Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Busyness of Summer

Well, summer is up and running at our home! A week of summer overnight camp, basketball camp,and hot baseball games are just some of the things that have filled our days so far. We have enjoyed a week at Saddle Ridge Ranch VBS and open house at Sunflower Art Studio viewing our budding artist's creation, throw in trips to the pool complete with picnic lunch,a trip to the beach, NYC and the American Girl Doll Store, and seeing movies on hot afternoons and you have a great start to summer time fun.

Then of course I have all of the time for preparing for our new school year. I have ordered about half of my curriculum and am waiting for the arrival of TOG YEAR 4 on my front porch. I have looked at my 4 inch and 5 inch ring binders and priced out the plastic page protectors. I can't wait until the back to school supplies sale begins. Nothing better than glue sticks and spiral notebooks on SALE!! I am trying to get my resources organized for next year for TOG, a friend of mine suggested having a basket for each Unit and filling the basic with resources I found right now so I don't forget to include them during the units. Great idea!

I am trying to get all of those things on that long list that I make during the school year that I would like to do in the summer such as,organize and clean up our school room, clean up the attic, right down things done from the last school year that never made it in the my notebook, and well you get the idea. I love the promise of summer, long, lazy days of summer to get done all the things I put off during the school year. This year I am making good use of my days...or at least I am trying to so I feel like a had a summer!

I have just attended a two day leadership retreat for my homeschool support group. That has gotten me all fired up about this coming school year. I am getting ready to talk about Organization for a ladies group at my church and I am preparing for a Resource Fair and Used Curriculum Sale that my homeschool support group is sponsoring at the end of July. I am also going to host a small group of ladies at my home that are just getting started on homeschooling to try to offer them some encouragement. I am going to help with a Homeschooling 101 type meeting my support group is holding at the beginning of July as well.

I am getting ready for our "down and dirty" all day, Tapestry of Grace co op meeting this upcoming week. The leader of our TOG co op group is having us to her home for planning. The moms in the group will sit down together and prayerfully plan our year of Tapestry. Expectations for the kids as well as for the moms will be discussed. We will plan the Unit Celebrations and the calendar and then each team of teachers will get together and start collaborating on the plans for co op activities each week. I am very excited about the new school year already!

Summer time and all of its promise is upon us, and I want it to be a relaxing and productive summer of 2010!

Busy, busy, busy, but still it is summer and time for some fun!