Its SUMMERTIME! I’ve been pinning and brainstorming and asking the kids what they would love to do this summer. Each of the older kids have two main interests we will tackle in the summer and then we have a whole bunch of little weekly activities we will explore.
early June garden , strawberry jar
Individual Interests
Lily would like to do messy science the whole summer and I am more than happy to oblige. Most of the activities we will check out have a science-y spin. She would also love to learn to draw. Last week I picked up Drawing with Children and that looks like just the thing for both of us (and Ollie) to use to learn about drawing step by step. Even though she will at first resist, I am going to require her to read aloud for 15 minutes to myself or Sam or her brother and sister.
Ollie would like to learn to write his letters beyond those he uses in his name and I am going to add in letter sound recognition. As our animal lover, I hope to do some more animal-centric things including a trip to the zoo or zoo park and Soergel’s for the petting zoo.
House Helpers and Routines
Summer is also presenting the opportunity to train some household chores. We have started with emptying the dishwasher and the older kids trade off on top or bottom emptying each day. Both are clearing their places after dinner. Since I have been doing one load of laundry a day to completion, they are given a small pile to put away each day and that is especially helping Lily not be overwhelmed. She is the person with the most clothes in our family:-) And last but not least, we are experimenting with a routine to start our day. So far response has been favorable and every person can be in the playroom dressed, fed and raring to go by 9AM.
Read Alouds
Currently: The Whipping Boy by Paul Fleischman (together), Kittens in the Kitchen by Ben Baglio (Lily at bedtime), 5-Minute Marvel Super Hero stories (Ollie at bedtime).
Up Next: The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynn Reid Banks
Tinkering, Science and Art Explorations: If I have supplies for these on hand, the following fun will be easy to pull off on a day we don’t have other things planned.
Constellations and More constellations and even more
Giant Bubbles {Can I just say that I have wanted to do this forever and ever and I am determined to do it this summer!}
I can’t wait for Ollie to be all done with school so we can fill our summer days with lots of FUN! Sprinkle in a few weeks of vacation and another few of camp, we have a great summertime ahead of us!
3littlewees 
Congratulations! Your summer lesson plans are complete 🙂 –super interesting and fun!
This looks like a really fun plan 🙂 Thanks for including our ice cream science in your list. Your blog looks super cute, too.