This summer has been really good, it breaks my heart to see it end. Last weekend in a desperate attempt to hang on a little longer to the carefree feeling late summer evenings bring I let the kids play outside well past dark. I sat on the porch and we laughed and watched the neighbors playing fugitive. We watched the moths flirt with the porch light we picked some flowers and looked at the stars. It was getting to be time to go in, but I didn't want to, so I sent everyone in to get some shoes and we hopped in car and drove to Diary Queen for blizzards. Even Dairy Queen knows summer is over - their 1/2 price after 10:00pm summer promotion was over and I had to pay full price. Driving home I saw the fountains still going at the new park. I pulled in and suggested a run through the fountains. Some of the kids were in the pajamas and Ryan didn't have a shirt on so they were hesitant to get out of the car - but they finally did. Taylor, Dallin and Rick bravely ran through the water. I chickened out. We were only there about 5 minutes before everyone was begging through chattering teeth to leave. That wouldn't have happened in August.
I love summer, I live for summer and this summer has been one of the best - and one of the shortest. Dallin remarked the other day, "how come when you are doing something fun time goes by really fast but when you are doing chores or piano or something it takes forever" I wish I knew the answer to that, it is one of the cruel tricks of nature I guess.
We started out the summer with a trip to New Mexico. While 11 hours in the car with 5 kids was no picnic it wasn't bad either. My mom was there to help keep them entertained. The sun and heat of New Mexico felt wonderful. Mark and my mom lamented the heat but I loved it. We swam, played in the river, went to the zoo, shot guns and had a really really good time. Family is a great part of summer. We were home a few weeks - just long enough for me to get my garden in and some flowers planted and we left for Oregon. This time Rick got to go. This was a trip I have longed to take. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. It truly was amazing. We also went camping several times, hiking, swimming and enjoyed more family when Liz and Jim came for Anna's baptism.
A lot of my friends dread summer break and say there kids get bored and are ready to go back to school by the 4th of July. I can't believe this - how can kids get bored during the summer. The idea is so foreign to me, I feel like there is never enough time to do all I want to do during the summer. I am fighting for every last minute of summer break. In fact this summer Grandma and Grandpa carter were here the first couple weeks of school so we really put off getting back into a school schedule until after they left. It was late nights and undone homework until after labor day.
Last Christmas I got a book from my Mom. It is called something like "Great kids are homemade". I am a big fan. It's premise is something I have long believed. You have to make your home fun enough that your kids want to be there. Well in the book it has tons of great suggestions. My lazy nature has gotten in the way of implementing a lot of them but one thing we did try was to have a more scheduled summer. With the idea of work hard/play hard.
So we instituted what came to be known as "days" at our house. We had "work day", "library day", "technology day", "fun day" and friends day". For the most part it worked out really well. One of the first things I heard each morning when the kids drug themselves out of bed was "what day is it" and they didn't mean Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs or Friday. I thought the kids would rebel but they didn't. They complained a bit but for the most part I think they liked it. This is the description of our "days" that I wrote at the beginning of the summer. The idea was to limit screen time, to keep my house from filling like a day care center with every neighborhood child moving in for summer and to keep our house looking reasonably clean.
Work Day
What: A day to get all our chores, errands and lessons done.
When: Once a week, usually Monday or Wednesdays between the hours of 10:00 and 4:00
Rules: Everyone will do their normal daily chores, their work day chores, piano, scouts, and all errands that need to be done such as the grocery store, walmart etc. There will be no friends, no tv, no wii, no computer.
Fun Day:
What: A day to do a fun activity of your choice.
When: Once a week, on Tuesday or Thursdays between the hours of 11:00 – 4:00 (we can be flexible)
Rules: Everyone will do their normal daily chores first. Each family member will get 2 turns during the summer to plan any activity they want to do. The rules are that everyone must be able to participate, you may not spend more than $20 (you can save your money or pool with others if you want). No one may complain or refuse to participate – if you do you forfeit your turn. The person whose turn it is to plan the activity may invite 1 friend to ride with us if they want. Other than that there will be no friends, no wii, no tv, no computer.
Library Day:
What: A day to go to the library, the park, read books and watch a mom chosen movie.
When: Once a week on Tuesday or Thursday between the hours of 11:00 and 4:00.
Rules: Everyone will do their normal daily chores first. We will go to the library and perhaps to the park to play and eat lunch after (depending on weather). When we return home we will spend the afternoon reading a book of your choice. We will each have a turn to choose a family book mom will read aloud for ½ hour, the readers will then take 15 min turns to read to the non readers and 45 min to read to themselves. We will then all watch a mom chosen movie. The only rule for the book is that it has to be a book you have not read before. We will have reading/movie snacks chosen by a different person each week. There will be no friends, no wii, no tv, no computer.
Mom chosen movies are ones that will hopefully bring some culture and education into are lives but are still enjoyable. Movies the kids would never choose on their own but still fun and enjoyable.
Technology Day:
What: A day to play computer, wii, or watch tv .
When: Once a week, on Monday or Wednesday between the hours of 10:00 and 4:00
Rules: Everyone will do their normal daily chores. You will sign up for 1 hour blocks on the computer, tv, laptop or game boy. You may not fight, complain or go past your time or you forfeit your next turn. Sign ups are first come first serve after daily chores are done. Friends may come over but if they play they get your time.
Friday Friend Day: You can do whatever you want after normal daily chores are done. You can have 1 hour of screen time that you sign up for on a first come first serve basis after chores are done. And you may play with any and all friends all day long.
For the most part our days went pretty much like planned. I did find it very hard to continually turn away the kids who knocked on the door asking to come play so we often had friends all day. They started asking me "what day is it" too. In fact it wasn't all that rare to have to walk home one of Ryan's little friends at 11:00 at night when we started getting ready for bed. This little late night friends was also often one of the first ones to arrive.
I also had a hard time enforcing reading - partly because so many friends were constantly there on library day. I also hate reading out loud. I know a good mom shouldn't feel that way, but I do. I love reading, and I love books - but I hate reading out loud. I also have a really hard time only reading a chapter or two at a time. If I start a book I like to finish it that day - often reading into the morning hours. So all to often if I started reading a book to the kids I couldn't help myself and would end up getting it out and finishing it after the kids had gone to bed for the night. Then I want to move on to the next book instead of rereading the same one to them that I had finished the night before. I also can't read out loud fast enough for me. I can read a lot faster to myself and my mind isn't patient enough to wait for my mouth to catch up so it is frustrating. So reading out loud didn't go as well as planned. I forced myself to do it some of the days - so it was an improvement from past years but I don't think I ever finished a book with them.
Other than those 2 areas we did pretty good with sticking to our schedule. We had fun, the kids never really got bored and surprisingly enough my house was cleaner than usual. So I definitely consider the "days" to have been a successful venture.
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