Summer Time for Kids of a Teacher

Kevin and Colin are simply great. Really. They are so wonderful. They must not know what life is like for kids who do not have a teacher-mom. (They are great anyway, though.) I know how much kids slide back over the summer with reading and math skills, and I refuse to have my boys be those kids.

So I set up rules for the summer, and they have not complained at all. Kevin gets half of it done before I am even downstairs with Gwyn, and Colin would too if he wasn't so much like me in the morning. (Kevin and Kevin wake up ready to face the world. Colin, Gwyn and I like to take about 20 minutes of snoozing and relaxing before we even move out of bed.)

What am I talking about? The work the boys have to do before they get any screen time. Before they can watch cartoons, get on my computer to watch JangBricks Lego videos, or play on the tablet, they have to do the following:

• get dressed
• brush teeth
• eat breakfast
• read 20 minutes
• write for 10 minutes OR do 4 pages in math* 
•  complete one chore (vacuum a room, fold laundry, empty dishwasher, clean a room, etc.)

(It sounds like a lot, but they actually chose this number. Both of their teachers sent home the unfinished workbook from school.)

And they do it without complaining. Also, I did not realize how helpful it would be! Seriously, I really appreciate not only their lack of complaining, but their help. I make sure to tell them that as much as possible. And the cutest part is that Gwyn also thinks she has to do a chore, and the boys help her do it. They both seem to have grown in the last few months into more independent, driven kids, especially Kevin.

To explain how adorable they are, I caught a picture of Colin working on math one morning. He didn't know how to do something and Kevin jumped up to help him. I couldn't help snap a picture or two.