The Count Down is On

Only nine more days of school left. What? Lots of mixed feelings about this realization. I love summer - boating with the kids, sprinklers, sidewalk chalk, long days with the kids building forts or making a lemonade stand. But what I fear is a lot of this ...You know, those days where you can actually see your kids getting ... shall we say, less smart? I hate those days. Last year, I had a plan of attack. I started the summer with a schedule. All the kids were required to read for 30 minutes a day and the 'littles', as we call them, had worksheets to do that I printed myself from the internet. This way I was in control of their curriculum and could vary it to keep them thinking. We did lots of math ... lots and lots of math for our upcoming 5th grader and loads of spelling and reading exercises for our soon-to-be first grader. I made sure they each had things like mazes, word searches or coloring pages too and #4 even learned how to play Sudoku.

The work paid off and they both had a great school year because of it. They never hit this point where they completely shut their brain down and it made it a lot easier for them to learn new concepts right from the begining of the school year. Now, it's time for me to get back on my game and start searching for activities and worksheets. If you have kids at home this summer and want to give them a headstart for next year you should take a few minutes to check out these websites.

http://www.mathfactcafe.com/ (great for designing your own work)
http://www.tlsbooks.com/ (used tons of these last year)
http://www.helpingwithmath.com/resources/worksheets.htm
http://www.homeeducationresources.com/FREE1.htm
http://treasures.macmillanmh.com/utah/families

http://www.uen.org/k12student/interactives.shtml (fantastic online activities)

This year there will also be organized activities for the 'bigs'. #2 will get to start and finish his Eagle project. #1 will be increasing hours at work as well as picking up driver's ed so she can finally get her license. I think I'll also have #1 and #3 start a charitable effort making hair accessories for the Center for Change. I can't help but want them all to really know how to do things ... and to be involved in doing things for others. I think we'll also look for some local opportunities here. What are your plans for summer?