Summer Plans

Summer vacation officially started this past Friday for us!  Thursday was a half day and, to celebrate, we went to lunch with 25 of our closest friends from school at a local restaurant.  On Friday, we met up with more school friends for a pick up baseball game and then went to the movies with the first graders and their teachers.  On Saturday, we went to an End of the Year BBQ where many school friends and teachers were in attendance.  On Monday, the boys each had a play date with a school friend so we have not had much time to miss anyone yet :)    


In the midst of all our fun, I have had some more time to plan and prep for our summer learning adventure.  In addition to our overview of Ancient Times using Story of the World, Volume 1, the boys will be working through this Baseball Unit Study by Amanda Bennett.  To supplement both of these studies, I've filled two large bins with library books- one dedicated to history and literature based on Ancient Times and the other dedicated to America's favorite pastime.  Our school has an Accelerated Reader program in which the students earned points each time they read, quizzed on and passed a quiz on a book.  The boys really loved this program so I modified it for use at home and they are busy earning AR points here now.  I even found a reading log for my four year old where she can color in a portion of a circle for every book read to her.   


We are also starting a new Family Devotional for the summer.  I must admit that I struggle to continue a consistent Family Devotion during the school year.  We've tried doing it in the morning but that soon fades out as we are rushing to get out the door for school.  We've tried it after dinner with daddy when he is home early enough but we forget more often than we remember.  We have been pretty consistent in the summer though.  And now that we will be homeschooling next year, I have made it a part of our school schedule so I hope it will become a habit for us.  This summer we are using Child's Book of Character Building: Growing Up in God's World.  The book focuses on 12 godly character qualities.  We are doing one character quality a week- memorizing the corresponding scripture verse and pointing out to one another when we see that quality being displayed.  


Our weekday schedule will look something like this- with lots of room for reading, swimming and other spontaneous summer activities:
8 a.m.     Breakfast    
9 a.m.     Devotion and Story of the World
10 a.m.   Outing/Play date
4 p.m.     Baseball Unit Study

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