Friday, June 12, 2009

Our first month of Summer fun

With all three kids home this past month, I decided there is no way they are going to get bored! Every morning I have a list of things for them to do, sometimes I even let them choose what they put on their lists. They are to do a bit of school work (anything educational and not on the computer), plus two chores for the boys and three chores for the princess. Our routine takes about an hour every morning, sometimes more and sometimes less but they like it! I bought a stack of post-it notes and every day we make our lists and hang them on the wall. As they accomplish each chore they are able to mark out the box, and once they are all done they get a jolly rancher.

I have found Liza likes to change laundry, mop floors, and does a decent job emptying the dishwasher. She hates to read books, but will do worksheets all day long. Daniel likes to wash counters, help with emptying the dishwasher, put away towels and yard work. He really dislikes school work time so I have to get really creative with him. We have learned to spell his name with foam letters then practiced writing them on a chalk board. We do patterns with food items and count them as we eat them. We look through books for different shapes and colors, but try to get that boy to practice using a pencil- you can forget it!! Rainey loves whatever you feed his brain. He sits and learns colors and shapes with Daniel, and while I am busy helping the older two he colors, and draws his letter (He is a whiz at A, E, O, and M's, he is working hard on his R's too). He likes to wash the mirrors, find all the dirty clothes in the house, and make lunches.

After all our work is done they spend time with the cats. Daniel feeds them and finds them in the hiding spots in the garage. (We are still training them to be garage cats so they are still locked up in the garage for now.) Liza does the litter box and Rainey rounds up the toys for the kittens (which we named the grey one Domino, and the black one Capri). Then off they go to find whatever nature things they can find. Daniel has a nact for finding Toads, Rainey loves the big black beetles, and Liza likes to look over their shoulders and enjoy their finds from a distance. LOL

We have been spending a lot of our free time at the spray park, at one of our friends house (she has a pool), on the park, or at the neighbours. Our first month of no school has gone quite smoothly! I don't know what I am going to do when I have to send the two older slaves back to school!

Hope you are all enjoying some sun!

3 comments:

B said...

You are such an awesome mom to do all those things with your kids. Sounds like it's been a great summer so far! Hope that little one (yet to come) is being good to you too.

PaPa Hovan said...

Maybe it is not the D-man but toady that enjoys the abuse - oops - attention so much he comes back for more.

Actually takes after his PaPa. I always had something slimy or scaly in my pocket too.

Ruby in the Rough said...

Inspirational! Rainey's a cutie! He's also blonde. My second-born is blond. Perhaps if he doesn't like my first-born, he would go for my second-born, and they could perpetuate a family of silly, smart, beautiful, blue-eyed, blonde (politically active) babies. eh? eh??