Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Surviving Summer Vacation

I usually greet summer vacation with much anticipation, planning, and energy.  It lasts about a week and a half.  But this year I SWEAR I will be consistent.  This is mostly out of necessity, because two of my little people will need to entertain themselves for some amount of time while I pack boxes for the big move. 

I have 4 main goals for summer: 
1. Keep the girls sharp for school.
2. Get the girls to entertain themselves with little intervention/preparation from me.
3. Make and keep reasonable limitations on TV/device time.
4. Get the girls to pitch in with chores.

I saw this free eBook advertised in my newsfeed on Facebook the other day and downloaded it.  It was a quick read full of practical advice for surviving summer.  Check it out!  

Surviving Summer Vacation (Ebook Shorts): Plans and Prayers for a Mom's Sanity

As in years past, I created a summer contract for Maddie.  This year, I'm making one for Ava, too, as I try to prepare her for Kindergarten in the fall.  In addition to making our own learning goals, I added a section to remind the girls about their daily responsibilities.  There is also a weekly checklist for keeping track of schoolwork that's been completed.  I'll probably laminate the sheets so I don't have to print a new one each week. I plan on taking the girls to to pick out a brand new spiral notebook to use to complete their work.  The girls share my (geeky) love of school supplies, so this by itself will help get them excited for summer.

Here are the links to their summer contracts:

What are you and your family doing to prepare for summer?

 
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