Parenting Goals + Kid Goals for Summer 2013

Last month, I was growing pretty frustrated.   Learning to balance life with three kids has been such a challenge.    And summer is a transition period for us because Miss E is out of school and I'm not teaching.  So there's all of us.  Here.  For three straight months.   And did I mention I live in the Midwest where the summer heat index eventually creeps up to 115?!?  Yikes.

So here's what I'm doing.   First, I created a list of parenting goals.  Here they are:

1:  To spend daily time with God so that His patience, love, grace, and wisdom naturally flows from God to me to my children.

2:  To discipline/correct with confidence, patience, and wisdom.  This means watching my word choice, tone, and level of sound; speaking calmly and firmly.    It means making eye contact and getting down on their level.  It means taking time out of whatever I’m doing to discipline, even when it’s not convenient.  

3:  To allow plenty of time for my children to play freely by themselves/with each other, without parents or other adults guiding/pushing.

4:  To spend time with my children individually, listening to what’s on their hearts.

5:   To encourage and praise my children often and genuinely.  

6:   To embrace their personalities, preferences, and talents.

7:  To take care of myself physically so I can be the best parent possible to my children and model healthy behaviors and choices.

8:  To respect my husband, to jointly parent my children with him, and to co-parent with wisdom and togetherness, so our children learn we are a unified team who parents consistently.  

And then there are the goals I have for my older two this summer.   (I'm type A and forever feel that I need to be accomplishing something).

Miss E:

• Teach her how to tie her shoes (she REALLY wants to learn this skill)
• Teach her how to tell time
• Begin teaching her how to read  (because she REALLY wants to do this)
• Learn more about money (learning the coins and their values, learning about money management)
• Teach her anything else she's interested in learning about

Baby E:

• Learn colors
• Learn shapes
• Begin learning letters and numbers
• Teach her anything else she's interested in learning about

What we hope to do each week:

• visit the library
• host a playdate
• attend a playdate
• have a few devotional sessions (learn Bible verses, read Bible stories)
• minister to others (not sure what this will look like yet.  With three little ones it's hard to volunteer somewhere, so we might do more card ministering at home)
• find some new favorite easy and healthy recipes