According to research compiled by the National Summer Learning Association, children can lose about 2 months of math skills over the summer.  There are gaps in reading over summer break as well, but sadly, low-income children lose far more skills than middle class children.  Why do they believe there is a gap between the socioeconomic classes?  Access to summer learning programs (visit their site HERE.)  But it doesn’t have to be this way.  By creating your own DIY Summer Camp, you have already shown a concern for your children’s physical and educational needs.  And Thinking Thursday is one way to bridge that Summer Vacation gap.  I’ve listed a few of our ideas for the summer, but as always, please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Make Paper Airplanes – Teach your kids how to use a search engine (like Google or Bing) and have them search (with your supervision) for folding plans for different paper airplanes.  Not only will this help with fine motor skills, but also with following directions.

Scavenger Hunt – Who doesn’t love a good search? Make up a list of items and let your children search for them in your backyard or a nearby park.  Such a simple idea, but so entertaining…for children of all ages!  You can download our Scavenger Hunt List for an instant activity.

Make a Treasure Map – Maps aren’t just for pirates, you know!  Whether in your own yard or at a local playground, help each child hide a “treasure” and then make a treasure map to find it.  Kids can trade maps and hunt for each other’s treasure.

Make Rock Candy – I remember doing this in school when I was younger and I don’t think there was ever a science experiment I enjoyed cleaning up after more!  It takes a few days, so the big lesson from this experiment may be patience!  You can find directions HERE.

Make Bouncy Balls – Seriously? Make your own bouncy balls?  We haven’t tried this one yet, but you had better believe that it is DEFINITELY on the top of our to do list!

Make a Bird Feeder – Because who doesn’t love to watch birds?

Visit a Nature Preserve – For Mar, our local nature preserve, offers a TON of free and really cheap events throughout the summer, and lucky for us, many of them are on Tuesdays!  Some of the events we plan to participate in for Thinking Thursday include:

• Acting Out with the Flint Youth Theater – June 20^th and August 15^th
• Truck Farm activities (available every Thursday,) including So Happy Together, The Five Senses Garden, and A Flutter Garden.
• For Mar also offers activities “On The Road” like their Rainforest Adventures at Bluebell Beach on August 29^th. (If you are a local reader, you really should pick up a copy of the Family Fun Guide (or request one HERE.) Many of these activities I am mentioning are offered throughout the county at different locations and on different days.  You could keep your kids seriously busy just with Genesee County Parks activities…all for free or really cheap!

These are just a few that I came up with.  If you have any ideas (and I know you do!) please share them in the comments section.  I would really love some more ideas!  Plus, follow me on Pinterest on the link at the top of this page and see all the great learning activities I am finding!

Nothing better on a hot summer day than…

WATER! Splashing in it, being squirted by it, drinking it…it doesn’t matter  how you enjoy it, as long as it is wet!  That is probably why my kids are the most excited for the Wednesday portion of DIY Summer Camp…Wet Wednesdays, that is.  Although our plans were derailed with Monday’s storm and subsequent power outage, Grandpa saved the day by dragging out this kiddie pool/slide from storage.  So, Wet Wednesday was celebrated today in style at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

We have had fun brainstorming what we would like to do this summer on Wednesdays.  Some ideas require going somewhere – like the beach – but there are also lots of ideas to do right at home.  Remember, this summer camp idea shouldn’t be painful on your wallet!

Stay at home ideas

Water balloons – An oldie but a goodie!  Just a note of advice…have the hubby or older children sneak out and fill up a bunch of balloons before the little ones head out.  It can be difficult for little ones to do this alone, and having a pile of them in advance makes getting to the fun part a lot faster.

Sponge balls – I love this idea! No little pieces of balloons to clean up around the yard.

Sprinkler – You can go the traditional route, or try making a homemade sprinkler like this blogger’s children did here.  Or, how about this DIY sprinkler toy that cost about $10 to make?

Water gun fight – Giant super-sized soaker guns are always a hit, but I think we may try this homemade water gun.

Fun in the pool – Whether you

Leave the house ideas

Waterpark – No matter where you live, chances are there is a waterpark within a couple of hours.  We are lucky to have Torzewski Park in Lapeer, Michigan, which is less than 30 minutes away.

