There's a whole lot of happiness around the Stoker house. Friday was the last day of school. And really, is there any place with more possibilities than the beginning of summer? Gabe had his last day of elementary school. They send the 5th graders out with a "Walk of fame". All the parents line the hallways while the students take their final walk through school. The walls are lined with posters the families made with congratulatory messages. They sent the students home early with 2 DVD's one of field day and one of all the students and their favorite quotes. Pretty nice tradition. 
Rebecca finished her last day of Middle School. She was also "Walked out of school" Poor thing had to go to school for the whole day. There were 3 teachers retiring and her school feeds into 5 High Schools so it was pretty emotional, but she came home with a big smile. At dinner Paul asked, "What are you going to do to continue your academic development over the summer?" Rebecca replied "PARTAY!!!!" She confided, "I really don't want to do anything with pencil and paper anymore." Bless her heart.
It seems like Andrew's been out of school for a week. He had some finals, and yet nary a book was cracked. He said something about only needing 16 % to maintain a B in Physics. (Just breathe, Mom) He went out, worked out, and hung out. The Seniors "Walked out." and left him and his fellow Juniors ruling the school. They wore their senior t-shirts and took all the best parking places. If it weren't for me nagging him about ACT prep, college applications, and finding a job he wouldn't have a care in the world.
I love being with my kids, but summer can be a lot of work for moms. We can't have them "Eating the bread of idleness" now can we? There's always that transition from grueling morning regimens, being with friends, working mostly on their own stuff, to relaxed mornings, being with siblings, and working on family stuff. It's usually an ugly first couple of weeks, but then it gets great.
We've had various summer programs with the different ages of the children, but the main elements are basically the same. Kids are happier playing after they've worked. The day starts with a list. The daily, every-child items are things like brush teeth, say prayers, make bed, (which somehow never happens) do outside job, practice instrument, read, choose from job list. The first child up gets to choose first. This works well in theory, but as I recall, the same child always ended up cleaning the bathrooms. Everyone has to be reading a book. If they read a Newberry award or classic I'll take them to Dairy Queen. The older children have what we call "Gabe jobs." They work with him in Math, writing, typing, etc.
Summer is a good time to learn life skills. Each child has to take a turn doing laundry for a week. Since Gabe's the only one who doesn't do his own laundry I guess he'll have to take turns with me. I also have the children take a week of cooking. This program is not for the faint of heart. I do help according to their age, but I have them choose recipes and shop with me. There is so much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, not to mention food that is, shall we say, questionable in quality and flavor, that it almost does me in.
Now if you're old enough to have a job, we have a "Manly program." We mostly have men anyway, but it comes from "Being a Man", "Manning up," etc. Anyone in this program (it starts at 14) needs to be working at least 4 hours a day 5 days a week. They can procure outside employment and be paid for their efforts, volunteer their services in the community or for other families, or work for me. I pay a reduced amount for certain jobs like lawn mowing. Last year I allowed Andrew to choose his hours as long as he did the work. This year I'm changing that because I want him to gain the being-on-time-to-work skill. I really just want him to get employment so on the top of his list is always apply for jobs.
Thursdays are our day off. I like to go somewhere fun as a family. Sometimes we just enjoy having no lists, which is only fun if we had lists the days before. TV days are still Friday and Saturday. When the kids were little they had Tuesday too. We swim, eat snow cones, mango salsa, and watermelon, and when everyone's finally in the working groove it's time for a ROAD TRIP! That's the real best part of summer.
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