Right before I moved from Arizona, I went to a Relief Society Enrichment night and the lesson was on summer goals for your kids! Perfect! It was almost summer time! I had already tried to do little things over the summer, but it would always fizzle out by the end and there was really no incentive, besides Mom said so. This woman seemed to have an amazing family. She raised 11 kids - all of whom had graduated from college! She wanted to teach them how to work, and how to work hard. She wanted them to be as self-sufficient when they left her home as they could, so she would give them their summer goals of things she wanted them to learn depending on their age.
Having a reward at the end of the summer was always the key to making it work. She had many of them learning how to bake a loaf of bread each summer. She said that that last week before the reward deadline, she would have flour flying all over the kitchen as they scrambled to get their bread made (since they had put that off!). But she said the mess was worth it!
She has even written a book about her goals for her kids and if I can remember the name, I will post it. I really want to order it. She said something like the kids summer breaks add up to 3 years of time over their whole school career. That is a lot of time that shouldn't be wasted!
I have always really, really wanted my kids to be self-sufficient when they become adults, so her lesson really hit home. I want them to know how to do lots of things - even things that don't seem important or that big of a deal (especially to the kids)! I am glad I went to that lesson. I had always had thoughts in my head of what I wanted them to be doing, but nothing ever fully sticked.
Last summer, Zach was in charge of doing his own laundry. He had to carry it to the laundry room, wash it, fold it and put it away. No, he didn't love it, but that's ok. He can now start a load of laundry when needed. I haven't made him continue to do it throughout this last year, but someday soon, he will get to be in charge of his laundry. (yes, it was a bit obnoxious for me since he would be doing laundry when I needed to use it, but I guess it taught me to be more patient too!)
So, this summer, I decided to give them several goals to work on throughout the whole summer - and to make a chart and have it posted!! Totally an important part - for them and me! I asked him to sew a simple pillowcase. Straight lines - easy. He offered to make a matching one for Parker too and I made one for Chloe. He built a bike ramp out of wood scraps - cutting the wood himself and screwing the nails in. (yes, I supervised...my 10 year old was using a jigsaw and drill!! Yikes!!) He made dinner for us one night and also learned to iron a shirt! Yeah for Zach!! Chloe and Parker also had their goals too and were proud of themselves when they finshed them...or at least Chloe was. Parker...well...he didn't really care. I guess I was the proud one!
I woke up one morning to yummy smells and some clanking around in the kitchen. Zach came up shortly after to tell me that breakfast was ready. He had made us all pancakes!! What a sweet boy!! They were quite yummy too!
I really think that having the goals posted for the kids really helped to keep them (and me!) remember what they were working on. If they were bored, I could tell them to look at the board and see what they could work on. I think we will be doing this every summer!!
And the prize at the end of the summer for doing their jobs and goals...a FUN trip to FUNTOWN amusement park!!! The kids really were excited all summer long for their reward, but still saved many of their goals (uh-hmm Zach) for the last couple weeks before the deadline. If they didn't get their goals completed, I told them that I would find a babysitter for them while the rest of us went and had FUN!
The first drop on this roller coaster was quite freaky and FUN at the same time! Zach insisted we sit right in the front...doesn't he know his dear old mother isn't a fan of heights! And heights at a fast speed...! No really, I do love roller coasters! It is just a bit nerve racking while I wait!
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