Lake Michigan – Honestly, anywhere on Lake Michigan is nice.  Just pack a lunch, drive to the coast, and enjoy the day!  Plus, if you want to combine your Take-A-Trip Tuesday with Wet Wednesday by camping or staying overnight, you could visit Michigan’s Adventure on Tuesday and Lake Michigan on Wednesday and you have yourself a nice little two-day vacation!  Hmmm…did I just reveal one of our summer

Visit a local beach – We have lots beaches in Michigan, but the closest is probably Bluebell Beach.  Located on Genesee County’s Mott Lake, Bluebell beach offers not only a beach, but a playground and a splash pad.  Splash Pad? Who knew Flint had a splash pad!  Plus, the 14 newly installed shade kites make a nice place to picnic.  Check out this video of the beach.

Looking more ideas?  Check out Disney’s site Spoonful.  Here is their list of water-filled fun activities.  Do you have some suggestions for us?  I would love to hear them.  Please leave your ideas in the comments area below!

Even if you are Mom of the Year, sometimes things happen that are completely out of your control.  This was the case for me this week.  We were all revved up to start our DIY Summer Camp this week, until the storm hit Monday night.  It was a crazy storm that was probably as close to being a tornado without actually being a tornado.  Trees were uprooted everywhere, and most of our area was without power…for a couple of days!  So, our very first Take-a-Trip Tuesday turned out to be a trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s house…where there was electricity and running water!

So the storm may have slowed us down (and caused this post to be a day late) it didn’t slow down my kiddos’ enthusiasm.  They could not be happier going to Grandma and Grandpa’s.  Plus, they had a special Wet Wednesday as well (more on that in my next post.)

So, without any further ado, here are some suggestions for your Take-a-Trip Tuesdays:

Children’s Museum

Zoo – The zoo is always a good idea, but don’t let it break your bank account.  Although the Detroit Zoo is amazing, there are a lot of smaller zoos that make for a great trip too, at a much smaller price.  For example, PotterPark Zoo in Lansing is a great zoo, and children 3-12 are $2 (under 3 are free.) Or, for $60, we can buy a family pass and go all year! Or, maybe we will try Saginaw’s Children’s Zoo, where Tuesdays are Thrifty Tuesdays and admission is only $5 each.

Petting Zoo - Just found out there is one in Birch Run (about 40 minutes away.)  Maybe I will write a review?

Go on a picnic

Library – Spending a couple of hours in the library, with their seemingly unending supply of children’s books, is magical enough for most youngsters, but if you time it right, you might even be able to score some extra entertainment through the free events that most libraries offer.  One of the events we plan to attend is  the Flint Public Library’s Lunch on the Lawn: Fairy Houses and Gnome Homes.  It is completely free (just bring a sack lunch and blankets to sit on.) Kids get to build fairy or gnome homes, while dressed as their favorite fairy or gnome!  The FPL has Tuesday story time all throughout the summer, so check out their calendar here.  If you aren’t a local reader, check out the website of your local library and see what free events they have listed.

Go see a Movie – I am really excited about this one.  Goodrich Quality Theaters, a chain of movie theaters across the Midwest, is offering $1 Kids Movies Monday through Friday all summer long.  Yes, they are older movies, but part of the fun is seeing it on the big screen, and for just $1, how can you go wrong!  Check out their website for a theater near you.

Play on a Playground – You’d be surprised how much fun your children will have visiting a local playscape…or a not so local one.  Drive to the next town and play on their playscape.  It is like a mini-vacation to your little ones.

Cheesy Tourist Attraction – No matter where you live, you likely live within driving distance to some sort of tourist attraction.  And chances are, since you live so close, you seldom (if ever) visit said tourist attraction.  Frankenmuth, Michigan is one of those places for us.  But it is an easy place to go to just walk around, look at the little gift shops, and buy fudge (you gotta buy fudge, right?)

Visit a local park

These are just a few ideas…please share your ideas in the comments below! And don’t forget to visit Power of Mom’s original post that inspired me to create my own “camp” for my kids!

