Summer Goals For Kids: 2016 Edition

Some moms like to fill their summer days with vacations or day trips or play dates. I like to fill ours with the pool, reading, and . . . summer goals!

For the past year, I've been keeping a running list of possibilities, and two days after school got out, we sat down as a family and made everything official.

I gave my suggestions and the boys gave theirs. Mike mostly nodded his head and said everything sounded good (although he did come up with one goal, which I'll talk about in a minute).

As in years past, we made goals that were practical, educational, and fun. We tried to keep the list to a manageable size, but it was hard because there were so many contenders, and I think we (read: I) may have gotten a little overly ambitious. We'll see . . .

Here are the boys' goals for 2016, broken down by category:

Aaron, age 7 (almost 8)

• Practical
• Wash dishes and utensils [This is his daily chore. He's rockin' it, and it's such a help to me!]
• Memorize Dad's phone number [We realized none of the kids knew it! Ooops.]
• Make macaroni from a box
• Follow six recipes
• Educational
• Finish seven units in piano 
• Complete 4th grade math book [This is one of the overly ambitious goals. We may need to cut it down to size a bit.]
• Memorize four poems and four scriptures
• Learn U.S. capitols
• Read Mathematicians are People, Too [We actually have an entire subset of reading goals, but I'll talk about them in a separate post.]
• 10 minutes of scripture reading every day
• Fun
• Kick a soccer ball farther
• Run a mile and improve time
• Art Fraud Detective [I'm going to have to write more about this fun book that introduces kids to famous pieces of art. My boys are loving it.] 
• Create a comic strip [Gotta put all that Calvin and Hobbes reading to creative use!]
• Catch a fish [This was Mike's contribution. I thought he should go for something more attainable, like, "Go fishing," but he'd never caught a fish before in his life, and so he was bound and determined to do it with his kids.]
• Three family hikes 

Maxwell, age 6 (some of his goals are the same as Aaron's, some are different)

• Practical
• Memorize Dad's phone number
• Make sandwiches/lunches [I'm keeping up with my daily lunch-making routine over the summer, and Max is helping me. For some reason, he loves this goal.]
• Fold laundry [I don't know if the daily battle is worth it with this one. I hope so, but it is a battle, and it does happen every day.]
• Educational
• Finish seven units in piano
• Memorize four poems and four scriptures
• Complete 1st grade spelling workbook
• Read Mathematicians are People, Too
• Learn the names of all 50 states
• Learn to tell time
• Fun
• Kick soccer ball farther
• Swim across the deep end of the pool
• Build something out of wood [This one was totally his idea, and he was very insistent about it. I'm letting Mike take the lead.]
• Create a comic strip
• Catch a fish
• Three family hikes

Bradley, age 4.5 (you'll see some duplicate goals with him, too)

• Practical
• Memorize Dad's phone number
• Clean the bathroom counter and mirror
• Educational
• Complete My First Piano Adventure, Level A [Bradley just started piano lessons this summer. It is not unusual for new students to be enthusiastic, but Bradley takes enthusiasm to a whole new level.]
• Complete kindergarten handwriting workbook [Bradley loves workbooks. I think I'm going to have to get him another one because he's already almost done with this one.]
• Memorize four poems and four scriptures 
• Fun
• Kick a soccer ball farther
• Swim with side breaths
• Pump a swing
• Follow directions in a drawing book
• Catch a fish
• Three family hikes

At this point, I feel like I need to add a disclaimer. Helping my kids make, work on, and accomplish their summer goals is so fun for me. I am not doing it out of any sense of obligation or duty. I am doing it because it's fun. I have a Type A personality. I like structure and routine. I like making lists and checking them off. I like helping my kids learn new skills. I honestly wake up in the morning looking forward to, not dreading, making more progress on those goals. If it weren't fun for me, I wouldn't be doing it. I repeat, I would not be doing it.

But it is fun and luckily, my kids are similar enough in personality to me that they love it, too. Now that we're two weeks into summer, our days have taken on a predictable rhythm: Goals and chores; swimming; quiet time; repeat. It works for us.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the rewards for making progress on and accomplishing our goals. You have to have rewards! That's part of the fun. We'll go miniature golfing in June, we'll see an IMAX film in July, and we'll go to Timpanogos Cave in August.

You may have noticed Clark doesn't have a list. I may be overzealous, but I'm not crazy.

What are your plans for the summer? Big or small, boring or exciting, lazy or ambitious, I want to hear about them!! Also, if you have any questions about our goals, ask away! I'm happy to answer them, except for, "Are you insane?" because the answer might be yes!

