Summer Fun

I've been thinking a lot about our summer--how we're going to occupy our time. I want to explore Tokyo a little bit more, and do fun outings with the kids, but I've also decided that this is the summer I'm going to be more diligent about chores and keeping a routine. So, these are some of my summer goals/ideas.

• Summer Fun Poster--I stumbled upon this idea on the internet--We made a list of all the fun things we'd like to do this summer. Some big things, like the beach and Disneyland (I love being so close!) and some small things, like go on a picnic and visit a few of our favorite parks. Whenever we do one of these activities, we turn the paper over, the idea being, at the end of the summer we'll be able to look back and see all the fun things we did and also have a list of ideas for a boring day. We put it up in the kitchen, next to the calendar so we can always see it.

Popsicle Jobs--another great internet idea. One job a day/per child. (besides the regular morning jobs, like make your bed, get dressed etc.) I'm hoping this will make chores a little more exciting.

Reading--because books in English are rare, the kid's school library, lets each student check out 25 books over the summer, due back the first day of school. Parents are also allowed to use any of the three libraries as a public library. (high school, middle school and elementary) I LOVE this! As you can see, Emily will be tackling Harry Potter 4, 5, and 6. She is currently into American Girl books also. Little Trent hopped on the library's computer and looked up all the books he could find on dragons, plants and star wars. We even checked out a Star Wars Cookbook! Saturday the missionaries are coming over for dinner and boy are they in for a surprise. Trent has planned the menu for "Han-Burgers" (think Hans Solo) and "Darth Vador's Dark Chocolate Sundaes."

USA family time--4 weeks of fun. We have BIG plans.

Japanese--We have 6 weeks of summer together in Tokyo and I have come up with 6 weekly vocabulary reviews to help the kids retain what they've learned in school. colors/days of the week, numbers, animals, food, shopping and weather.

Lofty goals?? Maybe...it will be interesting at the end of the summer to look back and see if we actually stuck to these routines and accomplished our goals. Happy Summer everyone!