Scheduling Summer

If you are like our family, at the time of this writing, there are 69 days until school starts again. If that sounds overwhelming to you, then don’t get me started on how few days there are until Christmas!

Sixty-nine days is all at once a lot and not nearly enough days of rest and rejuvenation. Don’t you find that the kids who have been desperate for holidays all spring are bored and out of things to do by August 13th? And all those wonderful friendships in the neighbourhood that we hoped would blossom and grow over the summer break tend to actually wither and rot by the end of July? Maybe that’s not your reality. Maybe summer break for you is all about peace and domestic bliss and self-initiated chores. If so, you should write a book. I’d buy it.

Don’t get me wrong: summer, like the rest of the year, is generally a really smooth sail in our home. The kids get along with each other really well, and we all enjoy the break from the routine of school-books and assignments (and marking!) However, every summer there comes a moment where it is quite glaringly obvious that we have all, myself included, had too much free, unstructured, un-educational time. The bad habits of the neighbours are wearing off on my kids, mild irritations with each other become a bit less mild, and we are all generally looking for a rudder to our boat. What to do? What to do?

On top of that, haven’t we all sat at the dining room table in September listening to our kids ask, “What’s 8 times 7 again?” and then bemoan the incredible lack of retention children suffer over a summer that is devoid of intellectual stimulation.

In light of all that, I have come up with a list of things I’d like to do with our kids this summer. These are a few of the things that I always mean to work into our fall schedule, but they often get bumped by the “real school” stuff of core subjects and easily gradable topics. Maybe you’ll want to try some of these too. Or maybe you have a list of resources you’d like to share in the comments below.


Please read the rest of my latest Heart of the Matter Online article here. And be sure to browse their site. There is a wealth of wisdom there for moms of all sorts! What a talented bunch of contributors they have!

The Results are In

Despite the incredible amount of rain, the parade went on as planned at the Fall Fair and the folks lined the streets to watch it. Our children had a blast picking up soggy candy off the street and then begging me to eat all of it. (not before they share the sour candies with me though. We'll call it a service tax.)

Then off to the exhibitors hall:



28 items entered. 5 children entering their wares.

23 ribbons received.

First place red ribbons: 4

Second place blue ribbons: 4

Third place white ribbons: 6

Thanks for coming out burgandy ribbons: 9

Apparently the other 5 items didn't even need to bother showing up as they ended up ribbonless...

The kids had a hoot, and I am proud of them. Next year I may even try and enter some muffins...that's about all I got!

Fall Fair Time

Today is the day when all the wannabe agrarians come to the town's fairgrounds and drop off all there 4-H-ish best.

While I love seeing my little ones be creative, this day is a nightmare to me.

Oh I know. I can hear you "Barbara. Don't be a stick in the mud. Let your children blossom and create and be rewarded for their hardwork."

I know. That's why I not only feel exhausted from filling out entry forms for an hour with 7 children standing patiently by me in a teeny little hot room but I also feel guilt.

See, my life, so far, is summed up as a struggle with laziness and procrastination. It has also been one of the counting the cost and determining that most things aren't worth the effort.

La.Zy.

Because I do not want my children to grow up dealing with those sins (I figure they can be creative and come up with their own), I figure I will encourage them to do things like this which are messy, time consuming, and have very little reward at the end other than the joy of a job well done (which, I know, should really be enough).

Yesterday we skipped school to finish our projects: Lots of crayon, marker, and pencil crayon drawings, glitter glue, homemade cookies, quilting, knitting, Mr.Potato Heads (made with organic potatoes thank you very much...), decorated eggshells, handmade bracelets, macaroni picture frames, and a gift basket for a shut in.

Fantastic. It all looked great, the kids had a blast, and it kept everyone occupied for hours yesterday.

Of course today we had to get up early to drive my husband to work so we could have the car, then come home and eat breakfast and give the baby a nap and do final touches on macaroni picture frames and have a bath and feed the baby and then get everyone in the car to go to the store to buy paper plates for the cookies and then cram into the room to fill out a gagillion tags.

Problem 1. the 6 year old trips entering said room and hurts her toe and break 2 hand painted egg shells.

Problem 2. I wore a sweater because I forgot how stinkin' hot it was last year in that little room.

Problem 3. This is a small town and I know every other person who enters the room who all want to look at the baby and tell me how cute he is and how big and can you believe he's only 7 months! and how long has your two year old had glasses....nice to catch up, but I'M WORKIN' HERE!!! (Note to self: must pray for the spirit of 'social graces').

Problem 4. My kids are brilliantly fantastically patient. E (6 yo) is occupying the 2year old, M (9 yo) is making sure I fill out the forms right, J (8 yo) is reading to the other two (7 yo A and 4 yo C) and baby Z is just as content and peaceable as ever. Wait, you say, how is this a problem? Read on for the application and life lesson of my day:

Life lesson: I have nothing to complain about. And yet here I am complaining. I have industrious, loving, helpful children who want to use the creativity the Lord has given them. And all I want to do is gripe and complain about how this is taking too long and I want a cup of tea. Praise the Lord that He shut my mouth and kept me smiling outwardly. I managed to not show the kids the internal grump I had going on.

What was that I said the other day about looking to the interests of others? Yup. I tanked today...inwardly anyway. And since the Lord does not look at the outward appearance but rather at my heart, I'm guessing I won't be getting a red ribbon for my performance today.

Lord please let me learn from my children to be diligent and peaceable in all things. Help me to be willing to put out my best effort even when it is clear that others have done and will do better than me. Help me to want to work hard joyfully instead of doing it with this stinkin' self-centered, appetite driven grump in which I am currently wallowing.

How much of life am I missing out on enjoying because I am constantly weighing out if the effort is worth the enjoyment?

But as a Tommy Walker song says: There's still hope for me today, because the God of Heaven loves me. And that is worth everything.