Summer Schedule

Technically, it's still spring... but we're on to our summer schedule! Last week was our first full week and so far, it seems like it will be a good schedule that we can stick with. Thought I'd share it with you in case you need ideas.

Last Monday at breakfast, I went through the schedule with the boys. Luke loves to know the plan for the day, so he quickly embraced the schedule. I put times, but these are flexible. We didn't stick to the exact times last week and no one crumbled... not even me. :)

Summer Schedule 2012
Morning Jobs: get dressed, jammies away and fix bed before breakfast.
7:45          breakfast and Bible time
8:30          breakfast clean up and teeth brushed
8:45          summer fun school
10:00        FREE time (sometimes sooner!)
12:00        lunch
1:00          read aloud time
1:30-2:45  room time / rest time
2:45          clean up rest time mess
3:00          snack time
3:15          FREE time
5:30          clean up and bath time
6:15          dinner and evening jobs

I've been planning outings with friends to different parks during our free time and we hope to hit the pool too. Making sure they get exercise is critical, even if that means I have to chase them around the yard. The boys and I made a list of science topics they want to explore and they are eager to keep doing some art once a week. (I have a stack of books from the library and I'm formalizing my plan. eek!! Definitely not my strength, but they love it.)

For our summer fun school time, I came up with a generic plan for each boy so that I don't have to do a lot of planning each night. I definitely need a break from that and also want to allow myself time to get a jump start on my planning for next year.

Here is what the boys will be doing each day during our summer fun school. We begin each day with about 15-20 minutes of games practicing math facts. (addition/subtraction and multiplication) They have loved this and it has been a great way to start our day. They are eager to come in the school room to play games with Mommy. I'll post soon some of the games I found/created.

Following the games, here is what Luke and Ethan do in summer fun school:
Monday: math, handwriting
Tuesday: L-grammar/ E-phonics, spanish *
Wednesday: math, grammar/phonics
Thursday: grammar/phonics, spanish
Friday: math, writing

* We started the spanish dvd curriculum "La Classe Divertida" last fall. Around January, I decided to take a break from it and focus on other necessary lessons. It has been fun to pick this back up with very little pressure.

For Aaron this summer, we've been working on letters and letter sounds. This is not a strength for him yet (even though we worked on it all last year!) and he doesn't really have much interest, but we're making progress. Trying to keep it low pressure, relaxed and fun!

So that's what we've been doing and so far it's been delightful. It's definitely not set in stone, so we might even toss out the schedule once a week and go crazy! ha! It does my heart good though to have some structure and still allow plenty of time to play and have fun. Keeping up the discipline of school work will definitely benefit us in the fall and for now, the boys are energized by the short little school day.