Are You Ready for Summer?
Who isn’t ready to leave this school year behind and kick back this summer?
This has been a challenging year for kids and parents alike. Distance learning has taken a toll on most of us and it seems that summer can’t come soon enough!
But what does summer mean to you?
All play and take a break from learning? Or, mix play with learning and new routines? With All Done Day, your summer will be full of fun, keep everyone in your family on target, and not lose track of continuing to learn and grow.
A 2020 survey cited on Edscoop.com by RAND Corporation addressed COVID-19 and the State of K12 Schools. The study results showed 43 % of surveyed educators “ believed that the pandemic was causing learning loss in their students, and nearly one-third surveyed said they believe some of their students will never catch back up.”
I have a good friend who is an involved parent and is very concerned about how difficult this past school year has been for her 11 year old daughter. She doesn’t want her daughter to be in the statistic of kids who “will never catch up” and does not believe that it will just “all work out.” She is committed to not let that happen to her daughter.
Can you relate to my friend? The All Done Day plan can be just what you are looking for too.
I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer that would threaten the fun of the upcoming summer. But I have a bit of a different mindset to what summer is all about, and I think a lot of parents need to listen.
Summer in my home used to be very free flowing and kid centered, which meant that nothing got done around the house, I was looked to as an activities director, and learning skills were on the back burner. Because our lives were “all about the fun” – the house was a mess, I was crabby, and it made me a less enthusiastic camp counselor and so my kids were unhappy, too.
The next summer I vowed that things would be different. I was committed to give my kids a fun summer and a productive summer. I created the All Done Day Plan. In a nutshell, I figured out what I thought was important for my kids to be learning and doing, and I put it into a daily incentivized plan. Everyone was involved. The plan incorporated some daily housekeeping, learning activities (like reading, between grade workbooks, special projects that our kids were interested in, etc. ), moral character building , physical activities/sports, and music study. All of these were woven into our glorious summer days of hiking and pool days that we all loved, so that our summer became even richer than we thought it could be.
Their plans gave them direction and were designed to promote healthy routines. If they chose to not complete their daily plan, they forfeited the opportunity to work toward a desired incentive. I did not have to nag – the All Done Day Plan presented the expectation and the reward.
The ball was in their court.
Did it work? Yes – amazingly well!
I matched incentives to each kid. If my son, who was very social, earned enough All Done Day coupons, he could cash some in for a sleep over. Sleep overs were only allowed this way. As parents, we stood firm – no negotiations, and we saw him consistently work to earn this goal and other custom-fit incentives that spoke his language.
And here was a great bonus that I did not plan for:
Because my kids had kept up some learning skills through the summer, there was not a painful transition when school started again in the fall.
I was a private piano teacher for many years and every time I had a student take the summer off from lessons (and practicing), there was a several month struggle to get back to the place where they left off in the spring. Many parents did not understand the role that consistency and continuity play in learning and progressing.
If you are concerned about the COVID-19 Slide and areas where your kids are falling behind , I think the All Done Day Plan can help your family to have a fun, yet productive summer.
After our fist All Done Day fueled summer, we kept it going throughout the year, and it followed my kids through even their college summers when they came back home. If you want to read about our stories and experiences, get the book!
You owe it to your kids to keep them on track ALL year long.
Regarding my friend that I mentioned earlier, I’m excited to be have the opportunity to work with my her so that she and her daughter can experience a great summer, reach their goals of getting back on track with learning, and build her daughter’s confidence for middle school in the fall,
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MOTHERS DAY is almost here – All Done Day: How to Win at Everyday Parenting would be a great gift!