Review x 2: Ramona and Her Mother and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Summer is here, which means I have more time to read to my kids! Both of these books were finished before school ended, but I thought I better combine them because we have a lot more now coming down the pike. 

Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary
I've noticed that when a read aloud has been rather slow and tedious, my kids and I tend to turn to something quick and fun and familiar afterwards. This happened most recently after we finished Rascal. Don't misunderstand, we liked that book a great deal but it wasn't a fast book for us, and I could tell that we needed a little pick-me-up to rekindle the reading bug. It should come as no surprise that the author we chose to remedy the problem was Beverly Cleary. She is our tried-and-true favorite, and Ramona was just the ticket.

Ramona is known for her seeming talent for finding mischief and getting into scrapes, but in this book, she thinks she is past all that. After all, she is seven years old and in the second grade. In fact, when she overhears someone compare Howie's annoying little sister, Willa Jean, to herself, she gets a little offended. Her pride takes another blow when someone else refers to Beezus as "her mother's girl."

But still, no matter how much she wishes it or tries to be more grown up, Ramona can't help getting into trouble. In this installment, she dumps a bottle of blueing all over herself and Howie, squeezes out an entire tube of toothpaste, and tries to run away. She is definitely more conscious of her actions (and more defiant about them when she knows it's something she shouldn't be doing), but she is still very much the same Ramona who, at four years old, ate a bite out of every apple in the basement.

The similarities between Willa Jean and Ramona throughout the book cannot be missed, and it is a brilliant tool for expanding Ramona's character. Through Willa Jean, we are able to look at Ramona from all angles: how other people see her and how Ramona sees herself, and we're also able to draw our own comparisons. Seeing Willa Jean in action reminds us of Ramona's escapades from years past. We also see how she's matured while at the same time staying very much one hundred percent Ramona.

One of my other favorite parts of the book is when Ramona's parents get into a really big fight one evening after a very long day. There were delays with picking up the car from the repair shop after work, and so everyone is tired and hungry when they get home. They expect dinner to be ready and waiting for them, but Ramona's mother had forgotten to plug in the Crock-Pot when they all left that morning. Their only other  option for dinner is pancakes (but they still plug in the Crock-Pot so that they can eat the stew the next night, and I was thoroughly grossed out about that), but Ramona's parents are sarcastic and rude and start throwing insults at each other (or actually, at Mr. Quimby's grandmother) until Mrs. Quimby grows so frustrated, she swats Mr. Quimby with the pancake turner and stalks out of the room.

There are many books with parental fights in them, but most of the time, there is some deep, underlying cause. I love this one because it shows what a good, old-fashioned quarrel looks like. Sometimes people just get tired and hungry and cranky and ornery. But the next day, after a good night's rest, the issues magically dissolve because they weren't really issues in the first place. Mike and I have similar quarrels (almost always the result of not enough sleep or not enough food), and I loved that my kids got to see this quarrel played out in a very similar way to their own parents. (But, in my defense, I've never smacked Mike with a pancake turner. :-))

This book just had all the heart and humor and authenticity I've come to expect from Ramona. You can tell we haven't been ripping through this series, and it's because I never want it to end. I always want there to be a new Ramona book to fall back on when we need something light but substantial. I guess eventually, we'll just have to start rereading. That will be fun, too.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
After the boys and I finished Ramona and Her Mother, we decided to move onto another partially finished series and read the next installment in The Chronicles of Narnia. I never read this book as a kid, but it's now the third time I've read it as an adult, and that kind of surprises me since I don't reread a lot of books, and I wouldn't list this as one of my favorite books of all time or even one of my favorites in the series. Still, it's the type of book that holds up to a reread very well.

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie have been sent to spend the summer with their Uncle Harold and Aunt Alberta and insufferable cousin Eustace (who, at least in the beginning, all bear a rather unflattering resemblance to Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and cousin Dudley). When they are alone, they relive their Narnian adventures, and there's one picture in a tucked away bedroom that especially reminds them of Narnia because it looks like a Narnian ship floating on the sea. One day, as they're looking at it, Eustace comes along and starts taunting them. But that quickly ends when the ship in the picture literally starts moving and the waves start splashing and then they're actually in the picture and being pulled up out of the water into the ship.

The ship, as it turns out, is indeed a Narnian ship, and who should be on board but Prince Caspian himself. They are searching for the seven lords who left when Caspian's uncle, Miraz, was in control of Narnia. Lucy and Edmund are thrilled to be a part of the adventures, and Eustace eventually comes around too.

