Our Summer Notebooking Journal

We did a little bit of notebook journaling last summer, but not too much since it was our very first official break from school "stuff" and learning since she was 18 months old (poor child!).

This year, her notebook journal is one of her things to do daily. The best part is seeing her enjoy her daily activity.

It has been so much fun to pull this together for her and to see her look forward to certain pages in her notebook.

Would you like to do one with your children?

Here are the supplies you will need.

Notebook
Crayons
Pencil

That's it! You probably already have all of these things at home!

You could definitely make it bigger or more elaborate if you chose to, but this is really all you need.


One thing I did was to make the pages relevant to what we were doing on a particular day, and geared some pages toward things she needed review on. I also thought it would be fun for her to learn cursive over the summer, but not with a "school" feeling.

Now, how about some ideas for your notebook? Feel free to add these pages and ideas into your child's notebook. (I will be adding to this list throughout the summer as I add pages to her notebook. If you follow on Facebook or Twitter, I'll let you know when I have added to the list.)

1. Write the number 6 six times. Draw six blueberries (we went blueberry picking that day). Color them blue.

2. Draw the kind of dog you wish you could have. Guess how to spell Sarah and Alyson's big dog's name. (These were the friends we were visiting that day.)

3. Copy one sentence from any book that you want. (Reviewing copy work)

4. Trace your hand. Count by 5 for each finger. Decorate! (Reviewing counting by 5s)

5. We are going to learn cursive! Trace my A's. Trace my a's. Great job!

6. Write 6 cursive A's. Write 6 cursive a's. Draw something that starts with and A. Spell it.

7. A page with 9 math problems equivalent to what she did at the end of first grade.

8. (I drew a "princess" dress) Color and decorate her dress.

9. Name 5 things that make you happy.

10. (cursive) Trace my B's. Trace my b's. Write 5 A's. Write 5 a's.

11. Find John 11:35 in my Bible. Copy it.

12. Say this 3 times. "1 minute= 60 seconds. 1 hour= 60 minutes. 1 day= 24 hours." Draw a clock.

13. Draw our family.

14. Trace your foot. How many inches is it? ____________in.

Do you notebook with your child over the summer? 
Do you have any ideas for pages to include in a notebook journal? Share them in the comments. We would love some more ideas!

This post has been linked up to A Mama's Story, The Squishable Baby, Happy and Blessed Home

How to Make the Most of Your Summer

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I mentioned at the end of last summer that it was our best summer yet.

It truly was.

I felt as though we had taken each and every day of our summer and squeezed as much fun and adventure out of it as we possibly could.

I certainly did not do it alone.

As someone who at that point would much rather stay at home, I needed help in finding ways to get out with the kids and enjoy this season of lazy days, rainy afternoons, and looser schedules.

I discovered that our community was filled with opportunities for us to make memories together and individually by keeping my ears (and eyes- Facebook) open for announcements. Here are some of the things we found here in our county that worked really well for us last year. I am sure your county would have similar activities for you to enjoy.

Library classes- Our library system does a series of classes throughout the entire summer. They are educational, entertaining, and the kids really had fun. We brought home meal worms and planted seeds last year as two of the activities the library provided.

Our library also has a Summer Reading Program that encourages children to spend at least 24 hours worth of time throughout the entire summer reading. At the end, children can earn a ticket to see the Tampa Bay Rays play. Our sports loving family really enjoyed this, and Addie was so proud that she had earned her own ticket!

Check your local library system's event calendar to find out the activities they have lined up for the summer.

Arts and Crafts- We discovered that Michael's Arts and Crafts Store has a program called Passport to Imagination which runs all summer long, three days a week. The cost of the 2 hour class is $2 per day. Addie developed a great relationship with her teacher, Miss Maureen, and still gets hugs when we go back for the Saturday classes.

Movies- Check into your local movie theater's schedule to see what they are offering for children during the summer. We have a couple of theaters in our area that offered free or $1 movies once or twice a week. We really took advantage of these times. It was a great way to get out of the house but still be in the air conditioning.

Fruit Picking- Here in Florida we kick off our summer break with blueberry picking. It is always a great way to get us outside and we bring home pounds of blueberries for a fraction of the cost of buying them in the stores. What fruit comes into season in the summer in your area? Look into where there may be a U-pick farm and have some fun!

Season Passes- Do you have season passes to a local theme park? Summer is a great time to use them and get the most out of that pass. On evenings when you find yourself wondering what you could do, pull out that pass and enjoy your theme park for a couple of hours.

July 11th- Don't forget that on 7/11 each year, 7 Eleven offers free Slurpees!


VBS- Vacation Bible School is a free week long program that churches offer to their communities. Many times, the churches in an area or community stagger their VBS weeks so that parents can utilize as many of these programs as possible.

