Thursday, June 11, 2009

Time warp

Honestly, some parts of the calendar year go faster than others. This May-June/end-of-the-school-year time is just outrageously busy. I look at our family calendar on the fridge, and it's completely covered in writing until next Friday, when white space takes over with the beginning of the kids' summer vacation.

I'm actually looking forward to the summer this year, unlike in years past, when panic set in long before school let out. Terrified that Abby and Brian would spend every free minute stimming and perseverating, I sought to fill up their days as much as possible, leaving very little room for spontaneity or fun.

This year, it's different. I'll still need to provide structure and activity, but Brian, in particular, has much stronger play and self-entertainment skills than he used to. He and Timmy play well together much of the time, and now that Timmy isn't napping in the afternoons, I can plan to take all three kids to the town pool or on other outings without impinging upon the sacred naptime.

As for Abby's summer, I only have three weeks out of the ten that have full-day programming for her. There are three more weeks of half-day programming, and the rest we're taking as vacation time. She'll enjoy being on vacation, but we'll need to continue with as much routine as is practical -- playing violin, doing her summer reading, maybe giving her a regular schedule of tasks to complete at home. I do hope, however, that I can plan some things just for fun with her and the boys, and that she can handle them with advance notice and the all-important visual supports.

I'll also have to arrange some playdates for the kids. Playing with each other is all well and good, but they all could use some social time with other kids, too.

I'll get on that as soon as I'm in the white-space part of the June calendar.

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