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My dad gave me a call about a month ago.  He was buying a new porch swing for my mom for Mother’s Day.  “The old one is a bit worn,” he said, “but I think you have the ingenuity to fix it.  “Would you like it?”

“I’d love it.”  I said.

So last week he dropped the old swing by my house.

A bit worn… Yes.  It’s a bit worn.

“I think you need to throw that old swing in the garbage!” my husband says.  “Tell me again, why we have it at our house?”

“I’ve always wanted a porch swing.”  I reply.

“Yes, I know.  But this one has a big old hole in the seat.”

“But the frame is very solid.  It rocks really well. I can make something nice out of this.”

For now it’s covered in my old quilt… which also has a few holes in it… which is why I’m fine with it being outside on the swing.

And all of us have loved having it.  The kids take turns rocking each other.  I love to sit out for a few minutes in the morning or evening.  I dig having a porch swing.

And I know I can recover this old swing in a wonderful outdoor fabric, make a few pillows… and maybe even make it nicer than it was before.

I just love unexpected projects.

The summer holiday is right around the corner.  Friday is the last day of school.  This year I’m meeting it with excitement and not just a little trepidation.  Summer means camping trips, picnics, and swimming at the pool.

But it also means kids who no longer have a schedule built in.  If I don’t get a working summer schedule put together, my kids will be bored, messy and driving me crazy.

I know for sure they are not going to watch TV all summer.  I also don’t want my kids brains to totally turn to mush.  A while back, I read the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.  It was an interesting book about success and one thing that interested me was the impact of summer activities on kids who are successful in school.  A bit of summer learning can go a long way.

So with all that in mind, here’s what I’m thinking we need this summer:

• Job charts- We already use them, but they need different job charts for summer, with more responsibilities.
• Summer “school”-  Even though I don’t want to do a full scale summer school, I want the kids to do a bit of math, writing and at least 20 minutes of reading every weekday.  I also think it’s fun to do a few science experiments here and there.
• A daily schedule- I don’t do well with a rigid schedule, I can never stick to it.  But the kids need to know what’s expected of them- they need to finish jobs and school work before they can run off to play with friends.
• A weekly schedule- This will include things like going to the library every Monday, doing a weekly activity like going to the Zoo or hiking to Timpanogos Cave, and a swimming day.

With a little planning, and a bit of luck, I hope this summer vacation will be good for all of us.