It’s hard to believe that an entire month of the summer season has come and gone. Each year I make a mental list of the projects I hope to accomplish during summer. This year’s list includes painting the living room, purging both the attic and my closet, giving my car a thorough cleaning, and tackling the tool shed once and for all. I’m quite certain there were additional items on the list, but that’s an important benefit of a mental list for summer—it’s flexible! So what have I accomplished so far? Let’s see, I’ve read a couple of just-for-fun books, I’ve seen a couple of enjoyable movies (in the theater!), I’ve caught up with friends, I attended a fabulous teacher conference, and I’ve even logged some time in my hammock. It’s been a great summer so far. And who knows? Maybe I’ll go buy paint tomorrow!
So how’s your summer going? Have you been tackling summer projects? Reconnecting with family and friends? Taking some well-deserved time for yourself? I hope I’m not being overly curious, but I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to!
Sunny wishes!
Diane
Congratulations to Diane Fangmeyer, Director/Teacher of Covenant Kids Preschool, Covenant Presbyterian Church; Omaha, Nebraska! She is the winner of a copy of the Big Book of Monthly Ideas, PreK-K.
This has been an unusual summer for us. The weather has been mild, and we have not had to run our air conditioning too often! I was able to spend time with my family and not worry about getting papers grades or plans for the following week. I took a summer course and gained some new knowledge and credit! I have made a huge dent in the list of summer projects on my “to do” list. I absolutely love summer! It helps to clear my mind and get ready for the next 9 months!
I’m loving summer. This is the first time we put camping trailer park on a lake all summer. Been going to the lake every week-end rain or shine. Just getting a way has been fun and relaxing. It hasn’t been to hot. to get to stress out. Just loving the summer!
Oh thank you. I had a long list of to do’s also and summer is almost gone and I have not bought the paint either. I have gone through all of my Preschool cabinets and reorganized them. Making a list of what materials I will use in each month.But I left the paint bushes by the wall and took 4 grandsons & one extra boy to Zion and hiked the river. We have gone to the beach and the
hot springs. I have visited with friends – yes it has been a great summer.
The Summer is going by quickly, yet some of what I wanted to accomplish is getting done. We put up a digital picture frame in our Daycare entry, and put up weekly pictures of classroom play, projects, and experiences- this is something I wanted to do now for over 5 years and just got to it! Wow- it is great!
I still have the storage in the daycare to tackle, and I am very good at procrastinating on that. But, I am getting those little organizational projects done. Baby steps, while trying to enjoy my weekends!
Here in Montana we need to enjoy the warm weather while we can! Don’t forget to live and love life, while trying to keep the children happy!
It has been a mostly typical NC summer- hot and sticky- great for staying indoors. My main goal for this summer was to organize my resource books and get them keyed in to an Excal Spreadsheet (so that I will stop duplicating my purchase). I actually have accomplished this and I am very excited about it. I have set a new goal- to organize my basement- and that one is really gonna take some motivation to accomplish- having a cleaner basement really isn’t enough incentive for me. I have read 0 just-for-fun books this summer, so I think I will promise myself a new book and time to read it if I accomplish my new task. 🙂
Thanks for sharing- and for letting me share!
I truly love summer as well. I was just sitting here saying what a great summer this is. I am taking two courses on behavior management and am tutoring one boy in reading. I always have home projects on the back burner, and rarely get them all done. I have been reading for pleasure, and am reading a Kindle book on my IPOD Touch. I have a stack of magazines I would like to read as well. We are going to take my son back to school in DC, and have a little mini vacation there at the end of August. Enjoy these lazy, hazy days of summer and savor every moment, because before too long, those school bells will be ringing!
Summer’s been good so far. I have had the opportunity to see some out-of-state friends. I’ve also made progress on some of my summer projects. My family went camping for a weekend. I babysat my cousins a couple of times. Even though I’m enjoying summer, part of me is ready to go back to school and get back into a routine.
I must say this is the first summer that I actually feel like I accomplished what I set out to do. Through the west TEXAS heat, I tackled the garage project, painted the entryway and kitchen, have been to school preparing my classroom for the new school year, made a trip to New Orleans with my husband, drove daughter to cheer camp in Oklahoma, finished packing and cleaning out a house that we are selling, been to doctor and dentist appointments, and still found time to have family and friends over to swim! I might need school to start back so I can get some rest!! LOL
Well this summer I have taken my girls to a camp we do together, gone on some great long walks, read some great resource material for school, went on vacation, camping, deep cleaned my basement and relaxed. I also started working on my master’s degree. I have to have surgery before school so now I have a huge list of to-do’s before that happens. It has been weird weather in our area but overall a great summer!
