Summer of Purpose
There is lots of chatter right now about summer plans, bucket lists, reading plans, outdoor fun! And it has got me all excited! I want our summer to be full of fun, but also to be full of purpose! I don't want to end the summer stressed out, run ragged, impatient and wondering how we spent our time. I need a plan, a sketch of what I want our summer to look like.
We only officially have 3 days until the school year is done for H, so I'm kind of scrambling pulling this all together. It won't be perfect, but it is a starting place for us. Here are a few areas that I hope to add purpose to our summer.
Goals:
There are quite a few goals that we are working on setting for each kiddo. Areas where we see a need for growth or a new skill mastered. However, it seems that in the throws of the school year, some of this intentional training gets pushed aside. I've realized that so often I expect my kids to be able to accomplish a task, without ever having properly trained them on the steps needed. I want to slow down, to walk them through each part, to encourage them along the way and to celebrate the victories!
Some of our goals:
H- (age 7.5) Tie and double knot his shoes so they won't come undone. Learn how to make the bed on the top bunk. Practice printing (he has amazing cursive, but the printing has never been worked on). Learn how to pack his entire lunch. There are a more, but those are the start... nothing major, just all tasks/ skills for him to master.
Bug- (age 4.5) Know all her letters and numbers up to 20. Be patient for 1-hour of rest and reading. Getting ready without me prompting her...
B- (age 3) Buckle his carseat buckles all by himself. Become a safe swimmer. Make his bed neatly...
Verses:
During the school year all of the kids are assigned Bible verses to work on, however, I wanted to hone in on some verses specific to what we are learning/ where my kids hearts are at. It is my hope to have a verse a week for the kids to memorize for each week we are home. It is our desire for them to hide God's Word in their hearts, to know Him and love him!
I found some amazing resources tonight that will help with this:
Seeds Family Worship Songs to printable verses
Other Printable Verses
Being a Blessing not a Burden:
I have really noticed lately my kids are becoming a burden, in areas where they have the capabilities to be a blessing. For instance, they are all old enough to pick up the toys that they are done playing with. However, this hasn't been happening without reminders, nagging and consequences. They are also capable to help with tasks around the house (with happy hearts), however it often turns into lazy work with complaining and grumbling. I want to help teach my kids the joys of responsibility, the joys of serving others and the overall blessings when we choose to be a blessing to others. This area of our purposeful summer feels the most daunting to me... probably because I am sinful like them and too often I am a burden to others. And teaching my kiddos to be a blessing is so much more about the heart than it is the actions. Heart-training can be so hard!! No matter what, though this will be our BIG challenge for the summer (and for the next 18 years), I really want to dig in and work on this with them!
Serving Others:
This really goes hand-in-hand with learning to become a blessings! We want our kids to learn to serve others! To serve those they love, and to serve those they have never met before. To serve in big and small ways. I'm hoping that we can make this a regular part of each week. That it can stretch us, and grow our love for others.
Daily Routines:
Again, I have noticed that during the school year, that we didn't have time (or for me patience) to hammer out some details that will make our days flow more easily. I want to help build in new habbits/ routines/ expectations for what should be accomplished in each day. Here is a rough list of some items that we will be building into our daily routine:
Room Picked up
Family Chores- whatever is needed to help the family/ house run
Reading Time
School Time
Practice Piano
Verse Practice
(I'm sure I'm leaving out some important details here)
Science/ Art:
My kids love projects! Yet, I have been so bad this last year in preparing any projects for them. We are going to try to do at least one project a week. Maybe alternating between a science project and a fun art project. So many ideas on Pinterest!
Summer Fun List:
We are still going to make our list of fun activities that we hope to accomplish this summer! Our bucket list for summer 2013... ideas to come
There is my rough list of our purposeful summer. I'm working on making it look all pretty so I can put it up on poster-boards! I'd love to hear any other areas where you are excited about your summer, and where you are adding in some intentional thought to make the most of the time with your precious kiddos!