When I read this book for the first time, my favorite scene was definitely the one where Aslan helps Eustace shed his skin after he becomes a dragon. The symbolism made such a profound impact on me. This time, it was my kids who loved that scene (which I totally called before we read the book), but I found myself touched by other parts of the story far more.

One of those instances happens towards the end of the book when they get to, what they later call, Ramandu's country. They find a table spread with a bounteous feast and three of the lords sitting at the end of it, deep in an enchanted sleep. A girl comes out to greet them and tells them about what happened to those three lords and also the history of the table. At the end of her narrative, Edmund says, "I'm sure I don't mean to be rude. But we have had a lot of queer adventures on this voyage of ours and things aren't always what they seem. When I look in your face I can't help believing all you say: but then that's just what might happen with a witch, too. How are we to know you're a friend?" The girl responds, "You can't know. You can only believe . . . or not." That really resonated with me (and actually brought me quite close to tears) because I feel like that's where I am with my faith right now: I can only believe or not. And I choose to believe.

And finally, I really loved the part where they are getting close to the end of the world, and the sun is getting bigger and brighter every day, but somehow, as it increases in intensity, something changes within each of them, and they are able to bear it. It reminded me of a scripture: "The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth." I just love the way the image of light is portrayed so strongly in this book as they get nearer and nearer Aslan's country because I truly believe the kingdom of God is more glorious and beautiful and light than we can dare to comprehend or endure at this time. Of this increasing brightness of the sun, Edmund said, "Though lots of things happened on that trip which sound more exciting, that moment was really the most exciting." And I think that's the way it will be as we near the end of the world as well. It will be thrilling. (And, in stark contrast to that, Max and Aaron both agreed that the earlier adventure on the Dark Island was one of the scariest moments they've ever read, and neither of them expected to be so terrified by it.)

Those are the things that stuck out to me this time, but I know that if, or I should probably say when, I read this book again, there will be other things that make an impression. It's just that kind of book.

What books have you been reading to your kids lately?

Raising Readers: Everyday Tips (Guest Post)

I feel a certain kinship with today's Raising Readers guest. Ana is a mom of four boys who loves to read. Sound familiar? (wink wink) I found her blog several years ago and felt that instant connection that comes from similar interests and experiences. Her boys are a little bit older than mine, and I love her posts about what they're reading (she breaks it down into the 4-6 and 8-12 year range) because I always come away with new ideas for my own kids. I also enjoy the things she shares about the books she's reading herself, personality types (we're both introverts), parenting, and cooking.

In this post, she gives a number of easy-to-implement, but instantly rewarding, tips for raising readers. We follow pretty much all of these in our home in one form or another, so I can vouch for them! Please share your own tips in the comments!
 

By reading a book, we learn compassion and empathy by walking alongside a character with a completely different worldview and life experience than our own.  We can relive history, or explore fantasy worlds that exist only in the imagination.  Reading engages our creativity and imparts wisdom.  It connects people across time and space.  It allows us to vicariously experience things we would never otherwise be able to.

I've always been a bookworm, so it makes me happy and proud that today my boys are all strong readers.  However, they weren't all born loving to read.  Anyone, child or adult, can develop a love of reading.  Reading is something I've spent time nurturing and reinforcing in my children, because I feel it's important.  Here are my secrets to raising kids who love to read:

Start early, if you can
Two of my four boys started life out as preemies in the NICU.  The doctors and nurses encouraged us to read to them, so we sat next to their crib, making our way through piles of children's books.  Babies love the sound of your voice, and the earlier you can start reading to them, the better. However, I freely admit that this strategy was much more difficult to implement with my last baby.  We logged a lot of reading time in the quiet NICU, but once he came home, one-on-one time was scarce, as I also had a houseful of older brothers to contend with.

Use technology to include reading in more active parts of their day
I often play audio books when the boys are busy with Legos, trains, cars, art projects or play dough.  (This helps the overall noise level of our house as well, which helps keep me sane).  I fight my type A personality's tendency to push pause if one of them leaves the room, or to meticulously note the exact second where we left off at our previous listening session.  I think they absorb a lot while the audio book plays, even if it doesn't have their undivided attention.

We also use audio books on car trips of 45 minutes or longer. It makes the time pass so much faster, and is great for books that are slightly above their reading level.

My oldest son really enjoys listening to books on playaway devices, which he checks out from our library.  If you're not familiar with them, a playaway device is about the size of a deck of cards.  They're battery operated, and you listen to them with ear buds.  They're so small and light, you can take them about anywhere.