It’s finally here… summer vacation.  Gone are the early morning alarms, scheduling my day around bus stops, and cleaning up the homework papers scattered over the kitchen table at dinnertime. Now is the time for sleeping in and basking in the lazy summer sun while my children play for endless hours in the backyard.  That is, for the first week or so.  Then summer becomes a seemingly endless chorus of “I’m bored!” and “There’s nothing to do!”

Last summer, we had a bucket list of things we wanted to do over the break.  Do you know how many of those things we actually accomplished?  I think three.  The reason? Because just saying you are going to do something doesn’t make it happen.  Planning for it, putting it in writing - ON THE CALENDAR -really committing to it, is the only way that I get things done.  So, that is what I am going to do this summer!

Although I have failed in the past at summer vacation, there is a Mom of the Year out there who seems to have gotten it right.  As I mentioned in this earlier post, Power of Moms created a DIY summer camp for her kids.  Please visit her original post here.  Her article explains the camp is great detail.  But, as promised last week, I am going to share my ideas and plans for our DIY Summer Camp.  First up -Make-it Monday!

Since I want to make sure my children keep reading this summer, I decided we would spend our first Make-it Monday making bookmarks.  I don’t know about you, but my children have used everything but bookmarks to mark where they have left off in their reading – hair ties, articles of clothing, even other books!

I made some bookmarks for my kiddos to color, as well as some blank ones.  The blank ones came in handy when the grandparents made an impromptu visit.  So, a few stickers and ribbon later and …

Voila! Bookmarks for the grandparents.  Then we made these adorable heart-shaped bookmarks.  They start out looking like this:

Fold them in half, glue the seam, and …

Tada!  Heart bookmarks!  Aren’t they adorable? I even made one for myself!

If you would like to make bookmarks with your children, print the PDFs I created here:
Bookmarks
Bookmarks blank
bookmarks – hearts blank
bookmarks – hearts

We had a blast…much more fun than I expected, to be honest.  I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.  Now, as promised, here is my tentative list for our Make-it Mondays:

More Make-it Monday Ideas

• Brownies or cupcakes
• Glitter Slime
• or Rainbow Slime
• Make a “Hug” and mail it to someone far away
• Make your own Puffy Paint
• Homemade Bubbles
• Raised Salt Paintings
• Colorful Bubble Snakes made with socks
• Homemade Sprinkler
• Silky smooth homemade Clay
• Build a fort in your living room or basement
• Have a snowball fight in summer when you make Fluffy Stuff
• Buy some canvas, use masking tape to write your child’s name, then let them paint over it.  When it dries, remove tape and Voila! Personalized art!
• Paint Rocks with melted crayons
• Watercolor paintings with glue and salt
• Write a story and illustrate it.  Although not a tutorial, there is a great idea for binding kids books here.
• Write a poem.  Draw pictures to go with it.
• Make a scrapbook page about all the cool things you did this summer!

Well, that is our list so far. If you have any suggestions, please share them in the comments below.  I would love to hear them!

Wait….What??? Father’s day?  When did they put that in June?  Nobody tells me anything!

So, I am in deep doo doo.  How did Father’s day creep up on me so quickly?  I mean, wasn’t it just Mother’s day last weekend?  No? Great.  What am I going to do now?  I have two days to come up with a present for my husband from myself and the kids.  And if the time constraint weren’t enough to give me another migraine, there are two different factors making the task even more impossible – 1) my awesome husband did a stellar job at celebrating Mother’s Day this year (oh why, oh why didn’t he screw it up this year?) and 2) Money is really tight this weekend.  Being self-employed means irregular income, and this is NOT a good weekend to throw Father’s Day at me!  Lucky for me, my husband is not the least bit materialist and he really appreciates the thought, even if it is a little last minute!

So, as I frantically search for ideas to celebrate the fabulous dad that my husband is, I thought, “Why not share?” So, here are three types of inexpensive, last-minute, sentimental gifts for Father’s Day:

Handprint Gifts

Probably the best gift my husband ever received for father’s day was a tie that I helped my children put their handprints on.  To this day, it is still one of my husband’s most cherished items and he used to wear it to every special occasion – that is, until we had more children.  As you can see from the picture, this tie was made when we only had three children.  Since re-creating this gift with all six children’s handprints would require a super-sized tie that only Bozo the Clown would envy, I need to come up with another idea.

