SPACE FOR SUMMER

After talking about summer in MomSpace a few weeks ago, I was surprised by how many families don't take a break in the summer. I guess it never dawned on me to work through the summer, but many of the reasons made alot of sense.

Some families get behind during the school year and use the summer to catch up. Some families like to roll at a slower pace throughout the year and simply keep a slower pace but continue school through the summer. Some families like to travel more through the year and stay put during the summer. All great tips, and of course we don't promote any one way.

For me though, after almost a decade of homeschooling--I realized very early on that a BREAK is so very valuable to renewing my body and spirit as well as the kids. So many years by the time May rolls around we are DONE. Yet after a couple months off--swimming, swinging, sleeping in and visiting friends and family--we are all ready and excited to get started again! I thought this was a great article that talks about the benefits of a summer break.

Time off From Teaching

Another great post I read recently was from HEARTS OF DAKOTA CURRICULUM author, Carrie. She shares that she uses summer as a time for chore training. Great Tip!

Summer is a great time for chore training! Summer is a wonderful time to train your children to do various chores around the house. We use the summer to train each of our kiddos to do a set of chores appropriate to his age. Then, during the school year the child is easily able to do these chores well, with less checking and monitoring!  How many chores can you expect a child to perform well? Each child has 1-3 chores we train him to do very well. These chores are the child's responsibility until he grows another year older. Each year the chores shift, allowing each child more responsibility as he matures.  What types of chores can you train children to do? Chores can range from dust busting after meals, to clearing table, to loading and unloading the dishwasher. Taking out the garbage, wiping the counters, and sorting and folding laundry are other chores that can be taught. Older children can tackle lawn care, snow removal, house cleaning, putting away groceries, and making quick meals. The chores we assign go beyond typical "picking up."   Routine "picking up" is also a daily responsibility. All of our kiddos are expected to put away their school books, make their beds, and keep their bedrooms tidy. Our older kiddos also take turns doing a "clean sweep" of the house in the evening before bedtime. This sweep involves systematically tidying each room and putting away out of place items. These routine tasks are in addition to our boys' other assigned chores.  Why is summer a great time for chore training? Chore training takes time and diligence! This is why summer is a great time to tackle this task with consistency. Try chore training with your children. When the school year rolls around again, you will be glad that you did!

Blessings, Carrie