Summer Ideas for the Work At Home Mom

SUMMER IS HERE!!! There's no escaping it!
One week from today is the official start of Summer for my boys! I am so excited. My younger son will have one more year of preschool and then it's off to full day Kindergarten so the clock is ticking on that wonderful free playtime at home.

I want to start planning right now to make sure that Summer is full of joy, learning, growth and fun for them BUT ALSO full of growth and momentum in my home business. Also, summer activities must stay within budget so this year I will have to be extra creative since day camps are out!

Here are some key principles that I like to keep in perspective for working from home with kids in the Summer:
1 - Love your work! Your example can instill a value and appreciation for commitment and diligence. It's an awesome thing for our children to see us set goals, stick to them with tenacity and achieve them! If we want our children "to do things heartily as if for the Lord and not for men," then it needs to start with us. I love what I do so when I work hard, I want my family to know that I enjoy it and am so grateful for the way it benefits and rewards my family as well. Your own attitude determines whether your family will have a supportive or resentful attitude toward your work.

2 - Keep a consistent work schedule. Your kids respond well to a predictable and consistent rhythm for your work. It helps them to know what's next and have clear expectations for "mom's in the office" time vs. quality time with mom.

3 - Plan your spontaneity. Build in an "uplanned" slot of time daily to allow for something spontaneous. Kids love this and you will be able to better honor their creativity by planning in this spontaneous time for them.

4 - Build in rewards for your kids. Each month I set specific goals for my business, I post them on my wall and throughout the Summer, I will share these goals with my kids and let them know my progress. As I hit the goals, each month, I will plan a special Friday lunch date with them once a month at one of their favorite places (i.e. Peter Piper Pizza).

5 - Keep them busy with developmentally appropriate fun tasks. They can mirror your own goal setting and reward plan with their own tasks. Also, I have found that children love the independence and clear boundaries that established "stations" can provide. You can use floor mats or beach towels to indicate boundaries for different "games." Then change the stations to bring in new activities at least once/week for variety.

I will revise this as we go, but here's my first crack at the M-F Summer Schedule:

6:45am I get up
7-7:30am My work-out time at gym
7:30-8:45am kids wakeup, get dressed, b-fast, walk dog, check the garden, unload dishwasher

TTH 9am-Noon Solid worktime for me, Kids with Howard
MWF 9am-10:30am My worktime, Kids upstairs or backyard play
MWF 10:30am-11am Snack for kids, Introduce cool activity idea for the day
MWF 11am-Noon My worktime, Kids upstairs or backyard play or Wii

Noon-1 Cleanup Gameroom & Lunch (Fridays, I do quick meal planning for next week)

1-2 My worktime (TV break for them)
2-3 Spontaneous Time! (On Monday, this can be library time. Wed. could be craft supply pick-up time (if needed) and Friday could be grocery time.)
3-5 Swim Time or indoor movie time if rain
5-6 Dinner Prep (plus voice email/email catchup time)
6-8 My worktime (except eating dinner 7-7:30)
8-9 Bath Time & Stories
9 Boys' bedtime & My time to plan tomorrow's cool activity

I have grouped our activities into COOL ACTIVITIES, DAILIES, and WEEKLIES (which may be weekly or just broken up over the long-term):

COOL ACTIVITIES(will add more specific detail and share these as I choose them):

• Art (Pottery, Painting, Drawing, Crafts...like building a birdhouse out of popsicle sticks)
• Cooking (Gabriel can learn how to make one dinner each week...spaghetti, etc.)
• Origami
• Paper Airplane Making
• Mad Science Experiments
• Story Writing
• Model Building

DAILIES:

• Dog Walking
• Lego Time
  
• Gardening (they get to earn $5 a week for weeding the garden and keep aquaglobes full of water)
• Latin (Using Barbara Bell's Minimus Pupil's Book and Audio CD...Target: One Chapter Per Week)
• Summer Reading Program (reward system using age appropriate library books)
• Swimming (2 hours daily)
• TV Time (1 hour maximum per day)
• Wii Time (30 minutes maximum per day)

WEEKLIES:

• Letter Writing (to Childcare Worldwide Kids and grandparents)...Goal 1 Letter/Week
• Scripture Memorization (Psalm 1 for Gabriel and Psalm 23 for Joshua)
• Gabriel's 3rd Grade Math Book (MWF mornings...20 minutes)
• Weekly Library Day

Summer Goals for Joshua (age 4):

• FUN,
  
• Reviewing letters and numbers,
  
• Improving fine motor skills,
  
• Enjoying fun science things (like measuring for cooking and some small experiments),
• Basic knowledge & practical application of the Seven Universal Values,
• Summer Reading Halfway goal 20 books, total 35 books for Summer
  