 I love this idea from The Handmade Home.  She gives complete instructions on how she made this.  It is so cute with three tiny handprints, but I’m not sure how it would look with all six of my children’s handprints. And how big could this end up being, especially since half of the prints will be of my teenagers’ hands.  I’m not sure we have a wall large enough!

I really like this idea as well, and even though there is no tutorial, it doesn’t look too difficult.

Now this one, I believe, is this year’s winner.  I found this one at Tres French Hens. It has everything I am looking for…simple, cheap inexpensive, and includes a bit of each child.  Plus, I know my husband would LOVE to receive this.  But, just in case, I will keep looking…

Photo Gifts
This was actually what I had planned to do this year.  And, had I actually Mom of the Year, I would have done something months ago when Shutterfly had a sale on photo gifts.  But, I’m Not Quite Mom of the Year, so that didn’t happen.  However, had I been on the ball, I would have done something like this:

 This idea comes from Jennifer from JennieKat .  I love the idea of taking a photo of daddy, turning it sepia or black and white, then placing text over the picture…it is the children answering questions about their dad.  I can only imagine how my littlest ones would answer some of those questions.  If you like the idea of the kiddos filling out a questionnaire about dad, check out Big D & Me’s printable available for a modest price on her Etsy store.

And I L-O-V-E this! Gosh, I hope it is sunny tomorrow so I can try this!

Food
What dad doesn’t like to eat? And if your husband is anything like mine, there are probably food items that he just adores.  So whether it is Reese’s Pieces, PayDay candy bars or a large pan of lasagna (or all of the above) food is always a good idea for dad.

Once you decide on the food, it’s all about the packaging!

I hope this little list helps those of you that waited until the last minute like me.  Although I’m Not Quite Mom of the Year, my husband really is Dad of the Year, so I plan on spending the next two days finding a way of showing him how special he is to all of us!

So, what did you do for Father’s Day this year?

So, in true NQMotY style, I completely brain farted teacher gifts.  My preschooler’s last day was last Friday, and it wasn’t until the end of the school party, when all the other children were hugging the teacher and giving her gifts, did I realize that I had not done anything for her.  This bothered me for a couple different reasons: 1) My daughter’s teacher is amazing.  She does such a spectacular job and my daughter really loves her, and 2) My daughter didn’t get an opportunity to give.  See, I don’t subscribe to the idea of buying a gift card or other type of present that doesn’t require any effort on the part of my child.  Teacher gifts are a great opportunity to teach my children about giving to others, as well as being thankful.

Lucky for me, preschool finished an entire week before my other children’s schools, so I had plenty of time to prepare for their teachers (I’ll have to make it up to the preschool teachers in the fall!) So, I headed to Pinterest, and sure enough, I already had several ideas pinned in a folder named “Teacher Gift Ideas.” (You can follow me on Pinterest here.)  I have a few requirements for teacher gifts:

1. Nothing that has the word “Teacher” anywhere on it – Ever been to a garage sale and been able to tell immediately that the seller is a teacher?  Yep, a person can only have so many “World’s Best Teacher” mugs, Christmas ornaments or tote bags.  All the others end up as yard sale fodder.
2. Handmade or semi-handmade – I should probably say “Tiny Hands”- made.  The gift needs to have some sort of input or effort by your child, otherwise they haven’t learned to give.  They’ve only learned to “Hand-over” whatever you picked out or made.

With this in mind, I picked out two different gifts – one for my daughter’s teacher and another for the “specials” teachers (gym, music, library, computers, etc.) The first gift, although not disposable, is full of edible/disposable items.

The first is a drink dispenser filled with summer items. (I’m not including the original link, because it takes you to a spam website.  Clearly they stole the image from a legitimate blogger, but I couldn’t find the original site.  If you know where I can find it, please email me. I want to give credit where credit is due!) I purchased everything at my local Kroger and Dollar Tree stores.  I paid too much for the drink dispenser, but since I am not Mom of the Year, I waited too long and had to purchase it at the grocery store.

I stuffed it with a pair of flip flops (from the dollar store) Dove chocolates, Crystal Light packets and a summer recipe magazine.  I’m sure you could come up with a zillion different ideas as well.  Then I created the tag. You can download it here. My daughter cut out the tags, wrote inside the card, and attached it to the container.