Don't overwhelm kids with books too far above their reading level
I have learned to relax and adjust my standards a lot over the course of my parenting journey.  I read Farmer Boy to my oldest son when he was three years old, and I expected him to sit quietly and listen attentively for long periods of time.  I had this idyllic image of him sitting for hours on end, enraptured with the story, and I was disappointed when that didn't happen.

As a bookworm parent, I knew the world was filled with great books, and I just couldn't wait to introduce the boys to my favorites!  So I jumped the gun a little.  Many classic books have early reader abridged versions for children, and even picture book adaptations for toddlers.  These are wonderful ways to introduce characters and story lines to children, and as they grow, they can revisit these familiar friends in more advanced and original editions.

Let them read what they want to read
One of the most important lessons I've learned when it comes to books and kids is that reading is reading is reading.  Often what I want my boys to read doesn't line up with what they're interested in.

One of my middle sons didn't begin life as an enthusiastic reader.  In my struggle and frustration, I searched for anything he would read, and I struck gold with Star Wars.  In my desperation, I brought home bags of Star Wars books home from the library, and they ended up converting him into an eager reader.  He now reads well above his grade level in school and reads a (mostly) wide variety of books.

I often remind myself that I loved Baby Sitter's Club books as a young teen.  Even if your children NEVER read the classic literature you want them to, reading books improves the mind.  Period.  (Although on the flip side, I also believe in gently encouraging your children to stretch their comfort zone in the reading material they choose).

Reward reading and encourage growth in reading selections
This summer, I came up with my own reading program, which we'll do in addition to our library's summer reading program.  My program gives more points for reading books they've never read before, and less points for books about video games.  There are also bonus points available for types of books I would like them to read.  They're still free to choose what they want, but hopefully the incentive will influence their book choices.

We let our boys check out anything (appropriate) they want from the library. I also check out things I hope they'll read, and leave the books around the house in plain sight. It doesn't always work, but it often does, and I don't make a big deal out of it if they don't want to read my choices. I just keep requesting more.

Visit your local library regularly, and for more than just the books
When the boys were little, we were regulars at our library's story time. We're really blessed to have a great library system that has lots of quality children's programs and events. Just making the library a familiar, happy place with good memories in it, lays the groundwork for the habit of reading.

Libraries  are a goldmine of resources for all kinds of interesting learning experiences for children and adults.  Our library has classes on making artisan ice cream, growing berries, reading clubs for children and adults, concerts put on by local musicians, and much more.

Limit screen time
Outside of school, our boys get 30 minutes of screen time of their choosing, for either TV or games/other electronics. Some families probably think that's too harsh, and some probably think it's too lenient, but it works well for our family. As a result, our house watches little TV, which means more time for reading.

If you watch a movie, make sure to read the book first
I also try to always have my boys read the book first, before we watch the movie version. Often, movies are somewhat empty shells of books, and that's even when they're done well. Most books contain way too many details to fit into a hour and a half time frame, so lots of things get cut. By reading the book first, it forces their imaginations to do all the work.

Reading has brought so much enjoyment to my own life, I naturally wanted to share that with my children.  By instilling the love of reading in a child, you broaden the horizons of their world.  For a little while, they can see life through the eyes of a King or Queen, an astronaut, a Roman soldier, a pioneer, an alien or a dog.  Summer is a great time to strengthen your child's love of reading, no matter where they're starting from, so visit your library and help them pick out books they're interested in, and read together.

Ana lives in an old farmhouse, where she wrangles a pack of boys.  When she's not refereeing light saber battles or watching backyard baseball games, she loves to read, garden, craft and cook from scratch. She blogs about it all at Lessons From Yesterday.

A Little of This and That in May

I think most people will agree with me that May is, in general, a busy month. And it definitely was for us this year. There were end-of-the-school-year activities, holidays, birthdays, family get-togethers, and summer kick-offs. This month found us:

Listening . . . to all fourteen of my piano students play in the spring recital. I think this was maybe the best recital I've ever had. All of them played well, but some of them really hit it out of the park and completely impressed me.

Enjoying . . . the best Mother's Day of my life. Read more about it here.

Experiencing . . . some volatile spring weather. It hasn't really been dangerous like other parts of the country (thank goodness), but more than half the month was cool and rainy and stormy. Not what I usually expect in May.

Obsessing . . . over golf. Not me, but all of the boys. They've been practicing in the front yard and down in the basement. They loved watching the movie, The Greatest Game Ever Played. We took them miniature golfing, and even Clark did the entire course two times. Mike even started a new diet called the "I'd Rather Be Golfing Diet."

