We are fortunate enough to be close friends with a family (of 3 girls!) who have a house in DE, only 5 minutes from the beach. This was the second year in a row that we were able to join them for a few days.  I'm always nervous about the drive. We take the long, scenic route (on Christopher's advice.) It's great; we take our time, stop if we need to. The girls are awesome travelers! They don't nag, hardly fight, and pretty much stay quiet for the drive. Even crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was a breeze!     Bethany Beach is SO different from what we're used to in Corolla. For one, there's a boardwalk! Which is fantastic if you want to eat fries and ice cream on the beach ;) It's definitely more crowded, but there are lifeguards on duty which adds a whole new level of comfort. Luckily, all the girls love the ocean- they swim, boogie board, and play in the sand. I always make them stay longer, and they always end up having a blast.   ...

Things that worked: - Planners . Each girl had their own. I would write down their daily assignments and check them off as completed. I started with one of my own and kept up with it until February, when I switched to a desk calendar. I found that I got more use out of it because it was much more open and visible. - Chromebooks . Not only could they easily access T4L, but they were able to play games, watch videos, and create documents. They were perfect for on the go learning. - Getting out! With the convenience of the Chromebooks, we were able to school at various places- the library, coffee shops, car dealerships. - Cutting Internet time . At some points during the year I got lazy about restricting online time. I found that once I did impose limits (no internet until quiet time, devices off at 7:00), they used the extra time in better ways; they played together, created and built, and just PLAY. - Busy evenings . I was worried at first- we had something scheduled for every w...

Curriculum is done. Testing is done. Activities are done. Bring on SUMMER!! Before I forget, this is what our Spring activity schedule looked like: Mondays- dance 4:30-6:30 Tuesdays- dance 4:30-7:30, soccer 5:30-6:30 Wednesdays- dance 5:30-8:30 Thursdays- 1:30 piano, dance 4:30-7:30, cheer 6:00-7:00 Fridays- dance 4:30-5:30, soccer 6:30-7:30 Saturdays- dance competitions, soccer games Yes, our evenings were jam packed! But that was completely fine because our days were not. Annie's last day of school is Thursday. We have a couple of beach trips planned. We'll be at Grandma's pool a BUNCH. We will also be schooling throughout June/July/August. Why not? We don't have a grueling school year that we need to recover from. I'm not 100% sure what it'll look like, but I imagine it will be some math practice, reading, writing and lots of fun science experiments (their request.) More things on the Summer Bucket List: Sleepovers, park visits,...