Summer Mom: Best Intentions That Never Happened
Earlier in the summer, I blogged about being summer mom. I was (and still am) home for the summer due to unemployment and I was determined to do all sorts of fun things that weren't expensive. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans...
I'd like to say I got to busy with job interviews and such, but I didn't. Somehow, the summer just got away from me.
That's not to say that my son didn't have a fun time this summer. Due to good planning PRIOR to the summer, he spent a week and a half at sleep away camp. (Actually a 1/2 a week and then three weeks later, a full week.) He spent three weeks at the the Jersey Shore attending Marine Science Camp (a wonderful day camp that rain M-F from 9-2) and staying with my parents. But there was still plenty of time at home. Time that I had thought I'd fill with all sorts of good things. Things that never really happened. No movie matinees, no trips to the local national landmarks (like the Great Falls or Edison Historic Site). There were a couple of play dates and long weekends at the NJ Shore. (My son can do all sorts of engineering feats with sand. He doesn't built sand castles, but sand bridges and volcanoes!)
I did keep my son somewhat on track for the upcoming school year. I *tried* to have him do some math worksheets every day. (They were usually accompanied by moan, groans and meltdowns.) We did some work on multiplication. (We've got the 0s and 1s down...not an extraordinary feat, but something). And most days, he did some reading. Not timed reading, but one or two chapters of a book most every day. (He's gotten through the first four books of the "Stink" series.) I think we should have done more, but I try to revel in the fact that we at least got SOMETHING done.
Summer is quickly running down. We still have a few precious days left. (For some bizarre reason school in our town starts on Friday. It will definitely ease the kids back into the world of education, but I still wonder the reasoning behind one day of school before the weekend.) We spent three days at the beach before the rainy/overcast weather sent us home. He has one more play date scheduled for tomorrow, but as of this moment, as I sit here typing, he's downstairs with the TV playing with Lego. (Well, at least, I managed to organize them somewhat during one of his weeks away and to his credit, for the most part, he's kept them organized. Or I can at least say that Legos don't liter my living room floor at the end of the day...although the same cannot be said of my coffee table.)
Thursday is his last day of "freedom". (His words, not mine.) I'm still wondering what wonderful "fun" thing I can do with him to end the summer on a high note. But the reality is that it will most likely just be another day and then it will be back to the school schedule. (Getting up early and moaning and groaning about it all, until he actually gets to school and then all is well with the world again.)
Of course there is always the promise of another day at the beach this weekend. (If the weather holds up.) Maybe Summer Mom wasn't such a bust after all.
I'd like to say I got to busy with job interviews and such, but I didn't. Somehow, the summer just got away from me.
That's not to say that my son didn't have a fun time this summer. Due to good planning PRIOR to the summer, he spent a week and a half at sleep away camp. (Actually a 1/2 a week and then three weeks later, a full week.) He spent three weeks at the the Jersey Shore attending Marine Science Camp (a wonderful day camp that rain M-F from 9-2) and staying with my parents. But there was still plenty of time at home. Time that I had thought I'd fill with all sorts of good things. Things that never really happened. No movie matinees, no trips to the local national landmarks (like the Great Falls or Edison Historic Site). There were a couple of play dates and long weekends at the NJ Shore. (My son can do all sorts of engineering feats with sand. He doesn't built sand castles, but sand bridges and volcanoes!)
I did keep my son somewhat on track for the upcoming school year. I *tried* to have him do some math worksheets every day. (They were usually accompanied by moan, groans and meltdowns.) We did some work on multiplication. (We've got the 0s and 1s down...not an extraordinary feat, but something). And most days, he did some reading. Not timed reading, but one or two chapters of a book most every day. (He's gotten through the first four books of the "Stink" series.) I think we should have done more, but I try to revel in the fact that we at least got SOMETHING done.
Summer is quickly running down. We still have a few precious days left. (For some bizarre reason school in our town starts on Friday. It will definitely ease the kids back into the world of education, but I still wonder the reasoning behind one day of school before the weekend.) We spent three days at the beach before the rainy/overcast weather sent us home. He has one more play date scheduled for tomorrow, but as of this moment, as I sit here typing, he's downstairs with the TV playing with Lego. (Well, at least, I managed to organize them somewhat during one of his weeks away and to his credit, for the most part, he's kept them organized. Or I can at least say that Legos don't liter my living room floor at the end of the day...although the same cannot be said of my coffee table.)
Thursday is his last day of "freedom". (His words, not mine.) I'm still wondering what wonderful "fun" thing I can do with him to end the summer on a high note. But the reality is that it will most likely just be another day and then it will be back to the school schedule. (Getting up early and moaning and groaning about it all, until he actually gets to school and then all is well with the world again.)
Of course there is always the promise of another day at the beach this weekend. (If the weather holds up.) Maybe Summer Mom wasn't such a bust after all.
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