Welcome to Summer



Looking over last year's summer posts, I'm quite impressed with myself. Go me! Especially when I realize how much we did, but didn't document. This year I'm trying to simplify things (haha). Using weekly themes really did wonders for me trying to stay focused week to week, so this year I've come up with another list of themes. I was originally going to pre-assign weeks, but the kids really liked choosing the theme of the week, so they'll have a smaller jar to choose from. I've also started incorporating sensory boxes and busy bags to keep the youngest peep interested.

This year's themes are:

It's a Jungle Out There
Meet the (Art) Masters
Pete the Cat: Rocking in My Summer Shoes
It's a Big, Big World
Deep in the Heart
Land Before Time
Under the Sea
Seussically Speaking
Pigs in Space
The Adventures of Captain Zucchini

I've set aside up to 2 hours a day to work on theme activities and projects. Of course, the main objective is to relax and enjoy our summer, so I will ultimately plan more than I have time for!

Meanwhile, a year later...

Wow! 1 year since the last post. Nice!

Where to even begin????

In the words of Inigo Montoya...

Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up...

Our family has increased by one adorable little boy, Little Man A. He came to us through foster care and we will be officially adopting him no later than September. He is a feisty, active, adorable 2 year old and we can't imagine life without him. It would certainly be boring. The other little peeps are a year older, wiser, and funnier. The oldest peep is looking forward to the last 2 years of high school.

Time is racing forward and with high hopes of being faithful to my little blog, I take up the cause again of documenting some of our family's favorite recipes, adventures, and overall awesomeness. I hope at some point to fill you in on the happenings of the past year - it's been a crazy roller-coaster ride.

The Day After Perfect

Do you ever have one of those days where everything falls into place? The day is a perfect balance of fun, relaxation, and purpose. That was yesterday for me. Today, not so much. So, here's a picture from yesterday to remind myself that those days do exist and will come around again.

Night Wonders

Our first theme of the summer was Night Wonders. We talked about all the cool things you can see at night: stars, planets, the moon, lightening bugs.

The highlight of the week was the kids staying up late to watch the stars come out. Katie zonked out before too many stars were out, but Jacob stayed up to identify Mars, Saturn, and the Big Dipper.

The next day we made a planet picture using a coffee filter & watered down paints.

Evil Charlotte

Katie has an imagination on steroids. She has an entire posse of "imagination friends" and enemies. Her BIFF (best imaginary friend forever) is Emma. However, Butterfly, Strawberry, Rainbow, Blueberry and Apple Dumplin are frequent visitors. Her arch enemy is Charlotte. According to Katie, she is evil. The other day she was telling me just how evil she is.

Katie: Charlotte is NOT a child of God.
Me: Oh yeah....
Katie: Yes. She is a child of....who's that bad guy that doesn't like Jesus?
Me: Satan?
Katie Yes. Charlotte is a child of Satan.

I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff, but it makes life interesting!

Coming Changes

As the summer approaches, our family is gearing up for fun in the sun! We are also getting ready to foster-to-adopt. My niece, Jessica, has gone through the process and eloquently documented it on her blog. It's something I have been considering for over a year, and the Hubby and I feel that now is the right time to add to our family. We're excited about who will be coming to join our family and I'll be giving occasional updates. Stay tuned....

Summer's Coming!

For this summer vacation, I'm trying something new. I always try to have a somewhat regular schedule that includes chores, reading, and projects, but this year I want to focus each week around a theme. My kids are old enough now to do independent, somewhat self-directed projects and Pinterest is filled with ideas to keep them busy. I just like the challenge of finding specific activities to support learning.
I came up with more themes than weeks of summer vacation, so I printed them out on fun paper, cut them into strips and placed them in a jar. Each week one of the kids will choose the theme for the week.

Themes:

Wild, Wild West

Under the Sea

Jungle Adventures
Don't Bug Me!
We Are Family
Weird Science
Under the Big Top
Fan of the Farm
Sports Camp
Ninjas & Princesses
Countries of the World
Holidays
Real Life Heroes
Fairytales, Myths & Legends
Money Matters
All About Me!
Lego Mania
Night Wonders
Famous Discoverers
Super Cool Scientists
Good Eats
Music, Music
Seasonally Speaking
Unicorns & Dragons
China
The Great Outdoors
Superheroes
Deep in the Heart of Texas

The kids were so excited to start, they wanted to pick today. So, this week we will be exploring Night Wonders