A Stay-at-home Summer

My son was born in May, so my maternity leave gets to be spent not only with him but also with my 8-year-old daughter. Harrison and Sammi have very different ability levels, obviously, so finding ways to keep organized, maintain sanity, and still have a fun summer is the goal.

Check out our summer control center:

I found some great printables on Pinterest to help give some slight structure to our days while still allowing for flexibility.

The week activity schedule came from Somewhat Simple, and helps us plan simple activities that fit a daily theme.

The “BORED” chart came from Modern Parents Messy Kids, and is where I send Sammi when she whines the phrase, “I’m booooooored!” Since the chart lists earning money as an option, I also hung a paper in which my husband and I list extra chores that Sammi can do to earn money. These are in addition to her daily and weekly responsibilities that she doesn’t get paid for.

Here’s to a great summer!

100 Books in 100 Days: Days 4, 5, and 6

Day 4: Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsaby Veronica Chambers

After reading this story, we talked about how Celia Cruz is a real person, so this story is called a biography.  Then we went on her website (www.celiacruz.com) and listened to audio clips of her singing, and watched a video of a live performance.  We talked about salsa music and the types of instruments used, and then danced to salsa in the classroom!

Day 5: Sam and the Lucky Money by Karen Chinn

We made our own lei see (red envelopes) after reading the story.  The Activity Village website has fantastic printable scrapbook paper, as well as an envelope template, that we used and the children had a great time folding their lucky red envelopes.

Day 6: Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

We talked as a group about who we love and the people in our families.  Since Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, the children worked on making valentines for their families.