It is July 1, 2015 and I officially have a summer itch. Maybe it is the weeks of endless rain we have had here that has kept us inside far more than I would like. Or the lack of sunshine, pools and ice cream that has me wishing that these next 8 weeks really knock it out of the parks for us.
Bring it on heat, sweaty kids and evenings under the stars.
I never understood why parents would wish away their summers and ache for school to be back in session. Until I had my boys at home with me around the clock and lacking every ounce of routine in their lives. Has anyone else had the epic summer meltdowns yet!? The weather has made this even worse …
They are impatient, unkind to one another and just down right crabby if the hours are going by slower than we would all like. I, for one, do not want to wish away the summer, I just want it to FEEL like summer! These past few weeks though have taught me one thing for certain.
WE NEED STRUCTURE.
Some kind of schedule (eh, saying that makes me cringe) – bits and pieces of the day that we know for sure what we are doing. Something to keep the kids on their toes and keep my mama brain from being scrambled by 11am.
A summer school-house it is! I have always liked the idea of home schooling … playing school as a kid was my go-to. I was lucky enough to have Brody who sucked in every ounce of information we taught him at an extremely young age. He is such a sponge when it comes to learning. We have Owen who is the polar opposite. That kid has such street smarts, agility and charm, but zero interest in sitting down to go over numbers and shapes.
I will never forget my moms piece of advice when she told me never to worry when our kids learn at a different pace. They all catch up eventually. We just need to make our approach a little different for each of our tots.
Target’s dollar bins swept me off of my feet this morning. The most darling large posters to get the ball rolling! Mommas, run! Get to your local Target asap!
These posters inspired me to get off of my summer itch and get this whole school schedule going at home. My game plan is this … (time to be determined) We will spend 1 hour in the morning, and 1 hour before dinner working on “school work”. Whether it be games, art projects, writing, etc…
Obviously they are both in different stages, so I will do my best to bring them both together.
My essentials I snagged? Markers, paint, play-doh, glue, paper, crayons and scissors. They both were getting really in the spirit of picking these items out, now I just need to get this party started.
I picked up an adorable wooden caddy from Home Goods months ago, and now it is the perfect home for some of art supplies.
This way I can bring it all around the house and not have to go to a particular drawer to find things!
What mommas out there are going to join me in this? Hopefully the rest of the summers weather will cooperate, leaving play time in the early morning, snack and school time, lunch, play time and school time again … so on and so forth to go smooth!
Next up is designating a spot for us. They both need a desk badly, so I am hoping to find 2 at a garage sale soon. The posters will get framed/or just hung up on the wall. I can’t wait!
I’ll be creating a few printables for you guys too if you would like them!
Here is to keeping Brody on track, and getting Owen on the right track!