Summer fun on a shoestring

A couple weeks ago, I sat down with our calendar and started thinking about how to change up my children's routine for the summer and to keep them out from in front of the TV. It's time they remember how to have fun WITHOUT a TV, a computer, or an XBox.

Because my husband and I are committed to living on one income (his) so I can stay home and care for all our children, I have to be ever mindful of our budget. There really isn't a lot of money in the "entertainment" category, so I'm always on the lookout for fun, interactive, educational, engaging, cost effective activities that will fill up our summer!!

Here are the activities that are summer staples for our family:

1. Vacation Bible School
2. The reading program at our local library that offers great prizes for reading a certain amounts books.
3. The free craft time at our local library every Tuesday or Thursday.
4. The free educational entertainment every Tuesday evening at our local library. ( Puppet shows, music, science shows, train rides, etc.)
5. Our local Sonic a really terrific play area with half price slushies every day from 2-4 pm!

This summer I've come across some other fantastic activities at little to no cost and I'm just thrilled:

Check out this website for FREE bowling every day!!

http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/

(You will still need to rent your shoes, so I'm considering finding some used pairs for my children to purchase! Plus, check out the dates. There are many continuing this program in some places through September and October!!!)

How about this one?

http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx?state=TX

If you have a membership to your local zoo (a GREAT gift for your entire family at Christmas),

you could still visit there at any time of day and wouldn't need to feel the pressure of staying all day to get your money's worth. For us though, it's almost too hot to use this during the summer.

(It's supposed to be 102 degrees here this Sunday!!)

Have you checked out your local churches VBS schedules?

This year I have no less than SEVEN Vacation Bible Schools on the calendar.

No kidding.

One for every week of June and July.

This is the first year I can remember where there weren't several churches that had overlapping VBS weeks.

Not this year though, and I'm so excited to have so many options!!

The only exceptions are the week we're sending three children to summer camp with our church, and the week I'm hoping to send my three girls to an art camp.

You can read about art camp at the link below:

http://www.veartgallery.com/session.php?id=17

Now, summer church camp and this art camp are NOT free.

In fact, for us, they are downright expensive.

But my husband and I LOVE camp ministries and feel it's the highlight of the summer for our children, as well as it having a lasting spiritual impact on them,

so it's an unchangeable part of the summer that they all LOVE.

The art camp is new for this summer, and one I think will really benefit Lexi's

creative passions, as well as introduce some new things to Ashlyn and Abby.

In tomorrow's post, I will talk about the different things we do individually and together as a family to bring in the extra money to fund these summer endeavors!

Our local library has a WONDERFUL children's librarian and she always has the summer packed with fun, educational, FREE activities for the children.

We always participate in the reading program and we earn prizes like a free skate at the local roller skating rink, certificates for free hamburgers, pizza, and ice cream, tickets to the Ringling Brothers circus, and a free book!

It keeps my children reading throughout the summer, and they have fun incentives!

Combine it with some friends and you have a fun outing together at no cost!!

The children's librarian also has something fun every Tuesday evening through June and July that we usually enjoy attending. Here is what our schedule looks like this year:

http://www2.youseemore.com/duncanville/about.asp?p=88

I think through my summer days and break them down into 3 segments:

Morning time (until lunch), afternoon time (until dinner), and evening time.

Our mornings will pretty much be taken up with VBS.

Our afternoons will include craft times at the library as well as those slushies at Sonic.

We'll also be working on some academic goals I have for the children this summer as well.

Usually the evening time will be reserved for reading, playing outside until dark, and one week of evening VBS. Don't forget your local parks for a splash of variety too!! Take along a snack

and you have a great way to enjoy your family for a couple hours at little to no cost!!

Don't forget to reconnect with long-time friends you don't get a chance to see as often during the school year. Because we homeschool, and all the business in the home that entails, we often miss opportunities to visit with friends even if they live close by. This year I'm making an extra effort to schedule weekly play-dates and sleepovers with these friends. They are attending many of the VBS's that we are, and then we go over to each other's homes afterward for lunch and a movie. We're also doing the craft times together at the library.

Everything is more fun with a FRIEND!!!

