Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Summer Goals


My husband received this slingshot as a gift from our church a year or two ago and Monk has only recently become taken with it. He spent the last two afternoons looking for anything he could shoot out of it. Whatever it is that falls from our Sycamore tree works well, the kids have always called them "chickens". He's also been eating plums then launching the pits. He called me out earlier to show me how he can shoot these various objects over the house. I said, "That's great, Monk, but what if someone is walking by out front and you hit them?" He just looked at me blankly. Obviously he hadn't thought of that. Or hopefully he hadn't thought of it! Anyway I thought this picture appropriate for my post on summer goals. We want to aim high this summer, just like Monk with his slingshot.
Amy at Raising Arrows recently posted about homeschooling year round. That doesn't sound too fun to me (more power to her), but I do have some educational goals for the kids over the summer. I definitely don't want to waste time in the fall trying to clear the cobwebs from the kids' brains. But I also want them to have a more fun and relaxed schedule this summer. Here's what I've been thinking in terms of. I'd love your suggestions.

Monk (10)- I've often regretted introducing Monk to video games. He was 5 and we were going to a family reunion in Florida. I was concerned that I'd be busy with his younger sisters on the plane and that I needed something to help keep him occupied. So, we bought him his first Gameboy. I should have known what I was starting. I played lots of video games as a kid, and even in college I was playing computer games when I should have been studying. I remember even having a watch with a space shuttle video game built-in. My dad and I still reminisce about The Incredible Wizzard, though I can't recall which game system it was for. I'm sure my dad still has it in his attic. Anyway, the point is with my video game issues (so glad I've outgrown them :) I should have known Monk was going to get addicted. The system we use during the school year is no plug-in (tv, video games, computer, etc.) until the weekend and that time is very limited on Sunday. So, basically he has Saturdays to play video games when we're not at a swim meet or busy with something else. Last summer we just sort of let it go and it got out of hand. So this summer we're going to try something different.
1. 1 hr of reading pre-selected books earns Monk 1 hr of gaming (maximum of 2 hrs/ day).

2. This is the summer for Monk to learn to type. I thought a computer typing game might serve as adequate motivation.

3. We used Summer Bridge workbooks last summer and I was thrilled to find a Christian version of these books through BJU press. They're called Vacation Stations and I bought one for each of my homeschooled kids. They only work through 2 pages per day over a period of 10 weeks.

Twinkle Toes (9)- I don't do a very good job of helping Twinkle Toes hone her skills. The problem is she's extremely artistic and creative and well, I'm not. I'm determined that Twinkle Toes learn to crochet or knit this summer. She's left-handed so my Granny had a hard time teaching her. Maybe I can find a youtube on crocheting for lefties or something. She'll also work through her Vacation Stations workbook.

Measle (6)- Since Measle was too young for the Sonlight core we did this year I struggled with juggling her reading time with that of the older kids. I'm hopeful she'll be reading chapter books with confidence by summer's end. I've ordered several new books to encourage her in this capacity. She'll also complete two pages per day of Vacation Stations. (She's actually begging me to let her start now, so I'm having to hold her off.)

American Boy (4)- Time for the big boy to learn to swim. He spends many hours around a swimming pool and he's very excited to start swimming himself. I like to put them on the swim team at 6 so this is the summer to begin lessons. I'm also going to start working through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with American Boy this summer. I don't know why I started so early with Monk and not with the girls. Oh yeah, I was working full-time when the girls were 4. American Boy knows all his letters and is so stinkin' smart. I know he's ready. Every few days he reminds me, "Mom, remember you're going to teach me to read this summer?" It's very cute.

Baby Lu (18 mos.)- Dare I hope to get Miss Lu potty trained by the end of the summer? New Baby is coming the first week of October, so that would be nice.

Me- I'm gearing up to read the Bible in 90 days again starting June 1. I'll blog more about this as we get closer to summer.

Big D- I'm sure Big D would appreciate my not making any goals for him this summer. So I won't. But if I were, finishing the dollhouse would be nice. Yes, the one we gave Twinkle Toes for CHRISTMAS! My dining room/homeschool room for Monk has been turned into a workshop pending further notice. I'll have to post new update pics on the dollhouse- it now has electric lights!
Whew! What are your summer goals?

5 comments:

  1. Our goals are to continue with our daily school work....finishing up our study of the Revolutionary War period by mid-June and then spending a few weeks studying Africa (my brother is moving to the Congo in July for the next three years). We will spend lots of time on math. Daily work in the garden and hopefully food preservation. We've already canned strawberry jam, but I want to do some more and lots of other types of jams and veggies. My almost 11 yod wants to learn to sew and we also need to spend some concentrated time on keyboarding efforts. Piano and violins are always heard around here and my 17 yos and I need to spend some time studying Photoshop for Dummies so we can have a good reason to buy a second copy for his computer. Oh, and 17 yos will be editing preaching/teaching videos for a ministry in Ethiopia. Other than that, not much going on!! LOL!

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  2. This is the summer for Monk to learn to type. I thought a computer typing game might serve as adequate motivation.

    You might want to consider the Glencoe curriculum. Also, be sure to get a keyboard cover to prevent "cheating". Something as simple as a box cut out to allow the hands thru while blocking the view of the keys will work.

    Twinkle Toes .... She's left-handed

    I am also left-handed. Twinkle Toes will need to get used to living in a right-handed world and learn to "flip" things. This might be a good opportunity for her to learn a bit of that.

    Dare I hope to get Miss Lu potty trained by the end of the summer?

    Nope. You're on your own with that one.

    Do you plan to get back to an evolution discussion any time soon?

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  3. I forgot to mention, Glencoe has a mixture of drills and games with built in speed tests.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hmmmm...Summer goals! You're inspiring me to write some of my own! Your list is a great place to start :D

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  5. I agree with the above comment by Grace....writing summer goals?!?! I'm inspired :)
    I am definitely going to write some down now.

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I'm an on-the-run mom to 6 kids who studied and taught exercise science in a previous life. I love all things running, nutrition, and health-related. I usually run at zero dark thirty in the morning and am often quite hungry before, during, and after my run, but I live a rich, full, blessed life with my children, family, and friends. My faith in God is my anchor, and looking to Him and His promises allows me to live fully even when life circumstances are difficult. While running gives me an appetite, my desire is to hunger and thirst for righteousness more than for physical food.