So this year, I didn't go overboard with my activity planning. Instead I hopped on the Summer Bucket List bandwagon, which would provide inspiration should we need it.
And I also revamped our chore system. It seems like I always do this as well at the beginning of each summer because it takes about that long for whatever previous system was in place to breakdown completely.
So the kids had chores. Only Ava actually did them. We cleaned our brains out on Saturdays. The house looked like a tornado hit it most of the time.
But I got to thinking, there must be a better way.
Thus, the Zone System was born.
Each child is in charge of a zone on the main floor, which they rotate through weekly. (3 zones = Family Room, Mud Room and Hall Bath, and Living and Dining Room + plus their respective bedroom). I try to keep up with the kitchen.
Each morning, they do a "run through"and put away everything on the main floor that belongs to them. Then they clean their zone (plus their room). I've been a stickler about them doing a really good job and what they've found, is that since they clean it everyday, it practically takes no time each morning. And for a good part of the day, the majority of where we spend our time, looks decent.
They also each have additional daily chores like, getting dressed, brushing teeth, making bed, unloading dishwasher, washing kitchen counters, setting the table, school work, practicing piano, always clearing their dishes, etc., though while they're not new, there has been renewed motivation to clean.
They each have 2 snack passes to use throughout the day (because Max can literally eat the entire 13 hours he's awake) as well as 3 (30 min each) tech tickets, which includes using the tv, ipad, and wii.
The whole thing has worked wonders. It's amazing how much better I feel (and I think the kids too) when the house is tidy. And our Saturday morning clean up is much less intense, which is nice when you're hoping to use that day for doing fun things.
Other than that and our recent travels, we've been hanging around the house,
And backing ourselves into corners,
enjoying the pretty backyard and beautiful evenings,
The soft grass is an especially nice spot to practice your clapping,
Finn's been washing a lot of dishes (and even a library book, grrr.) which is a two year old rite of passage, if you didn't know.
And we all love siting on the front porch to watch for Dad to come home.
We've even managed to mark a few things off the bucket list.
Like the Museum of Nature and Science,
Do you know what happens when you take a picture in front of a green screen and you're wearing a green shirt? Luke can tell you...
We swam at the pool and had fun despite realizing how rusty some of our swimming skills have gotten.
And next week we'll be off on our next adventure and marking a few more items off of our list, I'm sure.
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