Overall, it's going to be a great summer and we're looking forward to enjoying our time together!

What do you do to enjoy your children during the summer?

No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks!!

Today we celebrated our first official day of summer by going to the "beach!"

Well, not the REAL beach, but about as close to it as you can come when you live

in North Central Texas!!

It was actually at the local state park that includes a rather large lake.

We took our lunch with us and it cost us $10 to get in.

It was a scorching 97 degrees today, so we went early to beat the heat and the crowds!

Lots of fun was had by all.

June

"No price is set on the lavish summer;

June may be had by the poorest comer.

And what is so rare as a day in June?

Then, if ever, come perfect days.;

Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune ,

And over it softly her warm ear lays....."

~~James Russell Lowell

Update on Intuniv and some new considerations...

Last Thursday I mentioned that we had been noticing some disposition changes in our son who has been taking Intuniv for his ADHD since January 2010. I did speak with the nurse on Friday afternoon, and she said she would ask the doctor about some of our concerns.

She called me back yesterday afternoon and had some questions from the doctor. He said that the Intuniv should not be changing his personality. He was wondering if he had been sick (no) or if things were changing at school (he is homeschooled and he has been done with his formal schoolwork for a couple weeks now). He thought it would be okay to try to ween him down to 2 mg. especially since it's almost summertime when schedules are more relaxed anyway.

But I shared with her about his meltdowns this last weekend (after some junk food which seemed to affect him adversely), and thought that I would rather keep him where he is at the 3 mg. for now. We have an appointment with the doctor on the 7th of June anyway, so I thought we could wait and discuss more of what has been going on when we see him then.

So, as we continue down this road of raising children with learning differences and ADHD, I'm realizing the truth in treating this difference has to be multi-faceted. There's no easy "fix", no magic red button you can push that will make everything disappear and go back to normal.

I truly believe that this issue takes a change of heart, a change of perspective, a change of expectations, a change in diet, a change in environment/routine, and for some the addition of professional advice. I'm beginning to think about that last element for our family.

We're progressively working on changing the foods we eat, we've changed up the lay-out

of our home for a better homeschooling experience, we've completely changed homeschool

curriculums, we've added melatonin at bedtime to facilitate better sleep, my husband and I are

working daily to better our parenting and discipline techniques, and we've seen doctors to help us see things that we weren't seeing. We are now using the medication, Intuniv, to also

unmask the great parts about our son that we have not been able to see in awhile.

But I think that with all this done since last August, we now could benefit from some skills training in living with and training the ADHD child. It's hard for siblings living with the irritations that constantly come with this. Disciplining or enforcing consequences is often so difficult and just plain hard work. We need to know techniques, new ideas, fresh voices. It's often just not as easy as giving a spanking. With a child who has anxiety issues and hyperactivity challenges, spanking usually makes things much, MUCH worse. So anyway, we're considering some counseling, not only for ourselves, but also for our son. I'm wondering if an outside voice could help him learn better how to cope with the things that so often frustrate him. I'm just thinking, and I'm talking to others who are in a similar situation.

ADHD and the need for vigorous exercise

I read this article recently and knew immediately that it was worth sharing. It makes so much sense!! This particular part of the article just leaped off the page at me:

Dr. Block, who works extensively with children with attention challenges, explains that exercise is key to solving attention and learning challenges in two ways: Physical activity burns sugar (which contributes to hyperactivity). It also builds connections between the right and left sides of the brain, a necessary step toward building a better learner. “I [commonly] hear parents say their child’s recess is taken away if he has misbehaved in class,” says Block. “But there is a direct relationship between physical activity and a child’s ability to focus.”

The first suspect, says Block, is an elevated sugar level. But, she warns, “Many parents have their children tested and find that the child’s blood [sugar] is normal.” This, she says, can be misleading because hyperactivity occurs when sugar levels are elevated (after eating, say, a sugary bowl of cereal). “The body naturally releases adrenaline to drop the blood sugar—this is why the kid can’t sit still,” Block says. Yet, if you test the blood an hour or so after this incident, the body has probably regulated the sugar levels back to normal (so a child’s test results will appear fine).

