Freedom!!

Now, don't get me wrong. I love homeschooling. I really do. But there is nothing like the feeling of having finished 180 days of school. We set up a schedule at the beginning of the year and have done our best to stick to it. It's a necessity to have a routine that would enable us to get it all done, but it truly does go again my grain.

Some of my kids flourish with routine. They love knowing what to expect. It makes their day seem to fly by and makes sense. They need direction when the schedule is open ended lest they become bored, or even worse, whiny.

For others routine seems like a low ceiling. They feel just a tad squished under it and can't wait to break out to get under the wide open sky. They will find countless ways to spend their free time and prefer not to be interrupted.

Summer at our house is a crazy, fun time. Sean is essentially off of work. I pick up more work hours. We like to travel when possible and definitely stay active. The trick is keeping the housework on a schedule so that the house does not self destruct. This summer won't have the thrill of last summer, but it's going to great nonetheless!

So what's on the agenda for this summer?

• 4-H. This is our first summer to participate. There'll be quite a bit of dog training, crocheting, knitting, cooking and cake decorating going on around here.
• The summer reading program (when we pay off our hefty fine)
• Basketball camp
• Indiana State Park's Patch Program/ camping
  
• A weekly Writing Institute at our house
• Free Bowling
• A week with my family just hanging out and having fun

And what is on my list?

• Hopefully reaping the benefits of lasagna gardening and actually producing a vegetable worth eating this year
• Reading/studying
• Watching movies with Sean at night:)
• Making a ottoman/window seat from a coffee table.
• Coupon shopping again to stock up for the fall when I won't have the time

How about you? What are you doing this summer?