Q3 so far
Summer is definitely in full swing around here even if summer as defined by the calendar doesn’t start for a few more days.
Thus far . . . I am into Q3!
Camp started off pretty well. This week, C is going to tennis camp, and reports back that he loves tennis (he had not played for years, so we were unsure of how it would go, but very happy to hear his positive report). G is at gymnastics camp. A is at a very low-key camp with a neighbor this week, but is sick and stayed home yesterday so I have no idea how much she’ll actually go.
Not having late activities feels amazing and refreshing. The evenings feel so much more spacious (the absence of homework also helps here). G & C even played Monopoly with me! G’s bedtime is drifting later but even if I can get her in bed by ~9, things work out pretty well overall.
I have not really been enforcing summer reading yet for the kids but it’s about to happen. That said, G read 18 pages of Matilda on her own (she saw the movie and then realized we had the book) which was pretty exciting!
I am pretty caught up at work again after my weeklong vacation and am excited for a few much shorter trips (like 2 nighters) we have coming up. This week I have 3 clinical days in a row, since I’m headed out (yes again) on Friday and did not want to use a vacation day. Normally I’d be stressed out by this but I’m pleasantly fresh (post-vacation effect I suppose).
Summer reading is going really well! I’ve already read 4 of the 19 books I picked out from the MMD summer guide — I enjoyed (or mostly enjoyed) 3 of them and LOVED 1 (Rabbit Moon, which I just finished). (I also loved Julie Chan is Dead for the first ~2/3, but did not really love the ending for whatever reason.)
I highly doubt I will read all 19 selections, but it’s possible I may come close. Currently reading the last of my library holds: The Road to Tender Hearts and so far I really like it – sort of Fredrik Backman-esque except . . happier.
Anyway! Maybe it’s a bit of a honeymoon period with the new season, but I’m liking it.
“5 Before 50” (or variations on that theme)
Loved this concept from the most recent Mom Hour ep (it’s their penultimate episode too — would be really sad except that thankfully they started a new fun venture, Midlife Lady Leisure Pursuits, which I am excited to give a listen)!
I like the low number of items and the “few years” time frame. Even though I (obviously) do a lot of thinking about planning, I haven’t done a ton of thinking about time frames longer than a year. But I think I would like to! I am going to reflect on what my “5 before 50” might look like (I have ~5 years to get to that point! Which is kind of scarily NOT THAT LONG).
3 Comments
I did Summer 1 (June-mid July) and Summer 2 (mid August, back to school for son, but I don’t start teaching until mid September) as quintiles this year, with a holiday in between. I’ve got 3 more weeks of Summer 1 and feel like I had a manageable to do list – although I was disappointed when an R&R came back from a journal yesterday because that wasn’t on my list.
I’m so ready for school to be done – 6 more school days! I am looking forward to us all being able to have a bit of TOAD, go to bed a tiny bit later, and not have the early starts. T has 3 days of camp in week 1, but otherwise things are pretty chill.
Reading is so tricky during the school year. T is a good reader but so lazy about it, and won’t gravitate to a book despite us being very low screens. He’ll start an audiobook instead. What has worked is bedtime reading together – after our read aloud, 10 minutes of audiobooks, and then read until he gets sleepy. He won’t read novels at nighttime, but will read graphic novels. He likes the Amulet series, and Lightfall series, they might be nice for G as well. Over the summer, I’m going to enforce daily chapter book reading, maybe 20 minutes, in hopes he gets caught up in a story and continues? We are away for a lot, but both holidays will be very chill, so hoping he’ll just get sucked in.
There is definitely a momentum effect when a kid likes a book – getting started is absolutely the hardest part! Will check out those recs!!
Rabbit Moon sounds so good!!! Arg, my TBR keeps getting longer and longer. I had a summer TBR but now I keep veering from it because I keep hearing about new ones I want to read. Well- I’m putting a library hold on Rabbit Moon.
Glad you’re having a more relaxed summer schedule! Well- other than the traveling. I think it’s good to have some trips thrown in there. Between having no school, and then getting sick, I feel like we’ve gotten a little TOO relaxed around here. I’m hoping next week will be more eventful.