School's Out

We have officially begun Summer 2010. I'm sorry to say I am far from ready. I was planning to have a schedule of our days all mapped out, with me getting ready for the day long before I wake up Madeline and being prepared with something for breakfast and a plan for the day. Well, we're on day 2 and that hasn't happened so far. Yesterday, I was at least showered and dressed, then the day was gray with Monday morning responsibilities looming. Today, was even worse. I didn't even get out of bed until 7:30 just in time to wake up Madeline and say goodbye to Zak! It's now 2:00 and I still haven't showered! We've exercised, played outside, learned a bit of history (Wright Brothers via DVD) and tried out some piano practice. The piano practice has been put on hold due to frustration with the left hand not fully cooperating. We'll get back to it. Now, we're taking the time to write in our journals.

The plan for the summer is this: wake up and eat breakfast together; practice piano for 30 minutes; write in journals for 30 minutes; do a bit of housecleaning for 30 minutes; take advantage of rest of day to do whatever we want! This schedule should allow us to get everything in the house done before the day really gets going for the rest of the world. This way we won't have to worry about "killing" time waiting for things to open or friends to wake up and get around.

Let's get back to today... Madeline kept herself occupied with Magnetix while I figured out what was going on with the cable television throughout the house. I determined that one of our boxes has been discontinued. After all that, we decided to do a bit of playing outside. We harnessed up the cat and went into the backyard. Madeline hooked up Yellow Bear on the swing while I cleaned up the deck a bit. Then, it was time to do a bit of roller-blading in the front. We dragged (literally) Peanut to the front yard, hooked him up and we bladed for about 30 minutes. Good workout. We got a bit hungry so inside for some homemade mac&cheese and the Wright Brothers. There were some quizzes at the end to determine how much she comprehended and she did a great job! We'll have to look for more of these videos. Like I said, the piano came next and ended in tears so now the journal writing commences. I think she's going to need more room to write...

It's amazing how different this summer is from last year. Madeline is really growing up. She's spending time on her own playing with her stuffed animals or babydolls. She just wants to be nearby, but doesn't have to be actually engaged with me. She wants so much to please me and that can be frustrating for both of us, but we're getting through it. I try not to harp on her, correct her at every turn. I want her to learn some things on her own and the only way she'll do that is through her own frustration of getting it wrong a few times. I got pretty good at that when it came to walking and talking, now it just has to be applied to everyday life situations. It's so easy to make suggestions, or for her to ask for help.

I'll get better at this writing thing as the summer goes on. I feel like I'm all over the place, sort of like our days! Okay, time to put the blades on so the kid can do what she likes most these days... rollerblade in the house!