Laughing . . . or, if I'm being honest, sometimes yelling at Clark. This kid's personality is just bursting out of him, and half of the time it's delightful, but the other half makes me want to rip out my hair. He has pulled the plants out of the flower pots so many times, I've lost count, but how do you convince a two-year-old to stop?

Reading . . . on my new kindle! I've been holding out for a long time, but I finally conceded that there might be a few situations when a kindle would actually come in handy and perhaps even be more convenient than a real book. I promise I'm still on Team Paper Pages though.

Attempting . . . our anniversary trip to Lava Hot Springs for the second time. And . . . success! No stomach bug, and we enjoyed every minute of the drive, the bed and breakfast, the food, the river, and the hot springs. (We stayed at Lion's Gate Manor, if you're curious, and I would highly recommend it.)

Acquiring . . . a library card for Max. He has been begging for one for months, and finally one evening, we just did it. He acts very much like it's his ticket to life, and I can't say I disagree with him.

Listening . . . to Clark sing. Maybe it's because none of the other boys were early singers, but I just think it's the cutest thing ever. His favorite songs are "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and, embarrassingly, Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off."

Celebrating . . . Aaron's last day of school. It was truly an excellent year for him, and I'm proud of the good student he has become.

Feeding . . . Clark. He wants to eat all the time, and I am not okay with being a 24-hour snack bar. We've been setting some boundaries, but the kid is so independent, he often just helps himself.

Going . . . on a field trip to the farm for the last day of preschool. Out of all the preschool co-ops I've been a part of, I think this year might have been my favorite one. There was just a great connection between this little group of kids. I hope they continue to be friends.

Blabbing . . . with Suzanne about A Man Called Ove. We had some technical difficulties, and then even once we recorded it, most people were not able to view the video, but I think we finally got it straightened out. You can watch it here.

Neglecting . . . our garden. Not intentionally, but every weekend seemed to pass without planting anything. We're still hoping to get in a few things, but I guess we'll have to buy bigger plants to make up for the lost time.

Jumping . . . into the pool. And we plan on doing it again and again and again, all summer long.

Buying . . . plane tickets for a big trip this summer. I'm not quite ready share the details (although, if you know me in real life, I've probably talked to you about it), mostly because, as of a few days ago, I'm feeling so nervous and anxious about it, and that's putting a serious damper on my original enthusiasm.

Blowing . . . out birthday candles. Clark turned two at the end of the month, and with it, the last vestiges of babyhood disappeared. We now have a full-blown kid on our hands, and really, even with all his mischievous antics, we all just adore him so much.

Spending . . . Memorial Day with family. First, my brother and his family. Then, several of Mike's siblings. Good times.

Launching . . . Mike's birthday kayak on its maiden voyage. As much as I didn't want him to buy it, I think we actually will enjoy using it.

Relishing . . . the start of summer break. We've been making summer goals (which I'll write more about) and starting our own summer reading program (which I'll write more about), and basically, I've just been trying to soak up every minute. I live for summer.

For more of our daily activities, follow along on Instagram. What were YOU up to in May?

The Book Blab Episode 6: A Man Called Ove Book Discussion, Plus Two Readalikes (with show notes)

Ever since Suzanne and I started The Book Blab, I've been worried about the possibility of technological difficulties. Technology has never been my thing, but at least with a blog, if I have issues, I can get them all sorted out without anyone knowing there even were issues. But the blab is live and we have a set time to go on air, so we can't afford to have problems. But on Thursday, we had problems. I guess I should be grateful that it's taken until episode 6 before we ran into any major difficulties, but it was still really frustrating.

For some reason, my mic wasn't connecting to my computer, so Suzanne couldn't hear me. My technical skills are limited to "find headphones jack; plug in headphones; talk." So when I wasn't being heard, I didn't know what to do. I tried a different set of headphones without success. Finally I switched to our older laptop and got things working, but I had to open a new blab, which was such a bummer because it meant that anyone who wanted to watch the live show and participate didn't get the chance, and I'm so sorry about that!!! I wish I could say it will never happen again, but I don't have that much confidence in myself, especially since I still don't really know what the issue was.

Anyway, even though we can no longer get your real-time responses to the questions, we would still love for you to participate in the comments. Please share your reaction to the story, opinions about the characters, how many times you laughed or cried, etc. Let's keep this discussion going!

0:50 - Suzanne finished her master's degree!
1:54 - This month's topic: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
3:25 - Spoiler-free plot summary
5:54 - What is your favorite funny moment?

• 6:28 - Saab references
• 8:36 - Ipad scene

10:40 - How did you feel about the structure of the novel? How did it influence the way you thought about Ove?

