Generation NeXt Parenting

Guest Blogger...Cara Putnam

Lazy Days

I love summer. I love spending time at the pool. I love planting flowers. I love picking a fresh bouquet from my perennials. I love afternoons at the park with the kids.

I love summer.

And in a week, my summer will be lazy for the first time in a long time. Sure I have two book deadlines in August – Ack! But I’ll be done teaching a summer class at Purdue, and I won’t be at the law firm. The kids and I will have two months of hanging out and playing.

I can’t wait!

I plan to spend time most days at the pool. Just this week my son figured out he can float and swim all over the pool with his floaties. Talk about freedom for mom. And my daughter is quite a fish. Each day, her swimming gets stronger. I can’t wait to see how far they both progress by September.

I have a bag of art projects we can make together. Both of my kids love projects and crafts and will create their own if I don’t direct them. So we’re going to try some new things like painting vases and making garden stepping stones.

Then there’s education. It may be summer, but as a homeschooling family, learning never stops. My daughter will start second grade in the fall, and it has been wonderful to watch her reading take-off as we work on it each day. She’s gone from reading simple readers to more complex chapter books. And I love that she’s asking if she can read out loud to me. Then there’s double-digit subtraction and addition. And working with my son in math books and on picking out words in books. He loves to do both, and he’s only three. Plus reading books like Stuart Little, Dancing Shoes, and Magic Tree House to them.

I am ready to relax and enjoy a summer hanging out with my kids and watching their personalities and character continue to develop.

What will you do this summer?

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 7:45 AM