Summer Survival

Confession: I am not one of those moms who loves EVERYTHING about summer. I wish I were, I honestly do, but the truth is that, by the time mid-August rolls around, I am counting down the days til the school bus starts making stops at our place once again. I can totally relate to the dad in that Staples commercial who is doing a happy dance to the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" song while he gleefully throws school supplies into his shopping cart.

With that off my chest, I DO love many things about summer: Staying in our jammies til lunchtime, telling Maddie she can make pancakes every morning (her new favorite thing), not having to worry about the morning rush or the afternoon chaos (because, you know, it's all day chaos in the summer), and getting to spend more unstructured time with my older children.

A couple of days before school got out in June, I made plans to implement an idea that has made our summer days SO much more pleasant, I just had to share, even if only to document for myself for future summers to come.

Behold, Mommy School:

• Complete Daily Chores (these are whatever household jobs I want to give them each morning)
• Practice Handwriting and Keyboarding (from an online website)
• Read Silently for 30 minutes
• Write in your Daily Journal (in a cheap-o notebook and about whatever they want)
• Get Dressed, Brush Teeth, Eat Breakfast
• Hug your Mom!!
• ***Earn Media Time***

You guys, this has revolutionized my summer. I can say in all honesty that I have not once (not even once!) had to ask them to finish mommy school. In fact, mommy school is totally optional. I don't care if they do it or not, But they care. They really care. For better or for worse, my children are highly motivated by earning cartoon/ipad time. They will do just about anything for the opportunity to watch an episode of Pokemon (try as I might I just do.not.get.that.show). They get to redeem said media time while Nathan naps, so it doesn't really conflict with activities outside of the home. And as much as I moan about Pokemon and it's stupidity, it has really bonded my older three children together. They won't watch an episode until all three of them have completed mommy school so that no one gets behind. And they save all their allowance to buy those silly cards at Walmart, after which they play card games together for sometimes hours a day. So I guess in my heart of hearts I really love Japanese anime, if only because it has kept my home much more harmonious than normal this summer. The other grand thing about "Mommy School" is that no one tells me they are bored!! Hallelujah.

So there you have it, my summer survival guide (which is basically this in a nutshell: Bribe your children with video games and t.v. shows to get them to do what you want. The end.)

Isaac got to go on a fishing trip and in a canoe for the first time the other day. He love, love, loved it. A friend of mine saw this picture on Instagram and said, "This photo just screams summer!" I have to agree. Photo Credit: Amy Thompson.