• 12:00 - Brilliant emotional manipulation
• 13:05 - True to real life

13:45 -  Does Ove's personality change during the course of the story? Is it influenced by Sonja or, later, Parveneh?

• 14:43 - Ove's personality doesn't change, but our perspective of him does.
• 16:08 - His friends learn how to interact with him.

17:45 - There are several interesting marriages in this book. What makes them work?

• 17:55 - Ove and Sonja
• 20:00 - Parveneh and Patrick

22:27 - How did you feel about Parveneh's character? Was she rude and invasive? Or should more people be like her?

• 23:28 - Is their friendship realistic?
• 25:40 - Introverts and extroverts

26:58 - What was your takeaway from the book?

• 27:30 - "We can busy ourselves with living or dying."
• 28:45 - You can't judge people when you don't know the backstory.

30:20 - Two similar recommendations to A Man Called Ove

• 30:46 - Suzanne's recommendation
• 33:00 - Amy's recommendation

36:05 - Conclusion

Links from the show:

Suzanne's review of A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Suzanne's review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Amy's review of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Thanks for watching! And again, we'd love for you to chime in with your questions, thoughts, and opinions in the comments! We'll be back in about a month with another fun discussion about books!

Why I Decided to Make My Life Less Crazy and Send My Kids to One Elementary School

Today is Aaron's last day of school. As always, it's bittersweet. I cried when I talked to Aaron's teacher this morning. She has been so fantastic and was such a perfect match for Aaron's personality. I wish we could just keep her for next year too.

Now you might be wondering, What about Maxwell? Well, today is not his last day. No, he still has another week because, you might remember from this previous post, he has not been attending the same school as Aaron. And as sad as I am about saying good-bye to Aaron's teacher, I am not at all sad about saying good-bye to this school year. In fact, I've been counting down the days, and even now, want to get up a do a little dance for joy that we are almost done, DONE, with two schools, and I hope not to do such a thing again until we're forced into it in junior high. It actually seems rather fitting that we're ending the year with a conflict of schedules since that is what we've been dealing with for the last nine months.

When we put Maxwell in the charter school instead of in the school Aaron was already attending, we had our reasons (namely: I wasn't so sure about the kindergarten teacher at Aaron's school; I wanted somewhere for Aaron to end up if he didn't get into the gifted program for third grade; I was curious to see what the charter school was like).

I think I knew from the beginning that it was going to be a hassle of a year (half day kindergarten is anyway, but then throw in two schools on two different schedules, and things become rather ridiculous), but what I didn't plan on was how removed I felt from both schools as I failed to do double duty.

There were different fundraisers, carnivals, art fairs, science nights, programs, volunteer opportunities, and schedules.  Sadly, I found myself getting downright irritated anytime one of the boys came home with another flyer for something I needed to do or go to or pay money for. In the past, I've been excited for any opportunity to become involved; I've even sought them out. But this year, since they were coming in all the time from all directions, I battened down the hatches instead and waited out the year, prepared to emerge when it was all over.

I think part of the reason I sort of checked out for the year was because I honestly didn't know where we were going to end up for 2016-2017. I found it hard to put so much time, energy, and loyalty into a school that we would just be leaving at the end of the year (a bad attitude, I know).
 
But there were many unknowns, and we just had to wait and wonder (and okay, in my case, stress and agonize) until we finally heard back from various options.

First up: the charter school. I filled out an application for Aaron for the coming year. The charter school fills its classes through a lottery, but siblings get first preference. It's hard to get a spot in the upper grades since someone has to leave in order for there to be an opening. But if there was an opening, I knew Aaron would have a fairly good chance of getting it since Max was already a student there. And sure enough, in March we found out there was a spot in the upcoming third grade class. I didn't know if things were going to work out for him in the gifted program at his school, so I went ahead and registered him and essentially kept my foot in that door.

The second unknown was the gifted program. Aaron had been in it for first and second grade, and it was perfect for him, but prior to third grade, all of the students had to be re-tested (as well as any other students in the district who were interested) so that anyone who wanted to be in the gifted program had a fair chance of getting in. If Aaron ended up staying in the gifted program for third grade, I wanted Max at the same school (plus, I knew that with his personality, he would really thrive in the gifted program), so I had him tested as well. That testing happened in January and February, but we didn't hear the results until much later.

And finally, there was the French immersion program, which was also housed at Aaron's school. If Aaron made it into the gifted program, but Max did not, I still wanted them to go to the same school, so I filled out a French application so that Max could do that instead. We heard back from them in March and accepted the spot, to hold our place there as well.

