Welcome August!
Sea Turtles swimming around!
Welcome, August! As I am writing this post, I am on vacation with my family. We are having a great time. It has been very relaxing to have a change of scenery and change of routine (which is not always easy for me!). I hope everyone reading this has had a wonderful summer break. Hopefully, you have a few more weeks left of summer break.
Anyways, August is one of my favorite months. Even though the summer is winding down, there’s a rhythm and energy to August that I look forward to each year. For me, the first half of August is a time to recharge, while the rest of August is when I am gearing up for the start to the academic year. This is a month of intense planning - I’m planning for the upcoming year - I personally love the September start to the year. When I plan my goals for the year, I plan for a September start (instead of a January start). For me and my life, it’s just easier. My academic year starts at the end of August/early September, my kids start school in September, and September has a new beginning feeling. So, as I’m winding down one year and beginning a new one, here are some things I have really enjoyed this summer and am looking forward to enjoying for the next two weeks:
A Less Structured Schedule
This summer has been much less structured than it normally is for my family. I have been fine with letting my kids stay up a bit later than I normally have in previous summers (this will all change in mid-August). Because of the later bedtimes, they have been reading much more on their own at night rather than together with me - which has been both great to see and also a bit sad.
Being Involved in Summer Activities
My kids, like most other children, have many interests. They can’t do everything during the school year - it’s not possible with our schedule, so I have them take part in activities during the summer that they may not have the ability to do on a regular basis during the school year. This summer, each of my daughters tried something new. My older daughter tried theater camp and put on a play in one week! My younger daughter tried tennis and really enjoyed it. I think that because these activities were reserved for the summer, they both enjoyed them even more.
Fun Projects!
I have been working on a few projects this summer. I’ve had more time to devote to these projects than I would during the school year - it’s been a nice change of pace and really fun creatively.
LOTS of Reading
My kids and I have been reading a lot this summer. We have read books that we wanted to read. I read books that I found fun and discovered some new authors - which was great. My daughters both discovered new series that they have enjoyed. I had wanted to read them the Harry Potter series, but neither was too interested in reading the whole series - so I followed their lead. We got in Book One - so I took that as a win!
Wishing you all a wonderful rest of August!