hear some details of your summer reading program. I always want to make my own, but never can quite get started. Plus our library does a good job. It's just that now that my two oldest are um, older, their age bracket consists of lots of haunted/supernatural/paranormal books. Blech. Can't kids just read regular classics????
My kids already read a lot. So, we just set aside a bit more time (usually in the evenings). We may have them do everything to get ready for bed right at 8:00 pm. Then, about 8:30 we'll have them go ahead and spend 30 minutes reading (every night they read in bed for about 15 minutes anyway).
I don't put too much structure (I don't have them write down the amount of time or how many pages, etc.). In about three weeks I will say, "Wow! You guys have really been focusing on reading a lot this summer. I think everyone deserves a Dilly Bar!"
I also usually pick one really great book to read to them in the evenings - spend a couple of weeks doing that. As they're older, I try to make it not look at all like a program, but nudge them into it just being something they love and do naturally.
We do reading/writing/math every day. In theory. Reading this year will be a mix of "business" (assigned books) and pleasure and will be a certain amount of time per day. Writing alternates between comprehension questions on writing, writing letters, journal writing, and writing on themes. Math is review workbooks for the grade they just finished, +/- math fact worksheets. Everyone gets rotated through educational computer games through the course of the week.
One year we did a "Walk Club" where we kept track of how many 1/4 mile laps each person did and awarded $1 store prizes every time kids completed 10 miles. This year I might expand that to every 15 minutes of exercise, so that swimming, jumproping, etc could be counted. (You could adjust it to 30 minutes for bigger kids). When we reached 500 miles as a family (the end of summer) we went to an amusement park. It just "happened" to coincide with Daddy's work picnic at the amusement park, and thus was free. hahaha! You could also drive to say.. Memphis.. and meet the Waters family at a hotel for a couple of days..
just saying. That would be FUN!
Library day is an outing. Hiking is an outing. Grocery shopping is an outing. Going out for ice cream is an outing. Those are about all the outings I go on. And not all in one week either.
My sister and I used to make a giant "bubble" in the living room to play in. We'd safety pin a king size sheet to the carpet with enough slack to make a bubble tall enough to sit in and pin a window fan at the opening. We loved it. My poor kids only have hardwood floors. I guess we could set books around the edges.
Sleep is not important. It is vital.
Thanks for the reminder. I am going to bed now!
Don't forget bubbles and chalk! I'm always looking for indoor activities since Houston gets so hot in the summer. Charlie is only 4 so I'm limited in some ways but not others.
I know you keep TV limited but Schoolhouse Rock is out on DVD btw. It is very educational and fun! Some of the songs got me thru Con Law w/Dr. Cravens. :P
Hi. I was just surfing around some blogs, and I came across yours. It’s pretty nifty and I’m really enjoying my stay here. I’ve bookmarked your site for daily visits, and I hope you’ll visit me. I’d love to have you. :) Have a great day and I’ll see you around the blogosphere. :)
Check out kidsbowlfree.com.
Kids can bowl 2 games every day of the summer for free.
You still have to pay for shoes, but it's a great activity for rainy or really, really hot days.
I'm very glad that your still doing school cuz...it only makes sense. Yay for sleep!!!
I found this great book for keeping your kids on track over the summer. It's great for building reading comprehension and vocabulary as well as writing skills over summer break.
It's called Summer Daily Brainwork:
http://penningtonpublishing.com/toolkits.php?t=12
Post a Comment