Summer is coming and I am busy planning and preparing. Reading, sports camps, lazy days, VBS, and family vacations will all be a part of our summer. Every summer I also unveil a new family verse that we all work together to memorize.
So, what do we do with the kids when we are "just home" hanging out?
I posted last year about the Summer Reading Bingo that I had found and you all liked it so much, I wanted to send you the link again just in case you were going to do it this year. My boys have already eagerly asked about it and have a stack of books ready to begin.
For us here in AZ, summer vacation begins in exactly 3 days. That means right now I am typing up schedules and making lists of "I'm Bored" chores, and extra chores and duties that will be expected of the boys over the summer.
I am not the over-bearing crazy chore mama you are picturing right now! But here in the Lang home we have a few mantras for life, and one of them is work-before-play. I am all about lazing around the pool or turning up the air conditioning and watching a winter movie under blankets with popcorn, but summer is not the time that we forget about the values that we work so hard to maintain during the school year.
Keeping my kids motivated and far away from the lazy bug is important to me all year. Summer is no exception. I am constantly trying to maintain a healthy balance between allowing them to relax, and not getting to a point where all they do is eat junk food and sit in front of screens.
I will post throughout the summer ideas that we have implemented and ways that we stay motivated and keep each other accountable spiritually and even physically. For now, I encourage you to begin thinking of what this will look like in your own home this year.
For more information to keep you motivated and a great reference, check out a couple sites that I learned about from a podcast I listened to on Family Life Today. I was encouraged in my parenting/adoption journey as I listened to the words of Susan Merrill. She founded the website http://www.imom.com/ which is quickly becoming an invaluable resource for me. She offers free printables, recipes, articles on all things parenting, and even a panel of specialists. She also blogs at http://www.susanme.com where you can sign up for daily encouraging emails, and even buy her new book, The Passionate Mom.
For now, happy summer! I look forward to seeing your pictures on
Instagram of all your fun family activities.
Of course, you can follow along with our pictures here.



