Summer Activities -- Monday

Due to the impending arrival of Lindsey Baby #3, we opted to enlist some external help for our summer activities versus the homemade version of "Camp Mom" I put together last year to pass the time. Our preschool wrapped at the end of May, but we have opted to continue there two half days per week as a sort of summer camp. 

On Mondays, the girls put on their swimsuits, cover ups and water shoes, slather on sunscreen and arrive at school ready for splash pad activities. In our house, Monday is now known as WATER DAY!  Except for the application of sunscreen first thing in the morning (why do the aerosol versions have to be so cold?), they LOVE it. Following the water fun, they change into dry clothes at school, and do crafts and activities. Then, in what I like to think of as "Social Experiment 2011," they stay for lunch in the lunchroom at 11:30. While the girls are both "good eaters," they do have some particular food requests, and we think it is educational for them to be in the fray where there is a variety of food and where sandwiches may, indeed, retain their crusts. I know that they are trying out the menu because, when I pick them up (at noon), their clothing usually offers many clues about what was served that day.

Upon arrival home, we unpack the wet, water day clothes (i.e., suit, towel, cover up and shoes) and then have nap/quiet time for an hour or two. Personally, I think negotiating the lunchroom is what is wiping them out most days. After quiet time, they have snack and free play. Following that (from approximately 3:00 - 5:00pm), we have home school activities.

Before the conclusion of preschool this year, we put together an agenda of summer activities, based largely on a variety of workbooks we have been using over the past year, along with some newer material, and we put together a daily/weekly lesson plan for the summer so that we are sure to devote a couple of hours each day to working on pre-reading and writing skills. This is far less technical than it sounds; the girls think they are coloring and painting and making Play-Doh creations, with workbook activities sandwiched in the middle. While they are still easily distracted by dazzling, jumbo sized boxes of crayons, I am going to take advantage of the opportunity.

After school, they resume free play, and that concludes our Monday.