Summer Learning FUN!

We ended school for the year. i didn't post about it because there wasn't a lot to say and my feelings about the success of the year are a little iffy. One thing i was certain about is that i wanted to continue some learning into the summer but i knew it had to be FUN...or at least as fun as possible. :)

 So, here comes my brain child. ha. i actually did spend a lot of time thinking about this- even waking up in the night trying to figure out the best way to motivate Will and get some goals crossed off my list.
My 3 main goals for the summer  are:
1) FORCE, i mean encourage Will to practice reading
2) Finish our Handwriting book
3) Get out in nature and purposefully explore

Here's what i came up with. My title is kinda stupid but it was the best i could think of before i walked out the door to Kinkos. So, it's just a little board game type chart hung on the fridge.

 For every blue circle he picks a blue "DESTINATION" card. I have a lot of repeats and a little variety thrown in to make it interesting.

Here's a full list: Read a book, Do 2 Handwriting pages, Read a summer poem, Read a book with mom and dad, Retell a story to your sisters, Go outside and a find an object in nature the size of a quarter, draw a picture of it in your journal, Listen for 2 bird calls and try to find the birds they belong to, Go outside w/ the small camera and find a bird or bug and take a picture of it. Write about it in journal, Recite your summer poem, READ a book, READ a book!

 THEN, once he has done 3 "DESTINATIONS" he gets to pick a "TREASURE" card.
This envelope is mostly filled with "Pick from the BOX" cards but i also included some fun ones too:
- Bike ride to Safeway and pick out an ice cream topping
-Bike ride to Safeway and pick out a cold drink
-Pizza party with the family at the pool
-Frozen Yogurt at Aspen Leaf
- Dinner at Red Lobster

The Treasure box is filled with all kinds of snacks and little toys. I'll also use this box to reward the girls for their own version of this chart.

Today was the first day and all 3 were pretty jazzed. Will did his 2 handwriting pages with only a small sigh and the girls did a little color matching activity. They each put a sticker on their chart and were asking "can we do more summer sailing, pleeeeease?!"

* i decided to add a few stars to random blue cards so that every once in awhile they would get a bonus treasure from the box. we're all about motivation over here.
* I also added more than enough treasure cards so i'm hoping he'll be motivated to go through the chart more than once.