Summer Jobs

It is summertime! Sweet summertime!

So far, after one week of summer, the kids and I have done a lot of nothing. NOTHING. Love it!
We have slept late, watched TV, played games on our iPods/iPhones, played board games, watched movies, and stayed up late. What a life!

But now the responsible side of motherhood must prevail and must insist upon some responsibility in the kids. Chores, education, good deeds, and child labor must kick in.

So the plan begins soon.

I started by having the boys make a list of things they think would be “good things to do” either weekly or daily. Elliot included exercise, reading, and room cleaning on his list. Zippy’s list read, “play video games, watch TV, watch movies, play on my iPod, play with friends, spend time with family.” He watched my face intently as I struggled not to scream with laughter; and I responded with a kind smile at the “spend time with family” part — just like he wanted me to. Guess I should add to my list: “help kids with their lists.”

My ideas for things for them to do (some daily, some weekly, etc.)are as follows: read, spend time with God, read to/play with Chloe, exercise, throw some math practice in there now and then, some household chores, and things are good.

This year, too, I’m adding for the boys to write a letter every week. Zippy doesn’t know about the letters yet; Elliot is less than thrilled. “To whom??”  “Why??”  “Do we really have to send it??”  I just think maybe sending a letter each week to a friend, a cousin, or whatever would be a great practice for the summer. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll get a letter or two back and they can experience the fun of getting snail mail, which doesn’t happen much in this day and time. I’m choosing to disagree with Elliot’s very good arguments that email is faster, easier, more efficient …. I’m choosing to ignore his complaining that writing and sending letters is “the most embarrassing thing in the world!” I maintain that it’s still a good goal and a nice thing to do. So there. I will have to just ignore the wailing and complaining each week as I stand over them forcing them to write a few sentences. (I’m looking forward to it.)

I think Elliot is also going to learn how to mow the lawn and do his laundry this year. So those can be  his jobs, too. (I just showed him how to put gas in the car recently so he’ll be able to do that on his own soon, too. Sweet!) If I don’t get busy on training these boys, I will have a couple of very disappointed young wives in about 15 years!

Chloe’s jobs will include cleaning her room, helping in the kitchen, doing some school work, reading, stretching (and therapy), walking around the block, and emptying the trash. We are also stepping up some of her self-help skills like dressing herself, feeding herself, etc.

So we have some grand plans for summer. It will be nice to get into our summer system.

Now, don’t get me wrong! I love summer! And we will keep on playing! We will swim and play and watch movies and go to Six Flags and sleep late and stay up late and play games and play and play and play and rest and rest and rest! It’s what summer’s all about, right? Absolutely!

{How about you? How do you work your summers? What summer chores or schedule do you begin with your children? And specifically, what jobs do you assign to your child with disabilities? Also, what do YOU think about the letter writing? Can’t wait to hear your ideas!}