I am done with the cold and, at least in this area, the wind! I'm so so so done with the wind! This leaves me dreaming of warmer weather and long summer days. What do you have planned for your DC this summer?

DS5 will be attending a school Eco-Tech camp, hopefully a week at a local Friends' School camp, and a Building camp. I need to get him registered for a nature camp/experience of some sort.

DD4 will be joining him at the Friends' camp and doing an Angelina Ballerina camp. I'm still looking for a few more things for her.

DD8 will be doing 2 weeks of theater camp, a week of a Farm to Table nature/cooking camp and a week with Audubon catching, tagging and releasing various marine life.

Other parents are telling me that they are stressing "unstructured time" as much as possible over the summer but that just doesn't work for DD.

One week of THINK camp, three weeks of Girl Scout camp, two weeks of theater day camp, I think a week or two of "vanilla" day camp, and a family trip to Yellowstone for DD9. DSalmost5 will be in daycare all summer, except for the family trip to Yellowstone and a trip to the Davidson Summit.

If all goes well, my son will be having surgery and will spend all summer recovering. His activities will be severely restricted.

DD is hoping for a science internship. We won't know until the end of April.
Alternatively, she might have a radically different internship opportunity with a family friend who works in a creative publishing industry, which she would probably love just as much as the science internship.

She wants to take guitar or accordion lessons this summer, and she will also be volunteering for the local food bank and participating in "Plant a Row" for the second summer.

Other than that, the usual 4-H frenzy; we already know that she's going to state for public speaking, and probably will again for photography, other communications and arts projects, and her animal projects. (In a division with participants 2-5 years older than herself, no less-- which no doubt belonged in the brag thread, but oh well... )

dd12 will be doing 2 2-week sessions of drama camp, tennis camp, hopefully a trip to Lake Tahoe to visit family, beach trip, and that should wrap it up.

dd5--remains to be seen. Swim team, so far for sure. Probably tennis. Poor 3rd neglected child. Maybe drama camp. Maybe chess? Hmmm...I better get busy!

If I can get DD3.5 to learn swimming this summer, that would be great! Also, we are starting a garden so that will keep us busy. We are also visiting family overseas for 3 weeks. Like Eibbed,DD and I cannot wait for warmer weather so we can hike, go to the playground, and stay outdoors all day long!

HK, is this a program where you grow a row of food in your home garden to donate to the food bank? We have a similar program here and I *love* it! I think it is such a cool idea!

polarbear

Yup-- it's a nationwide initiative. My DD loves doing this.

(sightly) OT: We're going to visit the Meteor Crater, the Very Large Array, and the Trinity Site for spring break. Also the National Atomic Museum (Albuquerque).

(Val, sounds thematic, may not fit in, but the Petrified Forest is about an hour and a half east of Meteor Crater on the way to Albuquerque)

As for DS7 this summer, likely theatre camp again, definitely a science camp, and if we could find a math camp that would be on radar.

Zen, It's on our "maybe" list. Depends on time. I'd really like to see it.

Wow they all sound like great plans! I especially like the Farm to Table idea. The closest one I could find was about an hour away.

MON - she LOVES Angelina Ballerina and she has recently started taking a ballet class. Everyone she meets hears all about it.

Group music class at the conservatory, vacation at Grandma and Grandpa's, learning to swim, visiting the national art gallery, picnicking, hiking, and maybe sailing or golfing.

DDs are planning our cross country trip - complete with where we're camping and what we're stopping to see. Then, of course we're taking the trip - no more details have been sorted than that. Although DD5 told us the other day we'd better get planning because it will be June before we know it! (I wish...)

My family is going to Austin where my DS will go to Camp Half Blood, a camp based on the Percy Jackson series. He's beyond excited.

We've got one DS 15 entering his Soph. year in HS next year. While we've had one DS 19 go through the same HS already, our youngest is highly involved in all facets of music (Band, Jazz Band, Choir, Marching Band, Show Choir and many of the corresponding honors musical events)

What we've learned in our school's system about such a child is that all those music activities are credit course classes, which leaves the precious class time slots open, all of which are filled with core classes. In order to make the schedule work, summer school Physical Education (required each year in our school district) is on the agenda just to fit everything in. The summer school PE class is at the same time as the local bank camp / jazz band camp, so we may being going out of the area or perhaps state to find another opportunity for those.

Our eldest DS 19 will be taking Calc 2 at the community college so he can take Physics 3 for Engineers the following fall semester at the state college. Again, scheduling problems often make our family look for alternative solutions. If you a parent of a GT child or children, expect the juggling and going to extra lengths to create opportunities and for appropriate education to continue well into your child's teens.

Almost nothing! Summer Reading Program at the library, swim lessons at the pool, playing in the backyard.
We'll probably make a list of things to do and try to do all of them. Last year we had things on it like go to the beach, find a new museum to try, visit every house in our local historical village, ride bikes up to the ice cream parlor. Simple, fun things!
Suzy

We're considering not a camp but the summer drama course, maybe. Considering taking a break from ballet ( bc they do camps and the classes are then often empty!) to fund that. Keeping an eye out for a cool science or math camp but they are $$$ and end up being a lot of babysitting. Thinking it might be time to finally start the piano lessons the grandparents offered to pay for nearly a year ago (but we were adjusting to school). Dd says she wants to do a bunch of stuff, like math, Italian, garden, yoga, sew, learn how to tie shoes... so we'll find a routine. We're experimenting with it this week during spring break. Oh, and we'll visit family and the new exploratorium in SF and some other stuff there.

Hopefully, enjoy summer: swim team, music camp, sports camp and continue violin. Trip to visit family. Maybe organize a couple theme mornings with kids in the neighborhood- science related. And lots of games, walks, and enjoying time together while decompressing from this school year.

Swim team. We do weekend trips to see family (who live at the beach so beach trips).

Lots and lots of reading.