The Babes is pretty much exempt from this because she only 2, but the older kids have the following daily responsibilities:
DAILY SUMMER SCHEDULE:
get dressed
eat breakfast
brush teeth
brush hair
make bed
do one chore from chore chart (I'll do another post explaining this)
any additional chores will be paid at .25¢ each
do schoolwork: reading and math.
That's it. It's pretty simple but effective. All this must be done before they can play with friends, watch a movie or play video games. Sometimes we have activities planned which come before chores/schoolwork, but when we get home they need to do them, or we skip them for the day - I'm not a drill sergeant, they do get a break sometimes.
As for what type of activities we do each day we also have a weekly schedule.
WEEKLY SUMMER SCHEDULE:
Monday - library (the local library has a summer progam with an activity each week. We go to the activity then to the library to check out some books)
Tues - movies (the local movie theater is showing kids movies for just $1 per person so we'll eitehr go there to watch a movie or watch one at home)
Wed. - pool (I signed the Spencinator up for a free tutoring program - gotta love free. Since we'll be in town and as added incentive to cooperate with his tutor, we'll plan to go to the pool after wards)
Thurs - field trip or free day (The older kids have really enjoyed their school field trips and are into the history behind how people lived or how things work. So I"m planning several field trips to museums and such this summer. Some field trips might also include bowling, bounce house, ice skating)
Fri - free day or field trip (One day of the week will be a free day with nothing planned)
I love keeping busy and having a schedule makes it easy. I also love getting the kids out of the house so having them look forward to something helps get their responsibilities done. As with most kids on the autism spectrum, it's especially important to keep the Spencinator on a schedule so when school resumes in the fall, it's not a shock to his system.
This schedule not only keeps the kids busy, but it keeps me busy too. In the morning I help oversee chores and help with math schoolwork. In the afternoons the kids might be playing and since the Babes wants to be there too, I'm outside too watching her. The kids also like to do crafts or make things and I'm either helping them make something, or keeping the Babes out of their way. Like I said, I love being busy like this but I also look forward to the start of school when things slow down. OK, so maybe things don't slow down, it's just a different type of busy.
What do you do in the summer to keep your kids busy?
Thanks for stopping by,
Christa