Beaches and/or pools- Are you located near a beach? Are you a part of a community that gives you access to a pool? Do you have friends who invite you over to use their pool? Does your area have a sprayground? These are all great ways to get out into the summer sunshine, keep cool, and get that summer glow. Just be sure to keep the sunblock generously applied, hats on small heads, and lots of liquids on hand.

Cow Appreciation Day- One thing that our daughter looks forward to each summer is Chick-Fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day. The idea is to dress like a cow (as much or as little as you want). For minimal participation you get a free chicken sandwich. For more participation you get a free meal! Each year, we haven't paid a dime for our dinner.

Sporting Events- Baseball season is under way and football season is gearing up. Summer ballgames are almost an all-American must! Some ball fields will allow you to bring in your own food which helps to keep costs down to a minimum.

Football is also gearing up. Our local team (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) has a Fan Appreciation evening and open the gates (free of charge) for the fans to watch a night practice and fireworks. Check your local team to see if there are any free fan events happening in the summer.

American Girl Movie Premier- I don't know how it is in your house, but in our house the summer television premiere of the American Girl Doll of the Year movie is a big event. It is a free night, we do not have to leave the house, Addie gets to pick out her own fashionable outfit, and I give her a special hair style using my hair supplies. It's a tradition.

Make the Most of the Holidays- Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Labor Day are all considered summer holidays. Why not make the most of these with crafts, special snacks, and activities? My 4th of July Pinterest board was a huge help to me last year in coming up with a week's worth of stay-at-home activities and fun.

100 Days of Summertime- I think my biggest inspiration for getting out and living life last summer was the 100 Days of Summertime e-book by Jen Tankersley from ListPlanIt. This book was filled with daily ideas from celebrating the big holidays to celebrating the simple days of summer and a slice of watermelon. Each page had me living in the present, but it also helped me prepare early enough for the bigger moments in summer so I could sit back and enjoy those times, too.


I hope I have given you some ideas on how to make this summer your best one yet. I think the most important lesson I learned last year was to make a big deal of the little moments. Those are the moments that our children will remember for a long time to come.

A Call for Your Ideas

Summer is quickly approaching. All of my teacher friends are already counting down the days. We have five more days of school and we can officially say "Hello, Summer Break!"

As summer approaches we all begin thinking of what we can do to make this summer the best one yet. Activities, vacations, summer holidays, and food are all ways that we enjoy showing some of the sense of freedom, creativity, and relaxation that summer naturally brings with it.

That is where you come in, my dear readers.

I want to hear from you!

You hear from me all the time! But blogging is so much more enjoyable when I am able to interact with my readers.

In February, I featured readers in our Real Life Love Stories series, and I want to feature you again.

How is that possible when we only know each other (with a few exceptions) in this vast world called cyberspace?

Here is how!

Do you have a favorite summer recipe? One that can keep us out of a hot kitchen or is a light meal that is just right for those hot summer evenings or that is easy to pack up to take to the beach to watch the sunset?

Did you do something special to celebrate Memorial Day or the 4th of July with your family? Do you make a special dessert? Do you play games? Do you know of a great family friendly place to go to celebrate? We (as in The Joy of Homemaking community) would love to know!

Did you do something fun with your children to help pass the time during the long, lazy days of summer? Do you make homemade toys with items we all have in our cupboards? Do you have a great schedule for how you set up your summertime days? Do you have a summer long project that you work on with your children? Please share!

Will you be taking a day trip or family trip and want to share something about where you went so others can enjoy it, too?

This call is not just for the parents of preschoolers and elementary children. I want to hear from the parents of middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college students, too! Who says the fun has to stop once our kids hit 6th grade?

Grandparents, do you do special things for your grandkids that Mom and Dad will not do? We want to hear from you, too!

Most importantly, you do not have to be a blogger to participate! 

I think every voice should have the chance to be heard, whether you blog or not!

If you would like to participate, check out the Guest Posting Guidelines for all of the details. I know the guidelines look daunting, but they really aren't. It is just a necessity in the world we live in today. If you want to submit but aren't sure how the guidelines work, go ahead, send in a post, and I would be more than happy to help you.

I can't wait to hear from you!

Email me at godlyrose at yahoo dot com with your activity, recipe, or special way that you celebrated one of the summer holidays. You are welcomed to send a photo of yourself (if you want your photo to be included in the post) and a photo of your activity or meal that you are sharing. If you have a blog of your own, I would be more than happy to include a link to your site.

Next week, in the spirit and celebration of the upcoming summer season, we will be talking about some of the free or cheap activities you can do with your family so that you can have the best summer yet.