The local public and most private schools ended last Friday.  Reitemeyer school?  We still have some lingering assignments.  I found that the Steak n Shake offers half priced milkshakes weekdays from 2-4 pm.  I’ve promised a treat to everybody once EVERYBODY has finished all assignments.  SOMEBODY doesn’t want to write a history paper.  He just may get lynched.

So we’re in a transitional week.  Fritz just has to read.  I let him off a few writing assignments, but not the reading.  I’m learning all sorts of things about WWII, things I already know, but he has to teach me about them anyway.  We watched Twelve O’Clock High about WWII bombers (great movie) starring Gregory Peck.  Next, we’re going to watch The Scarlet and the Black, also starring Gregory Peck. I watched this a few years ago and loved it.

I have a stack of grading to do.  And end-of-year report cards.  We already did our CAT tests and got the results back.  Improvements over last year, and nobody bombed anything except spelling.  I have completely failed to teach my children how to spell.  Any suggestions?

Billy has one math test, one history paper, and some other reading to do.  Boy Scout camp is in ten days, and it would be an awful shame if he couldn’t go (see angry lynch mob comment above).

Everybody else is in summer school mode: math facts, phonics and/or dreaded spelling and/or reading.  Typing.  I need to set that up.  Just enough work to make them not ever say, “I’m bored,” because my response will be to do math drills.

New this summer is trying to establish a regular routine for life.  Looking ahead to next school year, I have realized that cleaning the house on Fridays (this year’s routine) won’t be possible.  I have caught myself running errands every single day and/or relying heavily on my husband to stop by the store on his way home from work.  We rarely go to the library, and we never ever ever go anywhere fun.  Ever.

So, despite children who are doing light schoolwork, I’ve tried this week to begin a new routine.

Mondays, I determined, are to be library and errand day.  How did that go this week?  Well, we actually went to the library on Saturday for the first time in a long time, so I felt we could skip this one.  Fine.  Then, I headed out in the morning to my favorite produce stand.  Open every day…except Mondays.  Ugh.  It’s tough to face failure before lunchtime on Day One of My New Life.

Tuesdays are to be cooking/baking day.  First project: boxed brownies.  Simple enough, right?  Except my not yet 10 yo, whose praises I was singing on FB recently for making pancakes all by herself, decided to tackle brownies without supervision (and without permission.  “Get out the ingredients,” I said).  Instead of 1/3 cup of water, she added 1 and 1/3 cups of water.  What are you supposed to do with that?  I finally decided to put the chocolatey goop in a zip lock bag in the freezer until next errand day, when I will buy three boxes of the exact same brownie mix (probably not BOGO like this one surely was) and then we will make a huge batch of brownies.

We did successfully make 2 types of cookies and one loaf of bread in the bread maker.  But then Katie put everything in the bread maker for a second loaf, and out came a not-well-mixed brick.  Perhaps the paddles were not properly seated.  So, no brownies and we’re down a loaf of bread.

Today is Clean the House Day.  And since we skipped last Friday’s clean the house day in anticipation of its new time slot, the house really needs to be cleaned; so we really can’t fail this one.  Not optional.

Thursdays will eventually be Field Trip Day.  I just read an article on how kids would much rather just play than go on day trips.  Lovely article.  All about how parents feel guilty about making their children entertain themselves or who can’t abide listening to their children whine about being bored, so they plan all these trips when kids really just want to drink from the garden hose and build forts in the living room.  Absolutely does not apply to homeschoolers who never ever ever go anywhere fun.  Ever.  Besides, if Clean the House Day is successful, I do not want to see yet another fort in my living room for 24 hours, and the only way to avoid this is to simply not be at home.

This week, field trip day will be Help Set up for VBS Day, and next week, it will be VBS.  The following week, it will just be Peter, Mary and George, and I have no idea what one does for fun with only little children.  It’s been a long time.  Besides, who will take them to the bathroom (besides me)?  Who will chase the baby (besides me)?  Who will fetch diapers left in the car (besides me)?  Who will entertain the fussy baby while driving (besides me)?

For that matter, who is going to participate in that week’s Clean the House Day (besides me)?

Maybe that week, we will just drink from the garden hose and build forts in the living room.  After that, though, I do intend to go somewhere fun on Thursdays, just so I can remind my kids that we do too sometimes do fun things.  Perhaps I should also do some blog posts, particularly ones about our recent day at Busch Gardens, and our day in February to Legoland.  But then again, who wants to dispel myth with fact?

The kids asked me what Fridays were going to be.  Personally, I vote for Sit by the Pool and Drink Margaritas Day.  Local friends who care to partake can feel free to stop by.