Wow, just think July is nearly over. I have not finished any of the projects I planned on. Oh well, there is always next year. This is the first summer in several years I have not taken a class or “worked” on a school project. It has been great just being this summer. Now, my attention is slowly turning back to getting ready for the new school year. I plan on starting on my classroom next week. Alittle everyday and I will be rested and ready.
Busy, busy, busy! We’ve been camping a lot, sports activities with the kids, a little curriculum work for school and the district, shopping for school and a trip to visit friends and family. Not one thing on my to do list has been accomplished so far! I needed to finish painting my son’s room, purge closets, organize the office and stay away from school email. Well, maybe next summer…..
Summer is flying by too quickly…it reminds me how our emotional and spiritual “banks” are depleted by the end of the school year, and summertime allows us to make many more deposits so that our bank is “full” by the time we start school again. I was determined to start a blog like this for my fourth grade class this year, and I have made a great start with it. Now, if I just didn’t have to go back in and unpack all my boxes next week…:)
Summer is going by too fast. I don’t know about anyone else, but in Michigan is had been cooler. Not really complaining because it’s usually been in the low 80’s but the kids really want some hot days to go to the beach. Right now I am busy going to the fair because my boys are showing steers. This requires a lot of time washing, cleaning stalls, and bedding and feeding them. They enjoy this but it is exhausting! We start back after Labor Day. August will go by fast. I have been looking through books and magazines. I still have things to do on my “TO DO” list.
I started out great this summer. I was accomplishing alot, and we even had alot of extra projects we didn’t think we had to work on. (Things breaking, etc.) And it has been cool here for summer anyway. A fair amount of rain too. VBS started this week, and staff meeting next week already!!! My assistant quit this week so I am really feeling the pressure to be ready when we start back. I tried working on things a little at a time, but that always back fires on me. Oh well onward and upward hopefully!! I hope I can get a few more things done before school starts.
This is the first summer that I have not worked part-time and I am loving it!! My summer goals wer that everyday I would try to do one house project and one school related “thing”. I started out gangbusters, however, I must confess that the past two weeks I have been neglectful of both of these summer goals. I better get back to it, I am running out of time!!
So far it’s been a fantastic summer. Since I have operate a year-round preschool and childcare, I don’t have the opportunity to be off all summer. However, we take a break in most of the scheduled activities and are a bit more laid back. We are spending lots of time hanging out in the backyard and taking lots of walks and short fieldtrips. The kids and I both love the easy going summer life. But, fall is just around the corner…and I’m excited to start planning for another year of curriculum. I’m glad The Mailbox and The Mailbox Companion are here for me.
Summer seems to have gone by in a blur! I have attended a Gilder-Lehrman History Institute in Philadelphia (Fabulous!) I have taught two classes at a local college and prepared for my next year with my new 4th grade class. I have babysat and played with nieces and nephews, spent time with friends, sang in church and read some fun books. I still have some projects to tackle, but, I have also completed a few. With triple-digit heat, I feel I have accomplished a lot this summer!
Summer is definitely flying by and all those at home projects I wanted to do are still in need of being done. I have enjoyed time with my sons, a few weeks of camping, and for the first time in years have been reading fun books for me. Now it is time to start getting in preschool start up mode and time to slowly ease my sons back into a normal routine before that first day of school
Summer is almost over. I’ve done a lot of reading, but not much work done. Just having fun relaxing!
This has been a good summer for us. We were able to take a vacation for a whole week. I enjoyed it so much. Taking time off seems to put things back in order. You seem to do a better job, and are more egarer to do the things that need to be done. It has been a rather cool summer, which allow us to do more out door activitys and dont forgot yard work. I have enjoyed the time off but, I’m looking forward to going back to the children and the learning process of the school year. WE HAD A GREAT SUMMER NOW IT IS TIME FOR LEARNING!!!!
Wow!Reading these replies makes me realize I didn’t get much accomplished this summer! This is the first summer off I’ve had in SEVERAL years (I worked in a year-round early childhood program) and I really appreciated the “no schedule” aspect of it! I got to spend a week with my parents (in their 70’s)in Arkansas, lost a little weight, started going to the gym, got a new hair style, and began the endless task of sorting through 30+ years of accumulated teaching supplies & books. We start back at Head Start on Aug. 10th…that’s SOON!
