So, a few years ago I came up with a Summer Fun jar. I asked my kids what kinds of things they'd like to do over the summer. The rules were simple: 1)the ideas had to be financially feasible, so no "We want to spend the summer traveling around Europe", 2)they had to be things every family member could enjoy together.
I wrote each idea on a strip of paper, folded the paper and put them all in a jar. Each week the kids got to randomly pick one piece of paper from the jar. Whatever was on the paper we had to do within the course of that week.
The Summer Fun jar worked so well. The kids looked forward to picking a "surprise" from the jar each week. And of course, they made sure we followed through and did whatever was written on the paper strip. Now that Buttercup is older and can write, I give her the strips and she writes the ideas on her own.
Each year, we add or change items to the list. It's up to the kids!!
Here's this year's list.
- Go to the zoo
- Go to the beach
- Make a backyard obstacle course (I make sure there's some water feature to keep everyone cool)
- Go to NY (my kids love the city and there's always something fun going on)
- Pack a lunch and go on a picnic
- Go to the park
- Make outdoor art (I tape a very large paper to the side of the house and let the kids get creative, it's very Jackson Pollock!)
- Go on a hike
- Go out for ice cream
- Catch fireflies (then release them)
- Go to a movie in the park (lots of towns offer them, just bring a blanket or chair)
- Go for a bike ride
- Make s'mores and watch the stars
What are some of the things you'd like to do with your children this summer?
Happy Homeschooling Adventures!!
Hello from your newest email subscriber! I found you at The Ultimate Homeschool Blog Roll by Hip Homeschool Moms. What a wonderful idea for Grammar help and I do believe I will be using it this coming year. As for a start to our week I like to have the kids draw a picture (for the younger one's) of our weekend and dictate sentences to me or write a paragraph about our weekend and read it orally to the family.
ReplyDeleteThanks Katrina! I like your idea, it's a nice way to ease into the week!
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ReplyDeleteHow fun!! What do you put in the backyard obstacle course?
ReplyDeleteUsually anything I have in the basement, like buckets to jump over, the hose, hoola hoops. We also have a backyard play set so we use that as part of the course too, like climbing then the monkey bars then down the slide and onto the next part of the course.
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