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Summer Plans



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 5th 06, 04:50 PM posted to misc.kids.moderated
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I think I asked this last year, too, so curious me will ask this
year. What's everyone doing with their kids this summer?

DS (10) and DD (12) are again on a summer swim team that
meets each morning during the week for practices, and
there's a meet every weekend. DD can bike to the practices
-- DS is still a bit young for that -- maybe next year.
Swim season ends the first weekend in August with a big
city-wide meet. DS and DD are at the top of their
respective age brackets (9-10 and 11-12), so they have
an advantage this year.

Their afternoons are completely empty. So far.

DS is also going to take fencing lessons -- he's totally into
swordplay, because he loves all things Tolkien/Eragon/Fantasy
novels. I'm hoping DD will be babysitting a lot around the
neighborhood as well -- she's totally gone mall-shopping
teenager, and needs to fund her addiction. Thankfully, she
shops for bargains, most of the time. DD has two weeks of
camp lined up as well, one week in July with a different
family -- they take her every year -- and one week in
August where she'll know nobody. I think she'll have fun
both weeks.

Their grandparents will also be in town for a week in July.

Our vacation plans are up in the air, 'cause I'm supposed
to go to India sometime this summer to train some people,
in Delhi. But the week when I do that isn't set! But I
do want to get to the Twin Cities to see the Bodyworks
exhibit at the Science Museum. That's just a daytrip
or an overnight.

Scott DD 12 and DS 10

  #2  
Old June 8th 06, 07:47 PM posted to misc.kids.moderated
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Scott L wrote:
I think I asked this last year, too, so curious me will ask this
year. What's everyone doing with their kids this summer?


13 is a tough age for this. Henry relishes his freedom and school
years are so stressful for all of us (he struggle with organization,
etc as he is ADD and it can be a nightmare to ensure homework is
completed, etc) that we all appreciate a break. He's a night owl so he
sleeps until noon or later -- I am home by 3:30. I have challenged him
to find one class/activity to do by next week or I'll find it for him.

He has responsibilities around the house that he doesn't have during
the school year, and we are significantly increasing his allowance.
This actually SAVES us money because then he has to budget movies,
going out with friends to restaurants, etc., rather than 5 and
10-dollaring us to death. We are hoping it will teach him
responsibility with money.

Last week was the first week on the money plan -- we had a "Leave it to
Beaver" moment. Henry got his first mega-allowance Friday morning and
by 3 p.m. when I got home, he had walked to a pet store and purchased
two gerbils. He had enough money for gerbils, food and bedding, but
not a cage, so his plan was to keep them in a cardboard box (yikes!)
for a week until he could afford the cage.

Since he did not have permission to purchase pets and we already have
three dogs, we required him to return them. I called ahead and spoke
with the manager, who, after I suggested it was irresponsible for them
to sell pets to a 13 year old without parental permission/involvement,
agreed to refund his money. So -- I told Henry that the store would
give the money back, but that Henry could only have the money back if
he personally returned the gerbils. We sat in the parking lot for 20
minutes while he tried to decide whether his pride would win out over
the cash. The cash won. I felt like I was in a sitcom.

Turns out Henry had an entreprenurial plan: The gerbils cost $13 each
and he purchased (yikes again) a male and a female. He figured he
could sell the babies for $1 or $2 each to friends and he'd be in the
the black by mid-July.

Sometimes it feels like we're living in a Leave It To Beaver episode.

-Dawn
Mom to Henry, 13

  #3  
Old June 9th 06, 12:48 AM posted to misc.kids.moderated
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Default Summer Plans

"Scott L" wrote in message
...

I think I asked this last year, too, so curious me will ask this
year. What's everyone doing with their kids this summer?


DD(8) has 3 weeks of 1/2 day camps planned: one week of dance camp and
two weeks of musical theater camp. She'll have 1/2 hour swim lessons
twice a week for 6 weeks. And she'll have her gymnastics classes.

Gymnastics is where things get tricky. She takes both rhythmic and
artistic gymnastics (rhythmic uses the ribbons, balls, hoops, clubs and
ropes; artistic uses the balance beam, bars and vault). In rhythmic she
is being pressured to move to the "pre-team". I put "pre-team" in
quotes, because they compete, so I'm not sure why they aren't called
part of the team. She would go from 2/days, 1.5 hours a week to 3 days,
2.5 hours a week, plus her 1.5 hours in artistic gymnastics. After
talking to her coach, I don't think she will be able to stay where she
is-- she'll have to move up or quit (which really bothers me. Since she
doesn't have a goal of getting to high level competition, I don't see
why there needs to be a hurry on this. But her coach doesn't see it
that way.).