So there we were with three different options. If you had asked me in September what my ideal school situation would be, I would have answered, "the gifted program for both boys" without a second thought.  But in March, as I registered Aaron at the charter school, all while anxiously checking the mail every day for word about the other school, I began to change my mind. After all, even if Aaron and Max both got into the gifted program, that would only keep us safe for two years. Then Max would be the one going into third and Bradley would be the one going into first, and we'd have to go through this all over again. And then, if that worked out, we'd have to do it again in two more years with Bradley and Clark. I wondered if I should just pull the plug right then while I had the chance and switch to the charter school, regardless of the test results.

But as tempting as that sounded, I could never get myself to feel excited about it, mostly because I loved Aaron's school (and especially, his teachers) so much, and I couldn't imagine saying good-bye to them all, especially by choice.

What's more, and probably more important than what I thought, Aaron loved his school. When I approached him with the idea of switching schools, he was adamantly opposed: "Why would I switch?! I like my school and my friends." This is, of course, the response you would expect from a 7-year-old. In fact, you might expect it from a 6-year-old as well, but Maxwell showed no such reservations about switching the other way ("You mean I could go to chess club with Aaron? Okay!"). In fact, soon after the gifted testing, but long before we heard any results, he even started telling teachers, "Just so you know, I might not be here next year."

March and April were agonizing months for me. I know it's a blessing to have options, but those very options made me feel like I was going crazy. I thought about the school situation obsessively, going over the various possibilities, trying to determine which would be best for my kids and our family even though at that point it was still beyond my control.

We had to wait the longest for the gifted results, and although that was really hard for me, it gave me plenty of time to think and ponder and pray about this decision. I had gone over all the logical, practical, and educational pros and cons, so instead, I started to pay attention to how I felt: when I drove to the schools, when I walked in the front doors, when I talked to the teachers. And once I did that, the answer was so clear, it almost knocked me over, and it just became more sharp and well-defined as the weeks went on.

But we were still waiting on that final card . . . 

It was a warm April morning and we'd just returned home from a soccer game when I checked the mailbox and saw two official-looking envelopes, one to Aaron and one to Maxwell, waiting inside. I know it sounds silly, but my heart leaped a little when I saw them and my hands were clumsy and shaky as I broke the seals. Both boys had been accepted into the gifted program, and I started to cry from the sheer relief of it all.

For months, the decision had felt so daunting and impossible, but when it was time to finally, finally, make the actual decision, it was as easy as pie . . . and not because it was made for us through circumstances but because we already knew exactly what we wanted.

When Mike got home, and I told him the news, he was totally nonchalant about it: "Oh really? Well that's good." Aaron and Max were happy, but after about ten seconds, they were busy with other things and totally forgot about it.

But me? I was on cloud nine then, and I'm still there five weeks later. The relief I felt at a decision finally being reached was overwhelming for me. It was like Christmas. After that, anytime I was in a bad mood (about anything!) I'd think, "Yes, but Aaron and Max are going to the same school next year," and the world would grow a little rosier.

I've thought a lot about whether keeping so many options open for so long was really necessary or even helpful. In some ways, it was a great comfort to me to know that if one scenario didn't work out, we already had something else lined up. But on the other hand, it created a rather stressful year, and I really didn't like feeling so divided between schools. Part of me wonders if we would have done better just committing to one school and having faith that things would work out the way we wanted them to.

But here's the thing: at the beginning of the school year, we didn't know what we wanted or what would be best for Aaron and Max. It was only after we waded through the months of insecurity that we (mostly I) felt at peace with a decision. I don't know if we could have got there any other way. Plus, Max really did have a good year and got to go to school with several of his friends from the neighborhood, and I'm glad for that. And I think a part of me would have always wished that we'd tried out the charter school. So I'm not going to say that we shouldn't have done it because it all led to a good decision in the end, so I guess that's what's important, right?

Of course I realize that even though this decision feels so right right now, it might not stay that way. And I'm okay with that. If anything, this year has taught me that we can be flexible.

Now if we can only get through this final week of school with Max so that summer can officially start!

Sunlit Pages Turns Four (and a Giveaway!)

When I clicked publish on my first official post in May 2012, I don't know where I thought (or hoped) this blog would be in four years. I started it as an outlet for my reading passion. I wanted to be able to keep a record of the books I'd read, and I wanted to be able to connect with other readers. But besides the book reviews, I also wanted to capture how our family felt about books and reading and life in general. I never wanted it to become a family journal where I documented every activity (and I don't think it has), but I also didn't want to separate my actual life from the book reviews. I wanted this blog to be me, and I feel like I've stayed true to that original vision over the last four years.

