The Coussoule Curriculum

Summer is here!! No more school, no more books, no more learning... well, unless you're a kid in the Coussoule household. If that's your lot in life, then your Fayetteville Public School year may be over, but the Twelve Weeks of Summer Coussoule Curriculum has just begun.

Justin and I both have very high expectations when it comes to our children and their education. We think the local school district does a great job, but there's always an opportunity to enhance what they learn from their teachers. Given that both kids already read above grade level, and John's math skills tested off the charts for a kindergartner, we decided that this summer, it isn't enough to ensure simply that minimally they didn't lose their skills. This summer is an opportunity to give them something to really challenge them (not to mention keep them from getting on each other's last nerve before the end of the first week of break).

I spent most of last Sunday putting together a by-subject, by-week curriculum to keep them academically engaged during the summer. This summer, we're going to read; write; color; create; and discover some new wonders of science. We're also going to take piano lessons, memorize Bible verses, and do our daily and weekly chores. (You can access the spreadsheet by clicking the image below.)

And of course, the Fayetteville Public Library's summer reading program will ensure we make our way through hours of good books - one of the raffle prizes this year is an iPad Mini. John is off-the-charts motivated to get as many entries as possible in for that one!

On Monday, Justin took them to the local teacher supply store and picked out a stack of workbooks. Math; Science; Handwriting; Social Studies. Just think of the possibilities.

I think what I'm most excited about is the journaling. I had a ton of fun brainstorming three prompts per week for twelve weeks. Some of them are seasonal, some of them require critical thinking, and some of them are just fun. Based on the results from the first one this week, there will be plenty of Friday Feature material throughout the summer.

With all of this structure, I figure I'm well on my way to solidifying Meanest Mom on the Block status. Never fear - there will be plenty of free time for the kiddos this summer. Next week is Camp Invention; Gramma and Papa arrive on the 18th; we're signed up for Catholic Kidz Camp; and we'll definitely fit in a trip to Houston. Caroline has big plans to participate in a Kids Triathlon, and of course, it isn't summer if there isn't lazy time to play with the neighborhood kids, dig in the sandbox, or chase your sister around the backyard.

I have my own curriculum this summer - I've committed to making at least one new recipe per week all summer. It's a little bit self serving - making every recipe in a cookbook is an item on my life list, and there's no time like the present to get working on it - but it's also a great way to see if we can find some new ideas for the meal rotation. I also plan to read aloud to the kiddos as many children's classics as we can get through. We're starting with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and so far, it's a hit. I can't wait for James and the Giant Peach; Wind in the Willows; Charlotte's Web; or whatever classics we check out from the library.

So, Summer - we're so glad you're here. We can't wait for all of the fun we're going to have, and the things we're going to learn.

Sara Lawrence Lightfoot said: "There must be a profound recognition that parents are the first teachers and that education begins before formal schooling and is deeply rooted in the values, traditions, and norms of family and culture."

Justin and I are taking that to heart this summer.

If I were a Stay-at-Home Mom

Today is a momentous day. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The inauguration of President Obama for his second term. And, equally exciting for me, a day off from work.

Whenever I have a day off, I tend to sleep in, enjoying the freedom from the alarm clock. This weekend, though, I managed to get to bed at a reasonable time every night, which left me rested and eager to take full advantage of the holiday. Setting the alarm clock for 6:20, I was determined to get up and make breakfast in the relative peace of the day.

Totally worth it.

As a working mom, it is very, very rare that I am ever home by myself. I'm sure my house has its quiet moments; they're just never when I'm around. I reveled in the silence and stillness of the house as I padded to the kitchen this morning to get my domestic goddess on.

Apparently I'm a minor goddess, as evidenced by the fact that I forgot to take the frozen crust for the planned breakfast quiche out of the freezer last night. Or maybe evidenced by the fact that I was using a frozen crust instead of making my own, but whatever. Undeterred, I got the crust out, turned on Mike & Mike, got my coffee going, and pulled out my iPad to surf Facebook and Twitter. Ah, the luxury.

Since it was still quiet and there were not two small people speaking at Volume Level 10, my mind actually began to wander. What would it be like to be a stay at home mom? Not just the generalities that come to mind on a particularly crappy day at work. The true schedule, the actual routine I would follow if there was no corporate job waiting for me every morning.

There would be a lot more of this:

But there would also be more of this:

My kids could count on me for more of this:

But my husband would count on me for more of this:

As a stay at home mom, I bet I'd have a lot of days like today where I got out for my run in the sunshine, and in temperatures well above freezing, unlike at 5:15 this morning. Bonus.

But it would also mean that I probably never would've met my amazing running group here in Fayetteville, because there wouldn't have been a need for me to run at 5:15 in the morning. And I wouldn't know my terrific co-workers who bring a lot of fun and friendship to those hours working at my corporate job.

So as fun as it is to daydream about the road not taken, the details just confirm what I say all the time. Being a grown up is sometimes nothing more than a series of very hard decisions. Choices every day, doing the best we can to be the best we can. The stay at home mom choice isn't really on the table for me; the best choice I can make is to keep being the best MOM I can be, no matter where I spend my hours during the day.

Teach them in the way they should go...

One of my constant failures as a parent is in assuming my kids just KNOW how to do things. You know, THINGS. Wash their own hair, brush their own teeth, put your pants on frontwards (as opposed to backwards). Things.

But apparently, these are not part of the human evolutionary knowledge, as evidenced by the frustration in my voice every.single.night when I have to say, "No, you're NOT finished in the shower, you didn't get all of the shampoo out of your hair!"

To be fair, we've moved past a lot of THINGS that they now KNOW how to do. Getting dressed, making their beds, putting dishes on the counter after meals. So tonight, we officially moved on to higher order chores. Tonight was the first night either of my kids have helped with the dishes.

When I say helped, keep in mind that a) I'm talking about John and b) John is five.

With one piece of leftover pizza sitting on the countertop, I say, "John, please grab a baggie and put the last piece of pizza away."

Blank stare. Crickets. Tumbleweeds. The longest single moment of silence you'll get out of my son in any given 24 hour period.

So as the new, improved, blogging Mama Coussoule, I think, he just needs more specific direction! Which, I quickly realized, meant step-by-literal-step direction.

Go to the drawer. Take out a plastic baggie. Not that baggie, the other one. Yes, no. No, yes, no, NO, YES!!! (accompanied by teeny fingers pointing at boxes in the drawer, but too quickly to register the "yes" when it happens). Bring the baggie over here. Open the baggie. Put the pizza in the baggie. Turn the pizza so that it fits. Now close the baggie.

And that's where we hit a wall. Close the baggie, you say? What kind of ingenious contraption is this baggie closure? While the Ziploc masterminds may think the pink and blue closures are explanatory enough, I beg to differ. This required adult intervention and a demonstration of how the pink and blue go together, so that John could slide his fingers the rest of the way across.

You know what, though? That simple act of the first click of the closure in the corner resulted in delight. Delight in squeezing the colored lines together; delight in finding it actually closed; and delight in putting the leftovers in the fridge all by himself. No yelling, no tears, no frustrated stomping away. By either party.

So who actually did the teaching tonight, anyway?