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The Not-So-Lazy Days of Summer – The Summer 2013 Survival Plan

by Jill Jarvis Leave a Comment

Summer DaysSchool has been out for 4 days and we are enjoying the pace of summer break. I especially enjoy that at 7:45am each morning, I am NOT hollering at my kids to run to class. But on the flip side, I don’t want summer to be so lazy that all those school days of waking up at 5:55am are wasted.

Since the BigKidSmallCity household is run by 2 engineers, we like to have a plan. Since the house is also run by 3 kids, ages 5 and under, we are happy if we sorta stick to that plan.

As a family we decided that each day we would try to do 5 things.

  1. Workbooks
  2. Have Fun
  3. Practice Chinese
  4. Have More Fun
  5. Read

The workbooks are easy. The kids pick from a stack of workbooks and worksheets that are Math, Logic or Writing. We also print out FREE worksheets from SoftSchools.com.

In the morning, my schedule is generally free and I have an opportunity to go have fun with the kids. The trick is to get moving and out the door before I need to head to work at lunchtime. To keep us on track, we have our Summer Bucket List and the Things to Do List.

In the middle of the day, when we have a little downtime, we are trying to practice our Chinese. My husband and I do not speak more than 3 words of Chinese, but our kids attend a language immersion school. Half of their school day is taught in Chinese.

Our casual effort at maintaining the Chinese is to do workbooks, watch movies and listen to audio. And if we can catch this in the car, on the way to our next outing, we check it off the list.

For afternoon fun, the kids will go to camp, playdates or out with dad. Easy.

The days end with reading. The kids are motivated by the many reading programs around Houston that let you earn rewards. The Houston Public Library program lets the kids earn free books and tickets to the Astro’s game and Circus for reading just 30 books (or 30 hours)!

We’re trying to stick to this plan, but know that trips, camps and business travel could mess it all up. Good thing it’s summer and we are only kinda trying to not be too lazy.

So, what’s your plan for summer?

Filed Under: All, Things to do June 10, 2013

About Jill Jarvis

Jill Jarvis is the owner of JillBJarvis.com, a BigKidSmallCity.com and Things to Do in Houston, with Kids, blog!

She is the mom of 4 and started the website years ago... when she was tired of constantly cleaning up the same mess in the family room.

Another mom showed her that you could just go do fun things in Houston, without hours of planning.

This inspired the blog and changed everything about how she enjoyed life in Houston, with kids!

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jill-jarvis-bigkidsmallcity-circle-300 Welcome!  JillBJarvis.com is the go-to blog for things to do in Houston with kids!  It is upbeat and dedicated to making our big city feel small.   START HERE!    

On this website you will find a full list of Houston weekly events, things to do around the city, travel ideas and resources for parents.

I know just what it’s like to be overwhelmed by work, life and family. I spent a lot of years traveling for work, missing big milestones for my kids and feeling bad about everything.

I started this website to make a list of all the events happening around Houston and then pick one to enjoy with my kids. And instead of thinking of all the things I was missing, I started to enjoy the things we were doing together.

If you are a parent that is feeling overwhelmed by all the things you could be doing in Houston… please just use our weekly lists and daily posts as suggestions. Pick one thing to do with your family and intentionally ignore the rest!

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