Easter has passed and April is here, and we are ready to stride into the remainder of the schoolyear with purpose! Well, I don’t know about you, but sometimes I need a bit of prodding. And just like the book, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, chances are that if the grownups need a little help, the kids do as well. So let’s give it to them! I like to start a countdown on the whiteboard for all to see. Here’s how: Simply begin today, and count how many school days there are left in your plans until everything is done. Then, post that number on the board and count backwards each day. Even the high schoolers get into making sure the number stays accurate, haha!
Here’s another fun idea for your kids of all ages to count down to the schoolyear’s end.
- Find and print out some blank calendar pages, making sure they’re dated for the current year. You really only need the months from now until you plan to end the schoolyear. Try to find the kind that has one month per page.
- Have the kids fill them out with dates, events, birthdays, etc…all the important stuff. I love to have them use these great, thin-line markers!!!
- Have them use a different color marker to write the countdown numbers in each square. Make sure to count backwards down to “1” on the final school day!
- As each day passes, put a large “X” through the previous day, showing that the days are disappearing. They LOVE this part!!!
- Before you, or the kids, know it you’ll have reached the final month and even the final days! Voila!
Making it to the end of the schoolyear doesn’t have to be painful or stressful…you don’t have to “limp” to the finish line. You can jog triumphantly through it, sailing swiftly across and into the next grade level. There is no need for pressure, stress, or anything else negative to enter your school hours…we get enough of that from outside sources, right?? So on this beautiful day, find the joy in the countdown to summer. Find the joy in the renewal of excitement. Find the joy in your children on this homeschooling journey we are on together. Check back again soon for more joy-filled stories!