summer workshop 2010.

We had a slow start this summer, but workshop is now up and running in full force.  This year I decided to include some activities/gifts that I know they would love, but we just haven't used them yet.  Things like a paper airplane kit the boys got for Christmas, a steel builder set we've had for a couple years, a paper gizmo kit and playdoh tools.  Some of the activities in this summer's workshop include:

1. postcard to someone you love
2. play with playdoh
3. i love my family (an activity or service they can do for one of their brothers or sisters that day. for example, ashlyn's might be to take ava for a little walk or play basketball with cam for a few minutes)
4. time or counting puzzle
5. go for a little bike ride
6. throw 20 pitches
7. read for 15 minutes
8. make paper airplane (from our paper airplane kit)
9. chores
10. go for a walk and find a treasure (a flower, rock, etc.)
11. write in gratitude journal
12. read scriptures 
13. homework sheet
14. pick up 15 things in playroom
15. draw an animal (from a drawing book we have)
16. talking games (to help Andy reinforce his smooth talking--we are working on his stuttering)
17. choose a scout activity (from the scouting handbook)
18. practice instrument
19. color page in coloring book and add to art gallery (our art gallery is our mudroom door--we don't have a fridge we can use magnets on, but we can on our garage door!)
20.  keyboarding game
21. pick one bucket of weeds
22. shoot 10 baskets

Each night, I choose 12 activities for the next day and pin them to our bulletin board in order from 1-12.  The kids begin each day at number one and work their way through to number 12--or however far they can get during that day.  For each activity they complete, they earn a paper dot (made with one of those 1" paper punches.)  So if Cam got to number eight today, he would earn eight dots.  Actually today, he got to number three.  Out of all my kids, he is the least interested in workshop--he still does it happily, just at a slower, sort of distracted pace.  He's usually got his mind on other exciting things--like how to create the perfect frog habitat. :)

I usually have a set time we do workshop each day--typically in the mornings while I am cleaning up breakfast and getting ready, but they can also keep doing it throughout the rest of the day if they want.  At the end of the week, we have workshop store, where they can buy things with their dots.

For more details on how we do summer workshop, you can search "workshop" on my blog (top left hand corner) and find all the posts I've done on it over the last couple years.

Tonight before bed, Andy gave me a big hug and said, "Thanks for making up workshop!"  Seriously, so worth it.  I just love that boy.  And they just love workshop.

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