"But we haven't done ANYTHING this summer!"

That's what I heard one summer years ago when a few weeks into summer vacation the kids were convinced we hadn't done anything yet. I recalled the summer vacation a little differently -- movies, playdates, museums, park visits, etc. So to end the "we haven't done ANYTHING this summer!" blues I gave each one of them posterboard and told them to write Summer of ... and decorate it. From that point on anything they did for the summer was written on the chart. Before they knew it their poster was filling up!

* Went swimming at Kevin's house!

* Rented movies from the library!

* Went to the amusement park!

We even added things they accomplished and taped up ticket stubs, postcards and other memorabilia from the summer. The board became a testimonial of their summer. At the end of the summer we take a picture of the board. No matter how old they are, they look forward to decorating their poster and seeing what will be put on it by the end of the summer. I have never heard "But we haven't done anything this summer!" again.