Mid Summer Check-Up: For The Love of Goals

     

     Summer time fun is in full swing!  Our schedule is much more relaxed.  We sleep later & plan even more travel & fun activities than usual.  We make countdown calendars for youth camp & the big family beach vacation!  However, I just can't stand to throw out our routine all together!  I thrive on organization.  I must stay focused & have goals.  Academics will not be our top priority but I do want to fit in a little in certain areas.  That will leave more time for the most important things, more spiritual & family time!
     First, we all gathered to plan our summer 2016 goals at the end of May.  Of course, Nathan & I had much of the say but were surprised by the kid's input too.  Each family member (according to ability) has Bible reading & scripture writing or memorization for which they are personally responsible for.  Not long ago I was reminded by an elder that if we fail to plan time for God & His word & record what we've read, it becomes too easy to do much of nothing.  Nathan works full time & set his other goals related to his work in the shop.  Reading is something I love, so one of my goals is to read old unread books or rid my stash of them.  The rest of my goals revolved around cleaning out & decluttering.  I certainly didn't over do that for summer break.  I just have a few areas I'd like to get around to tidying up, & certain things no one can really help me do, such as my closet.  Hoarding up clothes that I don't & will not wear is just ridiculous when someone would use them.  Kaley enjoys cooking & was excited to take over snack time.  It gives her an opportunity to plan & serve up fun, new snacks & also lightens my to do list.  She also agreed to take full responsibility for our few pets & plants for this summer.  Marianna is the animal lover & main care giver usually but has lately been getting burned out with all of it.  Instead we urged her to set reading goals since she doesn't ever read for fun.  She likes the Junie B. Jones books & has read a dozen this past school year.  Now she must finish the rest of the series.  They are funny & short & actually under her reading level, so it won't kill her, right?  We'll see!  The little ones pretty much get a free pass to play except for a few academics that I think are important for them to master before beginning Kindergarten.  A few family goals were also established for us to accomplish together such as clean out the barn & the playroom.

     Next, we altered our normal schedule:

Our Family’s Summer Schedule

9:00~Rise & Shine

Breakfast

10:00~Morning Chores: Clean-Up Breakfast, Get Ready For the Day, Make Beds, Pick-Up, Start Washing Clothes, etc… 

11:00~Individual Prayer Time & Devotional

        Lunch                                                  

        Play Time                                                    

2:30~Pick-Up & Story/Reading Time        

        Learning Time                                                

       Snacks by Kaley                                    

4:30~Wednesdays~Get Ready for Church
Afternoon Chores: Tuesdays~Dust & Vacuum
Thursdays~Lysol, Windex, Sweep, & Mop

Fridays~Vehicles, Meal Planning, & Grocery Shopping

Saturdays~Outside & The Shop’s Weekly Clean-Up

6:00~Family Time   

7:00~Baths, Final Pick-Up, & Laundry          Sundays
        Supper                                                    CHURCH
8:30~Family Bible & Prayer Time

9:00~REST                                                                   

     This is what works for us.  We accommodated sleeping later with a morning hour of down time immediately following.  This way we can relax in our pjs together taking the time to enjoy our breakfast & one another's company before our normal morning chores.  It's simple & everything gets done without spending a full day cleaning.  Don't read too much into Learning Time.  It is set aside to last about 30 minutes for each to work on specific goals too.  A special hour of family time is added during summer.  This is when we create art, play board games, do puzzles or those Science experiments that we always meant to do, etc.  We may also be found fishing at the cabin, enjoying a local park, or outside in the yard playing some sort of ball. Of course, the dreaded chore of laundry must be "scheduled."  To be honest, it just gets done whenever throughout the day & thrown on my bed.  At night is when we all gather to fold.  We can at least talk & laugh as we fold & put it away quickly.  Many hands make for light work!  As hard as I try to be grateful for our clothes, the laundry task continues to be boring & mundane for me.  It's what I put off the most.  It really helps that everyone is willing to pitch in.  Ms. Cheryl is my God send every week for ironing.  For that I am truly thankful!!!  We may would all drown in a sea of clothes around here if she didn't bail us out!  The rest is self explanatory.

     Any ideas?  What works for you?  I always love to hear new ideas!!! 

& Don't Forget:

          

Be encouraged!  Prioritize the important tasks & then add the necessary chores & also the hard things!  NEVER be afraid to bend or tweak your schedule to fit your family's needs.  By the 2nd day, I changed mine.  It's what will set you apart & make you successful!  Just thinking about changing something never accomplished anything!  If it did, I'd surely be skinny & rich!  ;) Lol

Mid Summer CHECK-UP

     Mid July brings our family into the reality that summer is nearing an end.  We will slowly begin a relaxed school schedule in August before diving in deep come September.  I just reread our family's 2016 summer goals.  I was extremely pleased to see that we were making great progress for the most part & have not completely fallen off of the wagon!  Nathan is working as hard as always.  I have cleaned out closets & decluttered our home.  Yay me!  Our new schedule is really working for us.  Things are neat & tidy without us killing ourselves around here day in & day out.  There are a few areas I have failed.  We are staying up later & sleeping later, & some things I forgot all about!  Does anyone else ever do that?  Research fun ideas, buy the books & supplies you need, stack them up somewhere for later because life is so busy...later didn't happen!  That's what is great about writing down goals.  You can check back on your progress & remind yourself of your priorities.  As always, some things will just go undone.  That's okay too.  Remember they are goals & not mandatory minimums!  

     The kids are loving summer!  They have done lots of swimming here in HOT south GA!  We have also taken several day trips to the beach since it's a short ride away.  Youth camp has come & gone (pictures to post soon hopefully) & now their countdown calendar for the annual family beach vacation is winding down too!  Lots of packing to get done rather quickly.  This summer has been awesome thus far!

This video was too funny not to share!  My thoughts exactly:

     If summer has flown by without a thought, I encourage you to plan at least 1 special outing for family time, read a good book aloud together, & definitely take time to read & memorize a few Bible scriptures!  ENJOY!