What are we doing this summer? Nothing.
As a homeschooling family, we are home a lot. We spend most of our school days at home, learning and studying. We take field trips and do fun things during the week so we can get out of the house, but mostly, we have a fully planned school day. So when summer hits and school ends, what do we do? Nothing.
What are we doing this summer? Nothing. And I love it.
I shouldn’t say we are doing nothing. My kids are wildly busy. But I don’t plan any of it. We wake up each day not knowing exactly what we’ll do. Some days we go to the pool, or maybe we’ll go walk around the mall and get an ice cream cone, but most days, the boys wake up and go run around outside. They love it. We have an old-fashioned sprinkler head that they enjoy running through. The baby has a water table that the older kids have turned into their own creation. They have a science kit that they make “potions” with. They have even had time, separately and together, with their grandparents. They really just love being kids, and I’m not going to stop them.
Their destroyed car and the remnants of a “camping trip.”
They bicker and butt-heads, but mostly they goof off and make up silly words and get bruises and come home just for dinner, sweaty and smelling of the outdoors. A jump in the pool is better than a bath and a big clean t-shirt takes the place of matching pj’s when you’ve come home after dark and it’s time to go straight to bed.
Bikes that have seen better days.
They have sun-kissed skin and beaten up knees. Their bikes have seen better days and their sneakers are muddy. But they are lovers of summer and can’t wait for each new day to begin. I love that I am able to give them an unplanned summer. I love that they are wild and free. We know our neighbors and they know us. We all keep eyes open for the kids and call or text each other if someone ends up in our house.
My Wild Boys
As I write this, my boys are gathering their daily supplies for their adventures outdoors. They have backpacks full of “gear” that will allow them to play in the sun and explore the trees. Maybe later on, we’ll go to the pool. Who knows? We have no plans.
The sun, peeking out between branches of our big front yard tree.
*My eldest son took these photos while exploring our yard one afternoon. Except the one of my boys, I took that 😉
