Slacker Mom Olympic Gold: ABCs of August

There’s a major slide in kids’ learning over the summer months.  It just happens.  I always have grand ideas in June that I’ll incorporate informal learning into our summer. Of course it will result in my kids reaching genius status.  Then the summer is really here and to an extent I do incorporate fun and informal learning… but not enough. 

Now it’s August and while my almost 2^nd grader has been reading here and there this summer, it hasn’t been much. I’ve been even more slack with my preschooler.  That ends now.  No, I’m not starting a home school mini-session prior to school, but we went to the library and my oldest agreed he should read more often to get ready for school.  I think we checked out every children’s book about sharks, snakes, frogs, fish and reptiles in general.  (My kids really like nonfiction. It surprises me.)   

Yes, I made the August to do list and we're working on it, but I wanted to do more. I stumbled on this blog as the inspiration for my own balloon wreath. I was just perusing the posts and saw that she’s been doing an ABCs of Summer series with her kids.  (Oh, this made me feel like a serious slacker mom. Instead of dwelling on it, I’m taking action.)  I quickly counted on my fingers did the math and there are EXACTLY 26 days before the start of school for us.  Oh, sometimes I get lucky! There will be no slacking on the weekends or taking a day off around here!  (I’ve typed it; now I have to do it. Thank you blog-world for making me accountable.)  Wait, there may be slacking in the actual activity department, but I WILL have a letter day each day.  I WILL.  This is NOT going to be like a diet or fitness plan that never works. (Who am I trying to convince?!  You or me?!)

source

 Here it is.  I now proclaim it to be Letter A Day.  It really is.  It’s currently after midnight (12:11am) and “A” can stand for Astute observations from the sleep deprived.  I’ll run that by the kids when they wake me up.

Agenda for A day:  (See what I did there?  Impressive, I know. I’ve totally embraced this now.)

• abc puzzle- Gotta start somewhere!
• Airplane lego building
• Address memorizing- Do they know it?!
• Eating “A” foods- asparagus (and they're going to like it), apples
• Call our Aunts
• “A” scavenger hunt- How many A’s are around our house?  How many objects can you find that start with A?
• Addition
• Arm Yourself! Nerf Gun Battle
• Annoy, Antagonize, and Aggravate your brother (Really, it's inevitable.)

Whew, I’ll see what else they come up with as they find things around the house that start with A.  We’ll do those too. :)   What do you do to help your kids get back into school mode?  Are you willing to commit to this too?  Please?  There’s strength in numbers… be my numbers. Please.   

Ready for letter B? Go here.

I'm linked up to Savvy Southern Style  and Home Stories A to Z today!

August (fun) To-Do List

It’s August. Already. The milk in the fridge’s sell by date is actually after the first day of school. I know the end of summer is coming quickly now. I want to make sure we get all we can out of the last bit of summer. I don't want to miss out on having fun with my boys before we go back to the school and work routine.  In order to do that, I made a list (shocking!) of ideas to keep us in more smiles and less fights.
You know what?  They're all activities to do on the cheap- no credit counseling needed!

 I’m sure I’ll do a few posts on some of these.  Wanna try them with us? Which one looks best to you?  My kids have never played "Mother May I"... weird. What do they do in preschools now?!

Making a Child Silhouette

I remember seeing silhouettes in friends’ houses growing up and I always liked them.  They looked something like this:

Source

So, now I have kids and wanted them in my house.  But I didn’t want the old-fashioned 1800s style.  Four pieces of scrapbook paper fixed that for less than a dollar a sheet.  I really like the texture in the brown paper.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  First I needed my kids’ silhouettes (and help from my sister with her Photo Shop skills).  We had the kids stand mug shot style next to a wall that had a lot of natural light for an initial photo. Yes, just like Matthew McConaughey but without the rap-sheet: 

Source

Learn from my mistake: Place tape on the floor where you want them to stand so their silhouettes will be consistent.

From here my sister took the photos and worked some Photo Shop magic and we printed a version of the photo similar to the 1800s style to cut.  You could just play with the zoom and print the photo out in the size that will fit your frame.   

Cutting this was stressful! (My son’s nose isn’t quite as pointed as the lower silhouette shows…) After cutting, I used double-sided tape to attach the silhouette to the background paper and placed it in the frame.   

Now, I have cute silhouettes of my kids at ages 5 and 2 to see at my front entry. And, the most expensive part of the project was the frames. :)

Have you ever tried this? Or did you have them done at a fair or something where they don't cut the tip of a kid's nose off? 

I'm linked up today with the Thrifty Decor Chick,  Between Naps on the Porch  , Home Stories A to Z, My Romantic Home, The Shabby Nest, Be Colorful, Nap Time Creations, Keeping it Simple, and Today's Creative Blog!