Summer Schedule

During the summer we don't follow our regular school schedule. Our lives are busy with baseball, outdoor work, gardening, helping dad, going on mini trips, and playing. However, I do have the children do a few school activities each day to keep us on track. A few years ago I discovered Vacation Stations by Bob Jones. Even though we don't exclusively use BJ material, I found the books to be helpful in keeping little memories alive during the summer. Two pages are required each day which review math, language and reading.

In addition to the Vacation Stations, my 10 year old does at least 30 minutes of reading a day and my 6 year old reads to me out loud for 15- 20 minutes.

Our daily chores also change in the summer. Outdoor chores are added, and house/outside projects are started and finished. When our work is done, we play something fun (swim, water fight, construct out of cardboard boxes...) or go for a treat. The fact of knowing something fun is coming when we are done is a great motivator.

How do I keep track of the chores? I have a chore calendar posted on the freezer of regular weekly chores. Our weekly schedule changes frequently in the summer, so I don't assign days of the week for the work to be done. Instead each chore has a number, when the chore is completed, it's number is written on the chore calendar. By Saturday all chores must be completed or Saturday turns into a 'chore day' instead of a 'fun day' to work with dad. Additional chores that need to be done for the week are easily written on the calendar as well as appointments and activities so the children know how to schedule their time. My 6 year old needs help with this, but my 10 year old is getting pretty good at planning his chores accordingly to what is going on in our lives.

What are some of the chores on our weekly list?
Mowing for Papa/shop/home, hauling trash, cleaning garage, sweeping at shop, getting eggs, feeding chickens, spending time with and feeding the horses, cleaning bed-rooms, washing sheets, and pulling weeds at home and at shop... Some chores only my 10 year old does, others only my 6 year old does and some they work together at.

What are additional chores that can be added?
Help remove wallpaper (we did this last week)
Help with garden work (snapping beans, husking corn, picking berries...)
Additional cleaning in the house
Mulching
Picking up sticks
and anything else mom needs help with

It is helpful to post a list of what needs done when working on a large chore like 'cleaning your room'. If you tell a 6 year old to dust, trust me only 1/6 of the room will get dusted, if your lucky. If you break it down into smaller areas such as: dust bed, dust desk, dust baseboard, empty trash, take sheets off bed, you are more likely to get things done correctly the first time. By breaking the larger task down into smaller pieces, your younger children won't get frustrated and your older children will be more thorough.