DD doesn't like change, and will strongly resist. She doesn't want to go
to the pre-team, but she also doesn't want to go to 3rd grade. She also
didn't want to move to a higher class in her other gymnastics a year
ago, but was glad when she did. I think I'm going to have to insist she
try the pre-team for the summer, and then decide if she wants to
continue or quit. I'll also check out the one other rhythmic program
locally, but they also don't seem to have much of a recreational
program.

Given what we are dealing with, I'm hoping she'll decide to continue
with the rhythmic and drop the artistic gymnastics (which she is good
at, but not as good as she is with the rhythmic). This will allow her
to still have time for playdates and playing on her own, which we both
agree are important.

Liz


  #4  
Old June 9th 06, 02:53 AM posted to misc.kids.moderated
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My older daughter (going into senior year in high school) will be going with
her dad back east to check out colleges for the first week and a half of
summer. (I got the Southern California road trip over spring break...) Then
she's going to UCLA for 6 weeks, taking a real college course and fun stuff
and living in the dorms in a program. Then my parents pick her up and
deliver her to the airport, where she will meet the rest of the family in
Maui for a weeks vacation. Then it's work on college admittance essays and
whip the school dance team into shape for the beginning football games and
rallys.

My younger daughter is going for three days to Tahoe with her girl scout
troop. (And I will be home alone, without kids or husband, for the first
time since the children were born.) Then she comes homes, works a horse
camp for a few days, and head off to two weeks of tennis camp. My husband
and I are taking this juncture to head to Europe ourselves. We get back as
camp gets out, and she turns 12!! She spends a week and a half at home,
taking half day advanced horse camp, then head off to another sleep away
camp for 10 days, this one with emphasis on riding. I think I have jury
duty while she's gone. Then she comes home, and we have a week before we
all head off to Maui. When she comes back she signed up to work horse camp
for the little ones.

Then school and soccer and tennis and dance all start again. At that point
it seems relaxing.

  #5  
Old June 9th 06, 05:20 PM posted to misc.kids.moderated
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Default Summer Plans

"Elizabeth King" wrote in message
...

DD doesn't like change, and will strongly resist.


A followup to my own post. She was strongly resisting moving to the
pre-team when we talked about it last week. We finally talked about it
again today, and she's excited about trying it. She still doesn't know
if she will like it, but she's going to give it a try.

I feel much better now :-).

I still wish there was a better option, but at least I know what we do
next.

Liz


  #6  
Old June 11th 06, 07:04 PM posted to misc.kids.moderated
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Default Summer Plans


Scott L wrote:
I think I asked this last year, too, so curious me will ask this
year. What's everyone doing with their kids this summer?


For the last five or six years, both kids have been going to a "summer
camp" program offered by the public schools -- 9 to 3, multiple
rotating "classes," swimming every day (hurrah). This year is they
first year they're not doing that; Graham (now in middle school) is too
old for the program, and Roger (entering fifth grade) is no longer
interested in it; the activities repeat on a cycle and he's done them
all to death by now.

So I signed them up for summer school, a real bargain here at only $15
a class, and two class periods -- so $30 per kid keeps them occupied
with fun, educational stuff for four hours each morning for the next
six weeks. Roger chose art and chess; Graham chose a computer class and
another class that involves taking field trips to local sites and then
blogging about them. (A writing class in disguise!)

There will still be a month, eek, after summer school ends and before
the next school year begins. For one of those weeks, DH is taking Roger
to a Cub Scout Webelos camp; only one boy (Roger) signed up from his
den, so DH got to be the chaperone, and it will essentially be a
father-son outing. Meanwhile, I promised Graham that if he kept his
grades up, I'd take him on a road trip for some touristing, just the
two of us. (Last year we did a weekend in Kansas City, to see the
science center there, as a motivational award, and that worked out very
well.) He pulled straight A's, something we've never seen before but
known him capable of -- and this was his first year in middle school!
So we're going to Chicago for a few days, while DH and Roger are at
camp.

The rest of the time? I'll probably enlist them in some serious
housecleaning. Lots of stuff around here that should go to Goodwill or
the consignment shop, and some home and lawn repairs that need doing.
Most of the actual work is beyond them, but involving them in any way
will be good for all of us.

--Robin

  #7  
Old June 12th 06, 01:23 PM posted to misc.kids.moderated
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Default Summer Plans

Elizabeth King wrote:
"Elizabeth King" wrote in message
...


DD doesn't like change, and will strongly resist.



A followup to my own post. She was strongly resisting moving to the
pre-team when we talked about it last week. We finally talked about it
again today, and she's excited about trying it. She still doesn't know
if she will like it, but she's going to give it a try.


This is DS. Spring something on him, and it's a terror. Give
him a week's notice, and periodic reminders, and it's like
it was his idea all along.

Scott DD 12 and DS 10

 




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