The Lazy Days of ... Summer School?

"Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter." Psalm 74:17

Good morning, dear friends,

Photo: a_werden pixabay

Summer vacation has officially started for many of you.  I have noticed the trend on my Facebook feed, as many of you are packing up and going out in flip flops and sandals, to the beach, to parks, and for outside fun in general.

Think of us, as we have, according to my kids' daily countdown, 18 more days of school left.  Our flip flops and beach things will be waiting...for a little while longer.  This is the hardest stretch of the school year for me, as I try to motivate my kids to return each day to school, as I think to myself, "Why on earth are my kids still even IN school this late in June?"

My daughter's last test for the year was yesterday.  She gives her books back June 17th.  Which means essentially they have three weeks of nothing tacked on at the end of the year.

Vive le homeschooling!

At any rate, summer is coming.  Soon it will be time to pack up school supplies for a while, and regroup.  I love this time of year, which brings a little more breathing room to the schedule, a time for relaxing with the family, encouraging the kids, and changing routines.

School may be almost over, but soon, a different kind of teaching will begin.

Every summer in our home (as I am sure it is the case in yours) brings with it its own unique blessings and challenges.  On the one hand, everyone is able to be at home together for long stretches of time with endless possibilities and time to do them.  On the other hand, everyone is home together for long stretches of time...and you all know what happens next.

Let's just say, it's a mixed blessing.

So, when the Abbett family "summer school" begins, here are the lessons that I hope my children will take away from this summer:

1.  You are NOT bored.  When there is so much that could be done, and should be done, and might be done, I don't even think I should be addressing this.  Yet I do, every summer, every holiday.  One of the biggest challenges as a mom for me during breaks is encouraging my kids to find activities that they could do, without micromanging their time.  Pile water balloons on the trampoline.  Take Nerf guns...outside, not in the house.  Dig for worms.  Go catch some bugs.  But find something to do, preferably something that does not require my immediate supervision.  You're welcome.

2.  Fun is NOT complicated.  One of my favorite gifts at the beginning of each summer was a spiral bound, 5 subject notebook and a pen.  No summer growing up was complete without it.  That notebook was my constant companion, as I wrote out short stories, sketched, doodled, played paper games in the car with my brother on long trips, wrote out my diary, whatever.  IF there is one thing that fun should not be, it is complicated.  Outside is God's playground.  Go exploring.  Balls are your friends.  Gimme grass over tile or carpet anyday.  Reconnect with the million and one Legos that scar my feet in the nighttime as I check on you.  It's not hard to make fun, that doesn't have to be coached or planned out, just an occasional referee moment when fun starts to get to be "less" fun.

3.  Your brothers and sister are NOT your enemies.  When I think back to my friends that I had growing up, I can count on both hands the number that I still keep in contact with today.  My children are learning that they always will have their brothers and sister for company, sometimes even when they do not want them to be around.  I do not have to schedule playdates with their parents, only ensure that they do not kill each other in the process of learning to get along.

4.  I am NOT your friend or toy.  I love doing things with my children, but my children do not need me to have fun.  That is the fine line I walk every summer: being available with them and making memories with them, at the same time, allowing them to use their own imagination and creativity to invent things for themselves.  If I am not careful, I see children wandering around aimlessly as children that need to be organized into a "fun" activity, when sometimes I just need to let it go and let them figure it out for themselves.  Don't get me wrong--I'm sure that I will be cornered into playing Risk, or blowing up water balloons, or strapping wheels to my feet and skating with the kids, but in between times, I hope that I will let my kids learn and discover...to make their own fun, without Mommy telling them how to have it.

I asked my children to each write up a list of 10 things they wanted to do this summer, and I was thankful to see that their ideas of a fun summer, are not very different from my own.  Having friends over.  Reading.  Drawing.  Playing with water or Nerf guns.  Camp.  These are summer fun activities that make me excited for summer to come.

So, bring on the flip flops, and the garden hose, and the tents and bugs.  I'm ready...almost.

Here's to the beginning of another crazy summer!  Hope we all survive...with our smiles still intact.