How quickly it starts! "I'm bored." "I don't know what to do." Ohhhh, my sweet little children, I have things you can do! We all needed a break from school, but that doesn't mean we do nothing. I have already given my children the "God has nothing good to say about laziness in His Word" lecture. The next step in training my children to not be lazy sloths during the summer months was making a list. So here it is (for starters anyway - it'll probably morph as the summer progresses): The first group (red) will be their first choice; notice they're not so fun chores (this is in addition to their regular chores). Then they may choose from the blue group which are mostly educational but I also included things that might be considered chores but I'm hoping they'll see as privileges. Then, they may choose a fun activity from the yellow group. Again I "hid" some educational activities in that list, hoping they'll enjoy them. I certainly don't want them to lose a year's worth of education over our summer break!  So, if I hear the "B" word, they'll immediately have 3 things to do! Ta da! Boredom no more!

Clean the basement stairs, wipe baseboards,  sweep: entryway, front porch or deck, clean interior doors, declutter 10 things from your bedroom (give or throw away), put 5 of your out-of-place things back in their place.

Read: Bible, library book, book you own, do a page in an activity book or your devotional, gardening: pull weeds, water flowers, nature journal,  bird watch, write a letter to: God, a relative, or a friend, write a story: real or pretend, ask Mom if you can help cook dinner

Play a board game, play with toys, practice skills: sewing, measuring: linear, liquid, weight, counting: money, skip counting, minutes and hours, months and weeks, go outside: play in tower, ride bike or scooter, swing, make a mini nature home, art: paint, crayon, chalk, clay, play dough, draw, listen to music, call a friend to come and play or just to talk to. Note: I saw the cutest fairy home on Melissa's blog which is where I got the idea for the mini nature home. My daughter will love doing that!

So off we go into a productive and playful summer!