Warren Dunes

Climbing to the top

Sawyer, Michigan -- Last Friday our family took advantage of the beautiful day to trek to to the eastern shore of Lake Michigan for a day at Warren Dunes State Park. On arrival we immediately set out to climb the dunes. Being naturally closer to the ground, it took almost no effort at all for the kids to scurry up the sandy steepness of Pikes Peak. We parents had barely caught our breath when we needed to regroup and direct the daring explorers to descend on kid-safe slopes. (They, of course, wanted to follow the groups of teenagers racing down the near-vertical drops of some paths.) Back on level ground, we moved over to the beach. Due to the day's wind and waves, swimming was off limits, but it didn't stop us from dipping toes in the chilly lake. The boys were thrilled with waves. Only the promise of ice cream pulled them away from the shore. (Anna, though a sand and water lover, was happier with her William away from the loud waves.) After that snack, we moved back to the dunes for a bit of hiking. The kids hiked like pros through the various trail landscapes and elevations. The last time we visited Lake Michigan, William was small enough that I foolishly tried to push a stroller up along the beach. What a change to have all three children capable of walking on their own two feet for a family hike.  There was some dragging at the end, but all perked up as the lake came back into view. 

The boys at the top of the Big Hill

No swimming due to wind and rip currents,
but the beach was fun anyway

Dipping toes in the icy water

All the way down!

After almost three miles of trail hiking,
little bodies get tired!

Sunny Day Slides

Summer Vacation, Day 2 -- For our first outing of summer vacation, Erik requested visiting his favorite park. It's a top choice because of several tall, steep slides. The park has smaller equipment for young kids, but it didn't take more than a few minutes before the lure of following his big brother and sister had William going down the BIG slides, too. "Mommy, I went down the big slide and I didn't break any bones!" Sunny day success.

Whee!

My boys

Miss Daredevil

My loves

Summer School Days

Summer Learning Station 2014

Summer Student 2014

While I was writing my post about our hatching robins, I realized that it had been a year since I had last written anything for this blog.  I began a post about our plans for summer learning and never got beyond selecting pictures. Time zips by! So here we are again at the beginning of the summer, just days beyond saying goodbye to another academic year and I have already instituted the Mom School: Summer 2015. Last year we had lists -- lists of want-to-do activities and must-do activities (chores and scholarly pursuits). It gave our summer some direction, but this year, I wanted more routine. One of the reasons my kids thrive in the classroom is due to the predictability of a clear routine. So, this year I spent an afternoon the weekend before school let out devising our summer schedule. While I don't intend for it to be rigid, having a daily and weekly plan has already made me feel more confident about the direction of our summer. The kids know exactly what I want them to do before they head out to play and we can all look forward to out-of-the house activities every week. We're only on day two of summer vacation and Tuesday didn't look at all like Monday or like our Summer Agenda. We have a direction, though, and that makes the long days of summer seem like opportunities to be enjoyed instead of hours to be endured -- even with the bickering already begun!

I found these two books at a library sale .
We will be reading selections from them daily. 

Summer Plans 2015: Our daily agenda and summer binder. The binder contains the Summer Routine, miscellaneous worksheets, writing prompts for journals, summer reading program logs, "To Make" and "To Go" ideas, and a "Been There" section.  

Summer Plans 2014: Lists!

Another Mom School student from 2014:
So much growth in a year!