School Is Over

School is over.  Do you know what that means?  That means my hands are full nowadays.  Since my 2 sons don't have to go to school anymore, all 5 children of mine are at home all day.  And sometimes, it gets very stressful.  Not that I don't want to spend time with my kids at home, but I do get tired having to hear the crying and the complaining and the bickering and fighting with each other.

What can I do?  What vacation activity can I do with them?  I know my 2 boys would just love to play the PSP and the PS2 all day.  But I can't let them do that.  They are already wearing eyeglasses and probably one of the reasons is because of eye strain caused by too much computer and video games. 

So, here is what I asked of them to do.  Recently, we just bought a set of World Book Encyclopedia including a Children's Illustrated Library.  Everyday, they are to read topics on one of the books and then write on a notebook 1-2 sentences about what they have learned.  I also asked them to write a Bible memory verse and they are to recite it to me without looking.

Oh, is that a kill joy?  Well, it's only a few minutes each day and I don't want to waste their time not having learned anything at all this summer vacation.  Aside from that, since they also love drawing,  I hope that they would also get to hone their skills by practicing their drawing skills.

This is also a great time to teach them about being helpful and responsible.  I'm asking my 2 boys to help in the house chores like washing the dishes, hanging the clothes to dry or taking in the laundry, taking care of their baby sister.  This I can't ask them to do that much when they have school.

We will also go out to the mall, stroll in the park and eat out once in a while.  But not too much because that could get very expensive.  

How about you?  How are you spending time with your kids now that school time is over.