Summer Plans

I often wonder if other parents are like me when it comes to summer plans.

How much "homework" is too much? (Look forward this summer to highlights of EmJ and Willie's summer of creative writing!!)

Should a three year old be made to exercise? (Even though she won't be left out even if I wanted her to.)

Is it appropriate to seek out and participate in all the free entertainment you can handle...(or is it just plain greedy)?

Is it really a vacation if you have to spend the month before the vacation planning, plotting, and getting organized?

And is it pathetic that, in some cases, your massive planning wasn't done early enough? (Goodbye RAGNAR 2011....going to have to shoot for RAGNAR 2012.)

For you, is summer a free-for-all wherein kids get to lounge in jammies and have unlimited screen time (which would be impossible in our home, seeing as we have no cable or video games), or do you structure the kids' time with either "you will have fun at the free friends of the library puppet show!" or downright unreasonable "goals"?

Do you include yourself (and/or spouse) in the expectations, or is it "do as I say, not as I do"?....because I'm really good at the latter....but I'm willing to participate in both the cheesy puppet show and the creative writing series if needs be (and I'm running a 1/2 marathon on Saturday, so that should count for something). (Luke set some summer goals, too..."Find a Job so the kids don't have to be subjected to any more community 'freebies' with their attendant balloon animals and pocket flashlights that break in 3 minutes.")

Am I bordering on psychotic, or am I safely in the wierd-and-a-bit-anal category?

Let me know...all three of you...let me know.

*Disclaimer: As a taxpayer, I have no problem accepting community freebies and no problem complaining when they hoover. I also have no problem reminding the librarian that $132.21 of my property taxes went to the library, therefore my child can unshelve as many books as she pleases while she is waiting in line for the "free" puppet show. I make your job possible.*