Voila!  Teacher gift number one finished!  Actually, I made two.  My first grader’s bus driver is also my high school children’s bus driver, so since she puts up with three of my children, I decided she deserves a big present!

The second idea came from Julia Bettencourt over at Made 2B creative.  Please visit the original post here.  I tried printing her tags, but couldn’t get them to print (probably my printer’s fault) so I made my own.  You can download my version here.  Mine is a foldable circle that your child can sign their name inside.

My daughter cut them out, signed them and attached them herself. She also tied the candy bars to the bottles.  Remember, we are looking for a lesson in giving and thankfulness here, not perfection.

I think she did awesome!

So tell me, what did you do for end of the year gifts?  What do you suggest stuffing inside the drink dispenser? I would love to hear your ideas.

In a previous post, I mentioned chaperoning a field trip for my daughter’s first grade class. The trip was to For-Mar, our local nature preserve.  We have taken our children there before, so I knew we would have a good time.  While walking around looking at the beautiful scenery, I started thinking again about summer.  Several months ago I came across a post from Power of Moms that was downright genius.  She outlines how she organized a DIY summer camp for her children.  At the time, I thought, “I’m going to do this!” I also thought, “I have plenty of time to get ready for this! Summer is months away.” Well, here it is just days until my children are released from school, and I still am not ready!  So, time to buckle down and prepare for the best summer break ever!

Basically, Power of Mom’s Summer Camp has a different kind of activity for each day of the week: Make-it Mondays, Take a Trip Tuesdays, Wet Wednesdays, Thinking Thursdays, and Friend Fridays.  There are also “Must Do” daily activities that each child must accomplish, that include reading, writing, exercise, chores, and more. Make sure you head over to her blog to read in detail her plan.

I have to admit, as excited as I am to spend so much fun, quality time with my kids this summer, the idea of planning out – in advance – 55 weekdays is a bit daunting.  However, when I look at it in pieces, it is much more manageable.   Here are the things I believe:
1) Every minute of every day does not need to be planned out. Kids need free time too.

2) The daily activities do not need to be all day. If I spend an hour or two making cookies or tutus with my little girls, that is our Make-it Monday activity.

3) 55 days may seem daunting, but it you divide those days by category, then it isn’t so bad.  I can find 11 things to make, 11 trips to take, and so on.  Plus, we go camping for a week every year, so that actually brings the number down to 10 each!

When at For-Mar, I picked up another copy of the Family Fun Guide, a calendar of events that Genesee County Parks publishes (notice I said ‘another’ copy. I lost the first one I had. A true MotY would have a place in her home to place calendars, brochures and flyers for upcoming events, but I do not. So mine was placed on the kitchen counter. The rest is history.)  Anyway, if you are a local reader, you can request one here or follow them on Facebook here. The Family Fun Guide is full of activities and events, most of which are free, for families and children of all ages.  If you are not a local reader, check out your county parks department or your local nature preserve. A quick search on Google should lead you to some resources.  With all the cool (did I mention free) events our county parks are presenting, I pretty much have our Thinking Thursdays all set, and quite a few of our Take a Trip Tuesdays!

All next week I will be blogging my list of activities.  Join me Monday for a list of things to make!  Also, please feel free to share in the comments if you have any ideas or suggestions!

I realize this is slightly old news by now, but I had to give a digital high five to Heather McGill, wife of Alabama state senator Shadrack McGill.  Last week, Heather (my new hero) posted a message on her husband’s Facebook page to all the women that have attempted to seduce her husband via the social media site.  In her post, she cites her husband as a “God-fearing, hard-working, ministry minded, loving father,” and that he is “off limits” to these women that have apparently sent messages to the senator, some even including inappropriate pictures. But Heather did not stop there.  She continues with (and here is the best part) a threat to these women.  ” Next time everyone will know who you are!! For I will publicly share your name before we ‘unfriend’ you.”  Woowee! That’s great! I laughed so hard I cried a little.

