We’ve been doing a fair amount of travelling lately, and there are still a few more trips before summer is over. We’re not attending any classes, and we’ve been avoiding our weekly homelearner’s group get-together because the park we’re meeting at is not “DS friendly” (I spend all my time there chasing him around, and I’m feeling lazy these days). So when we’re not travelling, we’re staying pretty close to home. This has led to some freak-out moments on my part where I worry that my kids are wasting their days away in front of the TV. So I have to remind myself that the trips we’re taking are educational and stimulating (DD has learned to fish; she can bait a hook and cast her line quite well). And remind myself that it’s nice to have some “down time” days in between the stress and excitement of travelling.
So while I try not to worry about these days when nothing much *seems* to be going on (and of course, when pressed to come up with something I don’t seem to have much trouble listing off what we’ve been learning lately), I’m also recognizing that I am a person who can benefit from some structure to my days. When I don’t have plans I tend to fritter the day away on the computer. I have all these great ideas, but then don’t implement them. And I’m the sort who needs structure imposed on me, so I’m finding myself looking forward to the fall.
I’ve just hired a new sitter who will be coming two mornings and one afternoon a week while I teach a lecture series at the University. I’ve signed DD up for gym class and we’ll also be doing weekly classes at the Ecology Centre (this time I’m planning on bringing DS along and we’ll see how well he holds up in the classroom; last year I had Mum watching him while I went in the class with DD). There’s also the homelearner’s dropin which will be starting up in our indoor venue come September. Between that and the sitter doing crafts and other fun activities with the kids it should be a good balance for everybody.
I’d also really like to start scheduling some time to work on specific projects. For example, I’ve been thinking about doing some simple experiments with magnets and electricity. A couple weeks ago we read a Magic School Bus book about electricity and DD learned that electricity is caused by electrons “running through the wire” (we even drew pictures). Frankly, I’m finding it interesting myself and would like to pursue this, as well as introducing the concept of the Scientific Method. But when I don’t plan times to do this, the idea just sits in my head. I’m hoping that with the sitter around more often I can be more organized, getting art and craft supplies and other things we need to do these activities (DS is at the age where taking him into stores is rather tortuous).
But for now, I’m trying to relax and just enjoy these lazy days of summer!