Summer: A Midterm Report Card

Monday, July 11, 2011
Well, we're almost at mid-July and I've been thinking of my vague goals for summer and whether we have reached them, or it seems like we will.  Here's our current status:

1.   Taking Advantage of Outside/Backyard Play: A-
Our pool has made heading outside more fun when it's super hot.  Granted, keeping the water blue and clear requires a chemistry degree and a 10 minute storm can completely undo my careful balance of chemicals - but the fun and increased comfort in water has been worth it. 

We LOVE evening family bike rides, but with other activities in the evening right now, those aren't happening as as much as I'd like.

2.  Organized Activities: A
Paige loved her week-long volleyball camp and is loving dance class.  Will is in the middle of his first-time baseball season and practically plays with a smile on his face.  All the kids are doing swim lessons.  While we have a schedule, I don't feel like we constatnly have to be on the go.

3.  Extra Activities: B+
There are SO many of these that I had listed (in my head) for summer and I am just now feeling like we're working down the list.  Friday we went to Blackberry Farm with friends.  (See pictures below)  We went to Bouncetown today (thanks to the free pass earned from the summer reading program at the library which has been great), and we have planned a train ride to the city to the aquarium.  We just went to one of at least a couple movies I'd like us to see in the theater this summer.

4. Travel: B
We have overnighted in Michigan and camped out at my sister's, but that's about it.  Luckily, it looks like this grade will go up because we have a 3-night stay in Wisconsin planned soon that should hopefully mean waterpark and beach time!

5.  Chores: A
I started a daily to-do list for the kids at the beginning of summer hoping to establish some sort of order and expectations for the kids.  This has worked out great, with kids doing their respective tasks now without even having to look at the list!

6.  Overall Harmony: B-
This continues to be a struggle.  We tend to have a glorious day followed by a wretched day.  Main issues are bickering and complaining.  Here are some tactics I have employed that seem to be working:  Zero complaint tolerance.  If there is whining about what show we're watching...TV is simply turned off, for example.  It gets attention.  Another tactic is that if someone is "wronging" another, chores get shifted accordingly.  It's an adventure daily.

7.  Home projects: A
So- the biggie was window replacement which is done.  Other than that, we didn't have our sights set too high, thankfully.

So far, so good for summer, I'd say!  I'd also say that I'm not ready to see school supplies in stores yet!  I need some more time to work this summer average up to a solid A+!



Paige, learning about the reprussions of answering a question wrong in the post-Civil War era in a little schoolhouse museum

On the open-air train ride.  Cole was a major fan!

Friend Adam, Cousin Riley, and Will.  (a.k.a. "Boy Club" on this day - they even had a little cheer they did)

The girls: cousin Renee, friend Christiane and Paige (and my friend Lisa in back)

1 comments:

Renay said...

ah...we gotta get to Blackberry farms!! Sounds like you're doing an A+ job yourself this summer!!!

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