Summer Plans
A couple of people have asked about the summer schedule we have got going this year. Well, it all came about when I realized that there was not going to be a weekly preschool program I could pick and choose from and have spontaneous fun the rest of the time. Connor was too old for that. I needed a plan. I looked around on line a bit and came across this article called Do It Yourself Summer Camp. http://powerofmoms.com/2012/05/do-it-yourself-summer-camp/ While I didn't quite that level of structure with just one child to plan for it did give me a starting point.
I decided on a few basics and fleshed it out from there. For us these are the things that seemed important.
- Have a few tasks we do regularly, if not daily, to provide structure.
- Incorporate learning into some portion of activities.
- Provide lots of opportunities for play and physical activity.
- Access free or low cost resources for 3/4 of weekly outings so the last one of the month can be something that costs money. (this is further dependent on maintaining good behavior while we go on our field trips to "earn" the last one)
Daily Three: We have 3 tasks that are done daily. A kid sized chore, a learning task or game and writing in a journal. Each of these needs to be about 20 minutes long. We originally did it right away in the morning for an hour straight. It is now more broken up but still gets accomplished before other kinds of free time activities.
Mop-Up Mondays: We tackle mount washmore and clean up from the weekend that is usually spent at the cabin. This also includes menu planning, grocery shopping and general cleaning. Then some fun action when we are finished.
Tuesday Travels: We go to the library and get new books for the week and check on Museum Passes for availability. We will use these passes tomorrow.
Then we have a scheduled playdate. Location varies widely. or wildly.
Wandering Wednesdays: This is our big field trip day. We either use our Museum Passes or find a free place to visit for 3 weeks, and "earn" our 4th week spending field trip if needed. If we can't find a free structured place to visit, we go geocaching using my cell phone.
Thursday (no catchy name has been thought of yet): We again have a scheduled playdate. These can range from spending time in someones backyard to going to the beach or park.
Fleeing Friday : We leave the morning open to whatever comes along. Then we pack up our stuff to go to the cabin most weekends.
Well, that's the basic structure to our summer. After typing this I am feeling a bit like a control freak. But I'm okay with it. This way we won't get to the end of the summer and feel like we wish we had gone to some fun places and learned some new things.
