Summer school challenge

First grade is over!

But we're still going to do some school work over the summer.

Oh, don't worry, Ash. I'm going to make it fun!

(That's his incredulous face.)

Summer vacation is awesome, don't get me wrong. But the thing is, most kids forget a lot of what they've learned over the school year after three months of no school. Personally, since I'm calling the shots, I don't want to spend the first few months of 2nd grade reviewing everything Asher has already learned and forgotten.

So, I'm making sure that doesn't happen.

My good friend, Heidi, back in Bermuda gave her kids something called a "summer challenge" last year. The kids earned privileges by completing school work on their own.

She's brilliant, so I'm stealing her idea.

I present to you our 2013 Summer School Challenge!

Here's how it works. On the Post-it notes I have given Asher ways to earn stars, anything from worksheets to reading.

He can earn 1 star each for completing a math worksheet, a language arts worksheet, by reading alone for 30 minutes, for writing a story at least 5 sentences long, or by reading an A Beka book aloud to someone.

As he completes tasks, he earns stars. As he accumulates stars, he earns rewards.

Fun, right?

I have a box full of small but fun prizes, and as Asher fills up star cards, he may choose a prize. I bought prizes that were inexpensive but he will love (i.e. a pencil box with a lock and key, an old compass, etc.), and I know that will be a huge incentive for him to earn stars because he is going to want all of them. For every two cards he fills, he can choose a special place to visit such as the Children's Museum, Pump It Up, or the dreaded Chuck E. Cheese.

The idea is that I will have all the various worksheets and tasks available for him to pick up and complete on his own. I've got a Language Arts workbook, a binder full of math worksheets, a writing notebook, and a collection of A Beka short stories.

I have given Asher a week and a half of absolutely no school work as a break for us both and a reward for his great test scores, but next week we'll start up the Summer School Challenge. Despite the silly pictures at the beginning of this blog, he does seem excited at the prospect of prizes. And I'm excited at the prospect of being ahead of the game in the fall!