Summer Game Plan

It's Summer. I know for some of you incredible moms out there this is good news to you because it means that you get to spend more time with your kids with less schedule and structure. This is not good news to this mom. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy being with my kids and being able to go and do what we want when we want...but the enjoyment of being with them soon fades as they start complaining, fighting, and asking "what can I do, I'm bored?". They turn into little lifeless blobs who sit in front of the TV because "it is too hot" or "there is nothing to do".

NOT THIS SUMMER!!!

I want to have an enjoyable summer of creating memories, soaking in some much needed sun, being active, seeing my kids work and play and learn together, and spending less time nagging.

SO...WE CAME UP WITH A GAME PLAN:

Nothing fancy...but it's a plan with a little bit of structure to give us all something to look forward to and to give the kids some responsibility.

We made each day of the week into a theme:
Make it Monday - try a new recipe, make something for someone else, or make a craft

Family Rec Tuesday - Instead of signing our kids up and paying for Summer Rec, we decided to do our own. We came up with ideas like a family bike ride, soccer, football, Wii party, game night, Nerf war, a treasure hunt, and a camp fire.

Wet Wednesday - My kids are constantly asking if they can get wet...which creates a huge mess. Wednesdays are the days set aside for sprinklers, water fights, splash pad, or slip n' slide. One day a week I can handle.

Tidy at 10 Thursday - At 10:00 we gather to clean the house. I will assign small jobs and we will work together.

Field Trip Friday - go somewhere fun and inexpensive. Some of the ideas that we came up with are hikes, try a new park, community programs, and visit grandparents.

Outside Saturday - Yard work

We also gave the kids Daily responsibilities that they need to do BEFORE they can turn on the TV/computer. These include tidying their rooms, taking care of the dog, reading, weeding their garden box, being active, and talent time (piano, drawing, math games, coloring).

So there it is...our game plan for a GREAT summer! I am writing this on Tuesday's Triumph because instead of hearing the TV turn on as my kids were waking up, I heard them puttering around the house and yard as they did their daily responsibilities. It was music to my ears! Granted, I have only won round 2 of 80 days of summer. This game plan could back fire and it could be an epic loss and show up on "Monday's Madness"...but today it was a Triumph :)