Sumer Survival

Having my kids out of school for the summer takes some planning.

Welcome to

Rachael's Summer Survival 101

We will cover 3 topics

Food

Responsibility

Fun

Food

My kids can really eat, so this is an important one.

When they are not in school they tend to graze all day long.... in addition to eating 3 meals a day.

It can get expensive, and it's not healthy.

In order to temper their snacking I have devised a plan.

I bought some snacks, which is exciting for them because

I never buy snack foods.

 If I buy a box of cereal (or cookies, chips etc.) it is eaten in a few hours.

Problem #1 it is too expensive to buy snacks when they don't last.

Problem #2 it is unhealthy for the boys to eat that much at a time.

So I have devised a plan.

I divided up the cereal, pretzels, crackers etc.

into appropriate portion size servings and put them into bags.

I put all the bags into a bin along with other snacks and they choose 3 bags each day to snack on.

I try to get healthy-ish stuff

(you people reading who are health food experts are shaking your heads at me)

But all in all this food is not horrible especially when eaten moderately.

Each week I add a few new things to our snack box.

The things they really like are:

Reeses cereal (the favorite)

Pretzels

Cheese-it's

Granola bars

Applesauce

Fruit leather

Trail mix

I try to buy a few things each week to replenish the supply.

I also let them choose yogurt or a cheese stick to put with their snacks.

I put some fruit or some veggies out on the counter and they are welcome to eat all of that they want.

And I cook 3 meals a day which incorporates more fruits and vegetables.

They put their snacks in a little lunch sack so there is no confusion about

who chose which snack.

So far it's working out great.

He really is the cutest kid ever ;-)

Responsibility

When the kids are home there is more work to do.

Not only do they need to keep help around the house more, but their brains need to be active too.

I got some clip boards and each morning I put a few worksheets on them

so the boys can brush up on their school learning.

They also have to do two jobs to help around the house each day.

Here is our job chart. 

In addition to these jobs they have to keep up with their basic responsibilities.

Also, if they want to play with friends they need to put away their laundry and tidy up their bedroom.

Fun

I really believe summer is a time to have fun and do interesting things together as a family.

In blogging-land a few years ago everyone made summer bucket lists.

I still use mine, I revise it and add new things each year but much of it stays the same.

Mine was pretty easy to make.

I typed it up and printed it out on some cute paper and put it in a frame.

When we do something we check it off with a sharpie marker.

Just write on the glass, it will wipe off with some cleaner.

Here is our list in case you need ideas for your own.

I have just realized that mine isn't completely centered. Oops!

Beneath My Heart had a great idea how to calm the chaos and have two hours

of sanity each day by dividing up the kids to various stations. 

This is a great idea because sometimes they need a break from each-other, and a break for mom too.

Best of fun to all of you this summer!

I'm off to make lunch ;-)