Summertime Goals

Summer is here and we have one more day of homeschooling! Woohoo! I love homeschooling, as hard as it can be at times, but boy, we all need a break come summer. I applaud those who can homeschool year round, but it just doesn't work for us. We usually take a two month break from June to August.

I have many plans for what I need to get done during the summer. I thought blogging them would be just about as good as writing them done in a to-do list. Actually this way, I think I'll be more focused on completing them.

Here's the list:

• Gardening - this is hopefully going to be mostly harvesting, eating, and preserving (I'd love to get 24 quarts of spaghetti sauce made from our tomatoes). Paul laid down hay prior to planting so we're hoping the weeds are minimal.
• Read a new curriculum piece and learn how to implement it: Spell to Write and Read. At this point I'm not even sure it'll be relevant for Ethan as he reads and writes really well, but it will be for Elijah soon.
• Learn and implement a computerized tracking system for homeschooling. This is not a requirement for our state, but we thought it would help keep things more organized and be easier than my current system.
• Scrapbooking - I need to catch up on both Elijah's and Caleb's especially. I'd also like to work more on Felicity's if I have the opportunity.
• Take the kids to the park - the nursery moms at my church have organized some park days where we go to different parks and bring packed lunches. This is great for me and the boys! The other moms are a fun group and I enjoy the conversation. We're also doing some field trips which will be fun.
• Exercise - three to four times/week
• Lose 20 pounds or more - I'm in the worse shape of my life after having back to back pregnancies, not to mention all the stress after losing Felicity and carrying Caleb. Breastfeeding hasn't proven has helpful as I'd hoped. Basically I feel like my metabolism has taken a sabbatical and my hunger has jumped into overdrive.
• Blog more, but spend less time on the computer (if that makes sense)
• Go on vacation - we're currently planning on, just need to book a hotel.
• Clean out the minivan!
• Read aloud more - We're currently reading Treasures of the Snow but it's been awhile since we picked it up.
• Find good books on tape for travel time on vacation.
• Have Paul build deck clothesline for hanging cloth diapers to dry.
• Clean laundry room.
• Clean downstairs.
• Write in my journal.
• Have more quiet time reading the Bible. I was doing the 'read through the Bible in a year' program, but am currently so far behind it's gonna take me two years!

I'm sure there's much more I could add, but I'm having a brain-fart at this point so I'll probably have to come back and edit this. I plan on reviewing it come mid-August to let you know what I've accomplished.