So we are a ten days into our summer… and the annual “Summer Camp” has begun!!!! We have had a wonderful fulfilling time with productive activities and structure to boot! (really? I know…I am pretty amazed myself!!) My kids are well on their way with their summer school review books and reading every day! My daughter has embraced the American Girl Books and we have scoured the clearance shelves at Half Price Books to find several exciting stories! If they finish their academic workbooks, a family fun outing to Magic Mountain will be planned at the end of the summer! They have spent at least 30 minutes a day working on them. (Impressed aren’t you?)
We have hit the zoo a few times, the climbing wall, the parks and the movie theaters. We have had kids over to swim and play in our little pool outside in our back yard. We hit my friends amazing pool in her back yard as well. We have had bike rides and dinners out to eat. We have had clean up projects and chore lists set. We had a family meeting ensuring the summer rules and expectations would be met. The kids got to go with Daddy up to a cabin in the woods for a night and spent two days playing on the beach! (While mama got some much needed rest!!!) I have had a “TASTE extravaganza night” where my kids try several new and fun foods! I also plan on having a regularly scheduled “BOREDOM DAY” where my kids have to entertain themselves all day with nothing but what they have….in hopes to help them realize they have A LOT!
Basically all these ideas are based on a theme…that theme is “UN-do mama’s mistakes”!!!
For example: Kids having to do work I lazily didn’t make them do this school year, trying new foods I didn’t make them try earlier in life, following through on chores and expectations within our family’s home life, being content with nothing to do I screwed up with always planning fun things for them, and lastly….allowing myself to stay home from a “family” mini-vacation, instead of needing to always be there for my kids. (I read a wonderful book on parenting I have had for MONTHS in the comfort of my own quiet, bug-less, kid-less home. It was the most fulfilling and relaxing 26 hours I have had in a long, long time! SPLENDID!) (And yes, OF COURSE I counted exactly every hour! Every minute counts when you are enjoying alone time…..so precious and rare those minutes/hours are!)(Okay, I know I should have possibly read something that didn’t include “kids”….but cut me some slack here!! At least I didn’t go…. right?)
Always growing, always learning, always making mistakes…. the kids and me! I suppose that is how the journey unfolds in parenting and how the journey will continue. Quite a journey it is!
With each summer day, we have been healthy and relatively behaved in a good respectful manner. (And yes, that includes me!) In our home, we have always gone by the “STRIKE SYSTEM”. My kids know that if they get three strikes throughout the day for negative behavior, they lose a very special privilege that night. (ie: TV, treat, DS time etc) With the exception of a particularly rough day for my son (record high of 5 STRIKES!!!), the kids have not lost too many privileges! I am quite stunned and surprised by their abnormally good behavior! (and yes, you know…mine too!)
So with all that said, school should be just around the corner! It was a lovely summer and a wonderful break from school every day for the kids! Thanks to the excellent planning and parenting, I take much credit for a fulfilling season! Woohoo! Yippee! Yahoo! Thank you to all my friends and supportive resources within the community! The children are ready to get back into the “grind”! They are refreshed and rejuvenated! We are anxious to meet the teachers and get oriented to the school schedule!
What? Did you say there are two more months of summer left? Nuh uh…. You sure? But, but, but, but……. Really? Huh…. Hmmm….
Oh my….
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