Do you all remember when I posted a summer parenting project? Mine this year centered around de-cluttering the house and exercise, but in past years I have begged parents to find a religious/spiritual home for their family. This year’s post is right here: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2014/05/23/a-summer-parenting-project/
I am not the only one with this kind of thing on the brain! I got great joy in reading Kara’s post over here about exercising: http://www.kelizabethfleck.com/2014/06/7-quick-takes-birthdays-broccoli.html. As a former personal trainer, a gym manager, a trainer of bodybuilders and a physical therapist, I cannot stress enough the importance of exercise. This is so important for mothers who are suffering from depression and anxiety, and such a great example for our children. Our homeschooled children really need breaks during the day to run and play. Some homeschooled children do that naturally, but I do find the older children get the more they sit around and read….or craft….or read. 
It can take determination to keep your family moving, especially during a busy school day, but so worth it!
My husband has traveled out of town Monday through late Thursday night for years, and I really got out of the habit of exercising consistently. He is now traveling less, and I am happy to say I am back on the exercise train. What works best for me is to get up and out the door when my husband is home. So, I am in the gym by 6:30 each morning, and my goal is to move that up to 6 AM. I am tired by the end of the day, especially when I am teaching, (which is what I found out last year having sixth and third grade), so exercising at night is hard for me. Morning is much better! We have also been doing active things as a family, which we did last summer as well, but it is nice to have that piece too. Hiking, kayaking, and running at our local park have been fun.
De-cluttering is coming along as well. I am slowly culling books, which is so hard for me because I love books and as a homeschooler I keep thinking I will need that one book! My husband painted our school room a cheery yellow (Daffodil from Sherwin Williams) and with some naturally dyed curtains, I think it is going to look great for when we start school again in August. I will try to post some pictures when it is all done!
What are you all up to? Let’s celebrate our successes, no matter how small!
Blessings and love,
Carrie
The Parenting Passageway 
We have been striving for a good quiet time this summer. My two are seven and five and they are doing well with it! The younger comes out every 10 minutes or so asking when it is over so I am just trying to be consistent and trust he will adjust. He has had many great days where he digs into building something. We also rotate rooms. They seem to prefer the playroom for quiet time so we switch each day: one in the bedroom and one in the playroom. Started at one hour and last week bumped to to 90 mn. Many days I steal a 20 mn nap 😊
So I suppose quiet time isn’t really a “project” but hopefully my endeavor sort of fit the topic. I will say that purging and simplifying is a major goal and the Simplicity Parenting book has been an huge influence on how I make hooves for our family. I have loved the book for years and am enjoying the discussions here.
Finding the time to purge and simplify is always the challenge, as is the impatience for accomplishing the many simplifying project I carry in my head. Learning to let some of the stuff just “be” and finding patience to spread out the simplifying might be my personal project for the summer.
Exercising was the major thing that I gave up as I started homeschooling. I have it back too! Like you, I go early before anyone awakes. 530 comes way too early but it is sooo worth it!! I started in January and I feel like myself again. We are also amidst the world of decluttering. It feels amazing. I finished my kitchen last week. I am not sure of next area but I am sure I will by the end of the week. 🙂 Thanks for the update!
Lakenormanprep,
I just started so I am hoping I will feel more like me in six months. It is encouraging to hear your success!
Hugs,
Carrie
This summer is all about family nutrition and making space for the learning curves that come with making these major changes. We, as a family, started a trial of gluten-free, casein-free for my 5-year-old with very significant developmental delays and sensory processing difference (he was a 26-weeker). For the long term, whether casein and gluten are out permanently or not, we are committing to cooking with real foods, learning traditional cooking methods (fermenting, etc) and generally eating paleo-ish with at least 2-3 vegetarian dinners a week to ease the impact on our wallet and the environment. I’m happy to report that without trying I have lost 11 lbs (wahoo!) and feel so much better already! The kids are adjusting well and I believe we will see positive changes in communication/regulation/behavior if only because the crap is out of their diet and they have more stable blood sugar (we are very watchful of sugar now and really focus on getting protein, healthy fats and lots of fruits and veggies). I am trying to embrace patience as I move along these learning curves. There’s one more goal for this summer, resuming my PT exercises to strengthen my core – I’ve lost so much strength and flexibility since having kids! (Through primary school and college I was a year-round competitive athlete (swimming and then rowing) so it’s sort of shocking to see how much my body has started to fall apart over the last 5 years!). Later this fall, hopefully, I’ll start adding in very simple workouts (walking, probably).
Excited to see pictures of your school room! And thanks for sharing your summer goals!
This summer is all about family nutrition and making space for the learning curves that come with making these major changes. We, as a family, started a trial of gluten-free, casein-free for my 5-year-old with very significant developmental delays and sensory processing difference (he was a 26-weeker). For the long term, whether casein and gluten are out permanently or not, we are committing to cooking with real foods, learning traditional cooking methods (fermenting, etc) and generally eating paleo-ish with at least 2-3 vegetarian dinners a week to ease the impact on our wallet and the environment. I’m happy to report that without trying I have lost 11 lbs (wahoo!) and feel so much better already! The kids are adjusting well and I believe we will see positive changes in communication/regulation/behavior if only because the crap is out of their diet and they have more stable blood sugar (we are very watchful of sugar now and really focus on getting protein, healthy fats and lots of fruits and veggies). I am trying to embrace patience as I move along these learning curves. There’s one more goal for this summer, resuming my PT exercises to strengthen my core – I’ve lost so much strength and flexibility since having kids! (Through primary school and college I was a year-round competitive athlete (swimming and then rowing) so it’s sort of shocking to see how much my body has started to fall apart over the last 5 years!). Later this fall, hopefully, I’ll start adding in very simple workouts (walking, probably).
Excited to see pictures of your school room! And thanks for sharing your summer goals!