Mormon Mentality - Thoughts and Asides by Peculiar People » Oh, What do you do in the Summertime?

6 Comments

1. jks

Mon, Jun 27, 2011 @ 4:40pm

My first day of summer too!!!! 10 weeks breaks down to 3 weeks of summer at home, 3 weeks of mostly gone, 1 week of oldest two gone, 3 weeks of summer at home.
So…..we only have 6 weeks, really. Kids ages 3, 7, 11, 13.
To take advantage of these six non-homework weeks, each kid is making dinner once a week. It means I will have to get them the actual ingredients of the dishes they (with my approval) choose to make and then I have to spend 45 minutes telling them things like “Find a pot that you think would hold rice” “turn the stove on to high” “Find a measuring cup” etc. But my 11 year old did great and seemed way proud of his potstickers and rice that he made last night. I enjoyed the time with him, talking with him, knowing that I could dedicate this time to him becoming more capable because he didn’t have other responsibilities and I was making it a #1 priority of my evening.

2. ESO

Mon, Jun 27, 2011 @ 5:44pm

That’s a great idea, JKS.

3. jks

Mon, Jun 27, 2011 @ 9:04pm

I wish I could tell you whose idea it was, but I read it somewhere on the bloggernacle where everyone was listing off summer routines.

4. diane

Mon, Jun 27, 2011 @ 9:19pm

@ Jks

I learn to cook at a young age by watching my Italian grandma. I didn’t always understand what she was telling me because she spoke very little English, but, I somehow got the Knack of it. They will remember it later on, fondly

5. jks

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 @ 3:05am

Well ESO, I guess everyone is done with the subject except for us since our summer just started. I have to say that since the kids got out of school Friday it has been nice! I love it when my kids oldest two do homework and get good grades but it is nice to see them have a break. I had had the movie Temple Grandin for almost 2 months and couldn’t find 2 hours to watch it with my daughter because of homework and other busy things with a family of six (especially at the end of the year with all the band concerts and ballet or piano recitals). We finally got to watch it on Saturday.
We have plenty going on for them to work on, but it is more laid back. And Seattle summer means time outside which is really nice after such a cold spring. I hope you get to enjoy your weeks of summer with your kids!

6. annegb

Thu, Jun 30, 2011 @ 10:12am

I basically spent every afternoon at the pool with Sarah. When the older kids were little, we had a neighborhood chock full of kids and parents pretty much spent the summer sleepless because they ran wild. They didn’t play computer games or text all day; those kids built tree huts, rode bikes, ran in the sprinklers, ate millions of popsicles, wanted to go to the pool, played little league. I kind of hated summer. Kids up all night from one family or the other. Nuts. It’s pretty quiet here now. I’m spending a lovely quiet summer (6 weeks off work !) catching up on Men of a Certain Age (Ray Romano is a genius) and puttering around my house. It’s different when your kids leave home.