A lot of bloggers recap their blog's highlights at the end of the year, but I prefer to do it in May when Sunlit Pages turns another year older. I hope you'll indulge me as I reflect back on some of the changes and additions that have happened over the last year and also remember a few favorite posts.

Here are some of the more notable things that happened on the blog:

• It got a major redesign last summer. My friend, Sarah, helped me with the new template. And my friend, Molly, drew the picture for the header. I still smile every time I open up this page and see all of us sitting under that tree because it reflects my ideal even if that's not what reading looks like for us all the time. 
• I conducted my first official survey. I was so happy so many of you chose to take it, and the information was very helpful.
• I took a three-week break. On purpose and with intention. It was so good for me and helped me realize that I still like blogging. However, I continue to search for the perfect balance between blogging and mothering and my other interests and responsibilities. You may have noticed that I've been averaging two posts a week instead of three lately. I think that's just the season of life I'm in lately, and I'm working on being okay with it.
• I opened up my Raising Readers series to guest writers, and it's been so fun to see how other families encourage a love of books and reading in their homes.
• Suzanne and I started a monthly(ish) blab, which we appropriately christened, The Book Blab. Although we record it live (and always let our readers know when that will happen), we always post the videos with the show notes after we're done so anyone can watch them at anytime. Episode 6 will air later this week (Thursday, May 26th, at 7:00pm MST). 
•  I became an Amazon affiliate. Now if you click through one of the links into Amazon and then purchase something (anything!), I'll make a small commission.
• I started giving monthly family updates. I actually love putting together these posts, and even though they usually don't have too much to do with reading, I love summing up the big and little happenings in one post.
• I was a Cybils judge for the easy readers and early chapter books category. This was one of the most fun and rewarding things I did this year, and I'm hoping to participate again next year.

I don't foresee any big changes for this upcoming year. I'm hoping to return to more frequent picture book posts (I've let Instagram take over for me there (#kidpages for all of my recommendations), but I like writing longer reviews sometimes). Also, I haven't kept my archived lists of book reviews very up-to-date, and I'm hoping to do much better with that this year. Is there anything you'd particularly like to see more of in future posts?

It's hard to see some of my favorite posts get lost in the archives, and so every year I try to resurrect just a few of them by highlighting them here. Hopefully you discover some that you haven't read before!

In no particular order:

Eye-Catching: 15 Awesome Birthday Cakes (a round-up of all the cakes we've made for our kids over the years)

Sentimental: The Most Marvelous and Exciting Father (a tribute to my dad)

Mind-Shift: The Lightning Bolt of Habit Change (it's pretty awesome when a good habit just sort of happens)

Book Review: The Boys in the Boat (if you haven't read this book yet, hopefully this review will convince you)

Survival: 8 Rules to Follow to Make Library Visits Work With Kids (I've finally had to give up the stroller, but I still follow the rest of these tips)

Agony: Why I Decided to Make My Life Crazy and Send My Kids to Two Different Elementary Schools (the follow-up to this post will be up at the end of this week)

Happy: Make a Library in Your Home (it's small, but I love it)

Mantra: I'd Rather Read Than Waste Time (what would YOU rather do?)

Rant: The Lost Art of Saying Thank You (one of those posts I didn't plan to write but couldn't help myself)

Honest: On Being Authentic (I continue to think about this one and cut people some slack because of it)

Activity: Poetry Snack Time (everything you wanted to know about this family activity that puts the spotlight on poetry)

Collection: 20 Parenting Books Later, and This is What I Remember (be sure to read the comments section of this one for even more ideas)

And finally, to celebrate Sunlit Pages' fourth birthday, I'm giving away one copy of Little Men in the Puffin Classics edition. This was one of my favorite books in 2015, and then, just a few weeks ago, I found it in this darling edition (that inspired me to write this post).

To enter, simply leave a comment! (Make sure your email is either linked to your profile or included in the comment so I can get in touch with you if you win!) (Oh, and also, should you win, I'll give you three days to reply to me with your address, afterwhich I'll select a new winner. Last year, the winner never responded and so the prize went unclaimed, and that's just too sad.) Giveaway closes on Thursday, May 26th, at midnight. (U.S. residents only. I apologize to my international readers! I still love you guys!)

Thanks for another great year of talking books and other things! I love reading your insights and recommendations in the comments or through email. There's nothing quite like connecting with other people who have that same passion for reading. Cheers!

Update: Congratulations to Jen Robinson who won the giveaway! Jen has been a reader here for many years and runs a wonderful blog herself. Go check it out!