Do you know what else this says to me? That being on the path of eating better.....less sugar....less processed ingredients that spike the blood sugar (i.e. high fructose corn syrup) is exactly the place I need to be for my children with attention challenges!!!!

This also seems to say to me that it makes sense that some of the best interventions and treatments for ADHD children are living a healthy lifestyle......i.e. lots of exercise, lots of outdoor time, and more whole foods that were designed for our nutrition by our Great Creator!! Forget the packaged stuff that really isn't food, forget about the computer games and XBox that keep us indoors and sedentary, consider forgetting about traditional schooling methods that trap your child indoors when he is misbehaving!! Another great advantage of homeschooling!!

Let's get moving, people!!!

This article is really worth your time, and you can read it by clicking on this link below:

http://www.dfwthrivemagazine.com/showarticle.asp?artid=73

Sweetness.....

Yesterday, we celebrated 4 years with the most adorable little fellow we have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

He was two days overdue, but arrived with a bang just 20 minutes after we arrived at the hospital.

9lbs. 4oz.

21 inches

He's been charming and surprising us ever since!!!

2 months old

14 lbs. 12 oz.

4 1/2 months and using all his muscles!!!

Just a little bit after baby sister, Aryn, was born.

He was 4 days shy of being 20 months.

Notice how his "special" blanket is stuffed in his mouth? He used to do this before the soggy blanket seemed to gross him out. Now he sucks his thumb.

The "smearing things on my face" stage.

The "smooching the girls" stage!!

Watching the renovations on the neighbors house.

He has been pure pleasure from day one!!!

Sharing cupcakes with friends in Sunday School.

Happy 4th Birthday, Sweet Boy!

Things are never as easy as you think....

So last week I raved about how some of the dietary changes we've made recently have made such HUUUUGE improvements in some issues we have been trying to eliminate in our children.

Well....

scratch that!!

No, not all together I guess.

I'm not THAT easily defeated.

I do completely recommend trying a healthier lifestyle in alleviating some ADHD issues that come along with the territory, but I'm becoming a little more guarded at how excited I get about it.

Ashlyn's blood sugar has been through the roof again this week. Last night after church there was this fellowship full of cookies and goodies of all shapes and sizes, and we hadn't brought her insulin pen with us. She had maybe one cookie and some other protein things. I hated to check her blood sugar when we got home, and sure enough.......

589!!!!

It wasn't all that much better this morning after 18 units of Lantus and the 5 units of Humalog to correct the high.

Still over 200.

Sigh.

I guess it's just life with a life-threatening disease.

Then there are my son's issues related to his ADHD.

Since this diet change, not only have we noticed that he is much, MUCH calmer, but he is much less happy too. Do you remember when Charlie Brown would walk around with the cloud above his head? That describes my son. Just not happy. Not ugly, and screaming, and ranting.....just not smiling, not wanting to go out and play unless he had a friend with him, grouchy.

So, I'm wondering if now we have him OVER medicated?

I'm wondering if we should bump him from 3 mg. of intuniv down to 2 mg.

I've put a call in to the doctor to get his opinion before I send off this 90-day supply

prescription for his next round of 3 mg.

This past Sunday, both my husband and I forgot to give him his dose of intuniv.

It happens.

Six kids.

Sunday morning.

All getting ready for Sunday morning church.

Insulin to figure out, thyroid medications, breakfast for everybody, 12 shoes, 6 heads of hair, etc.

First time we've ever missed.

We noticed no difference.

It was like he had taken his medication.

So I experimented on Monday to see if we saw a difference. I did not give him his pill on purpose this morning. I do not recommend missing for several days though because of the blood pressure issue associated with the intuniv medication.

He was OFF the CHARTS hyper.

Back to his obviously unmedicated self.

Running constantly through the house, jumping on people,

wrestling for hours, making noises all day.

But he was very happy....smiling and laughing all day.

He got his medication Tuesday morning.

On Wednesday evening he was SO sideways.....huge meltdown!!

Now it's Thursday and he's back to being calmer and easier to live with.

The jury is still out on his disposition.

We had a lot of junk food at that fellowship last night,

so I'm waiting a day or so to see how he is by the weekend.

Too be continued........