• Memorizing Psalm 23

Summer Goals for Gabriel (age 8):

• FUN,
  
• Laying a foundation of Latin to improve vocabulary (one chapter per week...total 12 Chapters of Minimus textbook,
  
• Preparing for 3rd grade math (3x week),
  
• Keeping up cursive skills through letter writing (one letter per week),
  
• Basic knowledge & practical application of the Seven Universal Values,
• Summer Reading Halfway goal is 5 books, total 8 books for Summer
  
• Memorizing Psalm 1

CHARACTER-FOCUSED THEME WEEKS:
I am going to loosely tie in the "Cool Activity" of the Day to the Character for Kids curriculum focus on these Seven Universal Values:

• Honesty (June 1 - 14, then skip VBS week)
• Trustworthiness (June 22 - July 6)
• Respect (July 7 - July 19)
• Responsibility (July 20 - August 2)
• Courage (August 3 - August 9)
• Caring (August 10 - August 17, during trip to Florida for convention)
• Fairness (August 18 - August 24)

SPECIAL EVENTS, DAY TRIPS & REWARDS:

• VBS Week (June 15-19)
• Hawaiian Falls Trip...Earned by Memorizing Psalm 1 (Gabriel) or Psalm 23 (Joshua)...Target mid-June
• Ft. Worth Money Mint Trip = Reward for Helping Mama Hit June Business Goals (http://www.moneyfactory.gov/locations/section.cfm/25)...Target first week of July
  
• Friday/Saturday Summer Camp for 8 Year Old (July 10-11)
• Six Flags Trip...Part 1 of Summer Reading to be earned by completing 5 age appropriate books for Gabriel, 20 for Joshua...Target Mid-July
• Glen Rose Dinosaur Park Trip...Part 2 of Summer Reading to be earned by 3 more books for Gabriel and 15 more for Joshua...Target August 22 (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/dinosaur_valley/)
  
• Convention/DisneyWorld Trip (August 11-17)
• Reward for keeping their toys picked up = Playdates for friends to come over
  
• 1st Day of School is August 25

Day Trip Idea(s) w/o date selected:

• English Horseback Riding Free Lesson Coupon for Gabriel

P31 Woman Works From Home!

For the last 7 and one-half years, I have had the honor of being a work-at-home-mom. About the first year of that experience, I had this continually torn feeling...by working, am I not focusing enough on my family? Are my priorities in line with what God wants me to do with my life?

What a heartening and refreshing fact to know that even the Proverbs 31 woman...the "wife of noble character" that the Christian woman aspires to be WORKED FROM HOME!! Listen,

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark; she provides for her family and portions for her servant girls.
She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.
Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:13-30)

Talk about SuperWoman! The Proverbs 31 woman is a woman of action. Here's a list of what she does:

• brings her husband good
• selects wool and flax
• works with eager hands
• gets up while it is still dark
• provides food for her family
• considers a field and buys it
• plants a vineyard
• sets about her work vigorously
• holds the distaff
• grasps the spindle
• opens her arms to the poor
• extends her hands to the needy
• has no fear for her household
• makes coverings for her bed
• makes linen garments and sells them
• supplies the merchants with sashes
• can laugh at the days to come
• speaks with wisdom
• watches over the affairs of her household
• surpass them all

These are her attributes:

• Noble
• Worthy
• Giving
• Eager
• Industrious
• Thoughtful
• Prepared
• Empowered
• Discerning
• Diligent
• Business savvy
• Hard-working
• Resourceful
  
• Committed
• Focused
• Generous
• Fearless
• Creative
• Strong
• Dignified
• Watchful
• Aware
  
• Wise
• Faithful

This woman is clearly empowered by God to honor her husband and pursue a life of excellence. She is not sitting or wondering what she should be doing. She's not pining away for things lost or past things she felt she deserved. She's not sitting around watching Oprah. She's not waiting for the knight on the white horse to give her anything. And she does not have time to worry! She is a worker. She is fueled by Godly discernment, wisdom and love for God and family.

Best of all, in spite of her diligence, I get this sense that she's NOT got too much on her plate, but that she is actually balancing all of these things well. Her actions are in line with her beliefs. Her strength, dignity and nobility of character come from a harmony between God's plan and purpose for her life and the daily steps she chooses. Those day by day little choices have made this woman great. AND, even with all of her success, you know she's not a workaholic because of the warmth and esteem that her husband and children have for her. That can only happen when she puts her love for God, husband, and family in the right order BEFORE all of her work...yet she is still able to thrive and succeed in her work...in fact fueled by her love for God and family.

Reading and meditating on the Proverbs 31 woman totally removes any hint of being "torn" between work and family. It provides clarity, identity and purpose for the modern woman just as vividly as when it was first written.