Rush to the Middle: Sum- sum- summertime

Summer has come upon us sooner than I expected this year, since we switched schools and this new school gets out a month earlier than our previous one.

[Side note: since when do schools start and end so dang early?? As we have been job hunting, I have been looking at school districts across the country and have been amazed at their calendars. Some schools in Orange County, CA start August 10th or 11th; some in parts of Georgia start August 1st! That is just a crime, particularly in GA where August is NOT a good time to stuck in desks! And even among those districts that start later, only a few start after Labor Day. Who knew August was the new September and May was the new June?]

Before we moved to Qatar, our summers were semi-planned: we rode the coattails of some of my much more organized friends with older kids and went on a couple of field trips a week, visited the library once a week, and spent as much time as possible at the pool. Then came our summer marathons in the States living with the grandparents, and we had a bit more planned, like swim lessons and reunions and trips back and forth between Provo and Ogden. I had visions of doing school work that never came to fruition, and we did visit the library occasionally, but we were pretty lax about everything, and often I wondered what we were going to do that day.

Not this summer! This summer, a much better plan is essential for several reasons: one, we do not have our huge budget of years past, what with being unemployed and all! Two, we have quite a bit of school work catch up to do with E, because shifting methods of teaching reading mid-stream has really thrown him for a loop and whereas he was above grade level at mid-year in Doha, he is now below grade level in Utah, so we need help him get ready for a smooth transition to first grade where ever we land. J is fine, above grade level as before, but he, too could do with some targeted review and/or enrichment. Three, the kids and I do much, MUCH better with structure and routine and what with not knowing what the heck the end of summer will bring, I am feeling even more keenly the need for both structure and routine and the illusion of control those bring. Four, we don't really have a lot of mom and kid friends here, so we are going to be left to our own devices for activities. Five, I absolutely do not want this summer to turn into a screen time extravaganza, so I have got to have other fun alternatives ready to go! And six, honestly, I just really, really like to plan stuff!

So, here is our super malleable but structured enough not to drive me insane weekly summer plan:

Monday is Library Day and Art Day with Grandma. Enough said.
Tuesday is Movie Day. There are several local theaters that play kids' movie matinees for either .50 or $1, and you can't be that for cheap entertainment!
Wednesday is Play Day. The boys are enrolled in a Urban Gym class, their one structured class for the summer, so we will attend that class, then go hit new playgrounds and/or play games at home.
Thursday is Trip Day. These days we will visit local museums, historical sites, nature centers, etc. We will attempt to make as many of these free as possible and some of them will be up here in Ogden and others will be on the way South, so we will peroidically combine these with weekends at Grandeur and Grandest's house.
Friday is Water Day. We will visit splash pads and water parks (there is even a hot springs near by) and take any cousins that happen to be around with us!
Saturday is Surprise Day. We will use this day to replace any planned activities that get moved because of unexpected conflicts or do something else exciting that comes our way, such as story times at Barnes and Noble or food truck roundups or what have you.

All of these activities will take place after breakfast and school work, which we will work on for 45 minutes or so in the mornings. And we will include cousins whenever possible, because having other kids around always makes everything more fun. And every day, in the evenings, after our activities are done and we have had some quiet time to relax, we will play outside, because it's not a gazillion degrees here and we can. And then, after ALL of that, if someone wants some screen time, they are welcome to it.

And now, just for fun, a sampling of "we are ready for summer" photos!