School's almost out.

It's summer time again. I usually look forward to the kids getting out of school. This year I will have 2 extra kids at home, Hannah and her sister Abby. I am a bit nervous that I'll go crazy this summer. Kids running rampant. Every 5 minutes someone saying they are bored, or so and so did this. I decided I needed a plan to help the summer months go by more smoothly. I have come up with a sort-of schedule. These are some things I wanted them to do daily and weekly.

Daily:
(in no particular order)

Reading Time
Craft/Art time
Outdoor time (if weather permits)
Snack Time
Game time
Lunch Time
Learning Time (Work books or some kind of intellectual stimulation)


Weekly:

Library Visit (once a week)
Park Visit (once a week)
Cooking Class (once a week)
Pool Time ?


I am really excited about the cooking class. I've been discussing it with my sister Nicole. I mentioned the idea to her, and we both got really excited about it. When I went to NY, I bought a cook book from William Sonoma. It's called Sweet Treats, and it is geared toward kids. They also have a bunch of other kid cook books that look awesome. After buying the book, I came up with the idea to use it for a cooking class. The book has some basic skill lessons for kids at the beginning. I would teach the kids basic cooking skills using one recipe a week from the book. I would start with a lesson, read over the recipe, then start cooking. Every kid would get a different assignment (prep, measuring, stirring, etc...).

I want to get each kid their own apron, and oven mit(older kids only), and maybe a small cutting board. This website has some great cooking tools/accessories for kids. Nicole and I decided to pick Friday as our cooking class day (giving us the whole week to shop and plan). We would both decide on a recipe and then report to each other about the class. (We figured if we had someone to report to, it my keep us motivated to actually do the class) I'll try and post on my blog about how the classes go. My first class will be 6/29.