This summer is just flying by, but it’s been GREAT!!! We went on several camping trips, including one to Gettysburg at which I received a REAL history lesson! We also went to Hershey Park and had some fun. We will be going to Las Vegas at the beginning of August, and after that it’s back to brass tacks to get ready for the new school year. I’m sure I will be all refreshed and renewed and ready for it!
In our year-round school, summer still lends a laid back atmosphere. It does seem to have passed by quickly. I enjoyed a tremendous vacation in the mountains and still managed to work on my own education. I also spent a great deal of time cleaning and reorganizing my classroom on the weekends. Summer tends to inflict inspiration– that’s why I love it!
Although I jealously guard my lazy summer days, I was persuaded this year to tutor a few children. It turns out that working one-on-one with kids has had more benefits than I would have suspected. With one child, I’m delving deeply into word study. With others, the focus is how they respond to authors’ words. It’s been a rich opportunity to hear kids think aloud, to coax them to deeply digest literature, and to expand their word knowledge. Getting this rare close-up, line-by-line look at comprehension gives me fresh ideas for reading with my fourth graders in the fall. But that’s still WEEKS away…, or so I tell myself.
I still had to work over the summer, however, since the kids were out of school, we did not have to worry about that aspect when I got home or on the weekends…so I got to take a vacation adn clean up some. Now I know which videos I have that I dont have on DVD and am heading to Half.com to remedy this.
Had a well deserve summer break! Took a “me” break. Now almost in August, it is time for me to buckle down and start gathering my thoughts and ideas for September, who is coming really fast!
I bought the paint this week, now I have to use it. Took the grandchildren to Disney World and am spending the summer waiting for two more to arrive.
Summer has been wonderful. Spent a few weeks in FL with my family visiting my parents and mother-in-law. Spent two days at Disney World. We finished lots of home projects that didn’t get finished during the school year (my husband is a teacher, too). Now that we’re nearing August I’m getting excited to start another year of teaching Pre-K! Thanks for all of the great ideas Mailbox! I use your ideas all of the time!!!!
I live in the coastal redwoods and generally we have pretty foggy summers, but this summer has been pretty glorious- sunshine and warm weather (mid to high 60’s). Though my program runs year round, we tone down the curriculum and beef up the outdoor adventures and it has been fun. For myself I’ve been making the most of the weekends and even went so far as to kayak on the bay and raft in the river. Now I’m getting a little excited about the new school year….
We adopted two dogs from the shelter in june so we have had a summer of a different kind of work-training our two dogs! A lot of work but so rewarding. The kids and I will surely miss them come Aug 25th though. I am switching to 2nd grade (from 4th) so I am very excited to start this year and have a whole new curriculum to learn and teach.
Nancy
I had several weeks off this summer at home while my ‘hunny-bunny’ recovered from surgery. Now I’m back at work with my ‘little ones’ at daycare aboard a military base. I have been transfered to a new facility and can’t wait to get started. New and old friends together there will be a pleasent place for children to learn and grow. I did a lot of gardening and have started several plants that will go into our new room for the students to care for. Time off has given me time to think of new ways to help children learn and grow. Oh yes! the tomatoes hanging in a bag almost broke my tree limb. Next year mine will come from my daughter’s garden.
This summer has been wonderful. Lots of home and garden projects were completed and a few short “road trips” were planned.
I also helped screen children that will be entering kindergarten this fall. The screening will provide classroom teachers with some information about their new students, and the teachers will also share this information with parents at parent/teacher conferences in the fall. It was nice to help in this way and fun to spend time with our new students.
I volunteered to go on a mission trip with 30 Jr. High aged kids to Cedar Rapids Iowa. We painted houses, mowed lawns and did general stuff for people who had been in a huge flood a year ago! Working with the 13 year olds was alot harder than the 3 year olds I’m used to!!!! I also volunteer at the Right Step a place for people with disabilities to ride horses. Thats a lot of fun for me, being a farm girl growing up and now living in Denver. I miss the country!!! School starts Aug 31st for us. I’m excited to get back.
I rested and rested! If I even thought about taking a nap, I did! Because once I am back in the swing, I hit it hard! I read some really good books and did a mission trip that my husband plans for several church youth groups. I only cleaned 2 closets which was not the plan. 🙁 My classroom is finished pretty much and Inservice begins Monday morning. I am happy because I feel like I am ahead of the game. I have a student teacher coming and I hope to make a friendship in that relationship.
God bless us as we teach!
I LOVE summer. This year we did some overhauling of the house. Remodeled the bathroom, and a new furnance. UGH.
A enjoyable thing I did do was learn to loom knit. Love it.
But for me it is time to get ready to go back to school. I am missing my preschoolers and the structure of a routine.