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Month in Review and July Goals

Emma and Johnny "roast marshmallows"
Emma and Johnny “roast marshmallows”

June was BUSY! Mike had to travel a fair bit for work, and between that and my short trip at the beginning of the month the two of us were both in town for only 13 days out of the entire month – with Mike off work for only 3 of those 13 days. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with my sister, and Mike and I enjoyed a nice dinner out for our ten year anniversary. One of Mike’s rare non-working days at home this month WAS Father’s Day, which was very nice! With all the travel and ensuing chaos, I wound up helping Johnny put together nice cards for teacher gifts. Hopefully I’ll get a bit more original next year!

So far our summer is going well – the kids are pleased to have some extra free time, and they have been playing some very imaginative games! We got a wading pool that is being very much enjoyed, and I’m looking forward to all of the activities on our summer bucket list. Our garden is thriving, and we have already enjoyed several peas (my favorite). No luck saving blueberries and strawberries from the increasingly rotund resident chipmunks, unfortunately. I have seriously considered borrowing my friend’s St. Bernard for a week or so, but it’s tricky with an unfenced yard…

We donated several cans of food to our local food pantry, which leaves only the skirt as a work in progress. Hopefully next month! I DID cut out dresses for Emma and Lily, AND crochet a doll for Lily – none of which were goals, and all while procrastinating the skirt! The doll at least was a bit of a sanity measure. Lily has been begging for me to make it for months, and I had started working on it in the evenings, after she was asleep. Once she found it and realized what it was, there was no going back – especially since she was on day 4 or 5 of a brutal cold. You should have seen her Tuesday morning, when it was all done except for the arms. I was hanging up laundry to dry, with her standing in the door holding the poor armless baby, begging me to make arms. The baby got arms, after the laundry was hung! Note to self: remember to HIDE secret works in progress!!!

One really cool thing I discovered in June thanks to LiEr and Valerie was Pinterest. I’m loving it as a visual way to remember great ideas I want to try! =)

One final exciting thing this month: Emma is reading! She’s been reading more and more sight words, she can understand nearly every word Mike and I spell out, and she knows how to (but rarely attempts to) sound words out. So, when I saw a pack of early readers for sale at Costco, I picked them up. She had read three of the books out loud by the time I finished unloading the groceries! We went to the library and picked up several more books, and she has been reading them, both to herself and to Johnny. Very exciting!!! I also find her word substitutions quite entertaining. When she comes to a word she doesn’t instantly recognize, she seems to pay the most attention to the first and last letters of each word – and then fills in the middle however it suits her best. “Time”, for example, became “theme”! Her reading is already increasing in accuracy, and I think she will be quite fluid by the time she starts kindergarten this fall.

Here are my goals for July:

  • Finish the SKIRT. Target Area: education
  • Sew dresses for Emma and Lily. Target Area: education and gratitude
  • Keep our garden alive. Target Area: education and health
  • Make dress-up clothes for Johnny. Target Area: education, peace, and gratitude
  • Go on walks. Target Area: education, peace, and health
  • Play outside. Target Area: education, peace, and health
  • Visit a local farm. Target Area: education and health
  • Visit a local farmer’s market. Target Area: education and health
  • Go through belongings and select some to donate. Target Area: education, generosity, and gratitude

What are your goals for July or this summer? I’d love for you to link up! Links back are appreciated, but not required. =)

monthly goals at mama smiles

MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

6 thoughts on “Month in Review and July Goals”

  1. Sounds like June has been a great month!!! You have a long…away…working husband like me! I love your july to do list!

  2. How exciting that Emma picked up reading “out of thin year”! Anna also does word substitutions with the words she doesn’t recognize. It’s interesting that even though I taught her to read using phonics, she is now absolutely a sight reader and resists sounding words out. Good luck with your July goals!

  3. Elisa | blissfulE

    Love the marshmallow roasting. :) Can’t wait to see pictures of the girls in their new dresses and of Lily’s doll. I’m so glad she got to enjoy it while recovering from her cold.

  4. I need to work out plans and ideas for the month. June has been so crazy, I can’t believe what all has been going on.

  5. R does the same thing when she comes to a word she doesn’t recognize. I expect her to be pretty fluid to start K too. It’s such an exciting time.

    I love the story about the doll. Too cute.

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