We Need A Plan For The Summer

DD broke up from school on Thursday and we face 62 days of summer vacation ahead of us. Whilst she does have summer school from 8 till 1pm for three weeks, a swimming lesson and an English lesson a week planned (when a friend joins us and I'm the teacher), this is not enough structure for laid back folks like us. I could see her spending days in Cyberspace watching endless episodes of rubbish on You Tube and playing games. I'm also aware that at age seven she needs to be forming good time management habits in a way that I never did.

Anyone remember these? 

So we agreed a plan. And we made a chart of things that have to be done before she gets any screen time. And then we agreed that it wasn't fair that she had a list of of things of do every day but I didn't. So we made a chart for me too. Now we have two charts on the fridge and a plan.

DD's five daily tasks are a page of Hebrew, a page of Maths, a page of English, some Art, and Recorder. We have workbooks in Hebrew, Maths, and English that were started in school and at home and abandoned half way through. And more new workbooks that we bought or were given and never used. I couldn't bear to throw out unfinished workbooks so it makes me happy that they will be finished - and then thrown out.

DD's task chart

I have my recorder books from when I was in school in the early 1970s. DD starts recorder at school in September and they were told to practise over the holiday. I'm not sure how they can practise if they've never been taught and if they don't have someone in the house who can teach them. But luckily we do and I actually wanted to start last year but she wasn't quite ready. I'm also excited about re-learning this skill. I'm two pages ahead of DD. I reckon that's all I need to be.

Art involves anything artistic. Yesterday she drew a range of jewellery with lots of different charms for a charm bracelet. She drew intricate pictures with beads, charms, pendants, and earrings. I don't think Tiffany will be buying the collection but she worked on it for an hour and it was creative. Today we found you tube tutorials for drawing simple animals and she followed and drew dolphins and cats for over an hour.

My task chart

My five daily tasks are keeping up to date with my grading, cleaning one room, laundry (one wash and/or any sewing that needs doing), exercise and recorder. I didn't want to put exercise but DD made me. I could have put my foot down but she's doing things that I chose and she doesn't want to do so it's only fair.

Yesterday we got up late as it was the first day of the holiday. We walked to the shops and hauled back a trolley bag and three more bags of shopping which I had to bring up three flights of stairs. Exercise? Then we made the charts and DD worked through her tasks. She got more and more excited as she ticked each task off. We didn't have time for English as we were going to friends for dinner, so she read a story to me in bed when we got home. That was a whole day of no computer. And DD was happy. Even she can see that it was a day well spent.

I didn't manage to clean a room or do any exercise (I decided not to count the shopping yesterday and interpret it more as stretching and pilates style floorwork.) I made up for it today though. DD finished all her tasks at 2.30pm and has gone on the computer for a while before we go out. We are both feeling virtuous. Early days but it's looking hopeful.