McGills on Good Morning America

Heather McGill is my new hero.  And I’m not the only one showing some love for this mother of six.  It seems that all of America is buzzing about this tenacious wife.  And while I completely agree with all of the positive support she has received for her online rant, there is something about this situation that I feel is important, but kind of being overlooked.  Heather knew about all of these women and their brazen solicitations because she logged into her husband’s Facebook account.  Did you catch that?  She has full and complete access to her husband’s account.  So, in my opinion, Shadrack McGill needs to be given a great deal of respect and credit for this as well.  Kudos to Senator McGill for living such a transparent life before his wife that she could have the confidence to stand up for her husband in front of the whole world.

Someone taught me once that we should live a life “above reproach.”  What they meant was that I should live my life in a way that there could be no suspicion.  My pastor shared a good example of this.  He said he carries no money, only a debit card.  Every time he makes a purchase, an email is sent to his wife.  They did this because his wife keeps track of their spending and checkbook.  That way, lost receipts are no longer a concern.  However, this system has an additional benefit. His wife knows where he is and what he is doing.  I thought about that a lot since then.  It costs money to lead a sinful life. Think about all the deceitful things that could destroy a marriage.  Now try to accomplish any of those things without money. Very difficult, right? Now, do my pastor and his wife struggle with infidelity, drugs or other issues that could tear apart a marriage? No.  But that is what I mean by living a life above suspicion.  If someone were to come to my pastor’s wife and accuse him of having an affair, she could laugh in their face, because she knows where he is at all times, who he is with and how he is spending their money. That is living a transparent life.

So here is my question to you… Are you living a transparent life before your spouse? Is his or her life transparent before you? If not, then why? If you are hiding something, then that is a serious problem.  If you are not hiding anything, but just want to keep some of your life private, just for you, then that is a serious problem as well.  Isn’t a spouse that completely trusts you and has complete confidence in your love for him or her more important than your own selfish desires for autonomy? I think if you were to ask Senator McGill, his answer would be yes.

I have been trying to figure out how to write my first post.  How do I, in a single post, introduce myself and my mission…to encourage and equip moms striving for that illustrious (yet somehow unattainable) prize of Mom of the Year.  I mean, we all want the award, right?  Well, maybe not some shiny brass cup to place on the mantle and collect dust. But all of us imagine someday, when all of planets align, the house is clean, dinner is prepared perfectly and on-time, and all doctor/dentist/hair appointments have been scheduled successfully around ballet/baseball/youth group while your children, whose hair is styled and clothes match, come running to you, throw their arms around you and say, “You’re the best mom in the whole world!” And your husband, who feels loved and cared for too, walks in from work with a bouquet of flowers, kisses you on the forehead and says, “Thank you for being such a great mom!”

My life isn’t like this.  I strive for it to be like this, but I never quite make it.  This week was a perfect example of how I am Not Quite Mom of the Year.  Wednesday evening, when we were putting our girls down for bed (did I mention it was TWO HOURS past their bedtime?) Joelle made a comment about Nathan chaperoning her field trip for school the next day.  My husband and I just looked at each other.  Several weeks ago it was mentioned that maybe our oldest son, who is home from college for the summer, MIGHT be interested in going with her.  Turns out he really didn’t want to.  Someone was supposed to tell our first grader that…and that someone was me.  I, however, completely forgot.  When I shared this with Joelle, she immediately began to tear up.  You see, even though I never filled out the chaperone form,  Joelle, confident that someone would be joining her, told her teacher he would be there.  Nathan was already assigned a group for tomorrow.  Great.  So, being a candidate for Mom of the Year, I rearranged my entire schedule so I could be there for the field trip.  It took a lot of rearranging, including calling in my own mother to help with my youngest child who wasn’t feeling well the next morning, but I accomplished it and felt pretty good about my standing as a  MotY candidate.  That is, until my phone died somewhere in the middle of the trip, which means I missed my calendar alerting me to not forget my doctor’s appointment (as well as the phone calls from the doctor’s office) resulting in not only the missed appointment, but a $25 missed appointment charge.  See…no matter how hard I try to reach for the prize, I never quite reach it.

No matter how many times I fall short of the prize, I still pick myself up and try, try again.  I will keep trying because of the six beautiful gifts that God has entrusted me with. And that is truly the only prize I need.