Our Thematic Summer Plan

After we finished Spring Break around here, I came to a realization. My, oh my, do I need a plan for the summer!  Since I work from home part-time as a virtual assistant to bloggers and my hubby will be working two different internships, I've got to figure out a way to get work done while the girls are on vacation. While they would probably love to watch TV and play on the iPad all day long, it's probably not the best parenting choice. Thus, a plan is in order.

I've learned that if my kids can have my undivided attention for some of the day, they are much more likely to allow me to work uninterrupted later in the day. So, I'm hoping to have some special activites for us to do together each weekday. Drawing on The Summer Survival Guide as a resource, I'll be planning weekly activities around different themes. When possible, I'll be matching the themes with other special activities we've got planned. Here's the schedule as it stands now:

• June 17th - 23rd: Our Nation's Capital. This isn't a theme in the SSG, so I'll be on my own to make up the activities. However, we're going to head to DC for a few days so it would be a great opportunity to teach the girls a little bit about it before we go.
• June 24th - 30th: The Great Outdoors. The girls will have attended a National Park-themed Vacation Bible School the previous week, so it will be a great opportunity to build on what they learned at VBS. We might even plan a backyard campout and invite some friends.
• July 1st - 7th: The Good Ol' USA. I think this will be a great opportunity to study about our country and celebrate the 4th of July. I think a trip to Colonial Williamsburg will also be in order!
• July 8th - 14th: Art. I'm hoping to study art with the girls throughout the summer. This would be a good way to start it off with them.
• July 15th - 21st: Oceans of Fun. My mom will be flying in for a conference, and the girls and I will get to join her at the beachfront hotel for a few days. Sounds like a perfect time to study the ocean.
• July 22nd - 28th: Back on the Farm. I think we'll plan to try out some of the local farms and pick some berries!
• July 29th - August 4th: Dogs. We don't have a dog, but the girls just love them. I think we'll make some homemade dog treats and invite our little dog friend "Bea" over for a playdate.
• August 5th - 11th: Food. We'll enjoy some cooking in the kitchen and make some more homemade ice cream. Yum!
• August 12th - 18th: Music. The girls just love to sing and dance. We just might even let them make a music video.
• August 19th - 25th: Traveling the World. August reminds me of traveling the world because that is when I took off on my adventures abroad. While we won't be traveling the world, we'll have some fun studying it.
• August 26th - September 1st: Back to School. Again, this isn't a theme found in SSG, but I think it will be a nice way for us to transition back into our school year. We'll read some books, make some crafts and of course do that back to school shopping.

Of course, this is a working schedule. I'll probably move the dates around a bit to what works with friend availability and special events in town. Just getting this down as a schedule is helping me get excited.

What do you have planned for the summer?