Summer has finally arrived, now to beat the heat

So summer has been a long time coming here in Oregon and especially here in the Willamette Valley. Now that it is here, I don't want to spend a fortune on the air conditioner and I want the boys to enjoy the sun as much as they can so how to beat the heat????
So far our best answers have been clean out the pond and venture down to the river.

When we moved out here 7 years ago, we fell in love with the pond, but didn't fall in love with the weird weed that likes to take over, so about every 3 years we have borrowed our neighbor's backhoe and cleared out as much as possible. This year we let the water level drop in hopes of clearing more out and so far it has worked. The boys worked with Daddy and played in the water while working.

This past week we were introduced to one of the local hang outs along the river and since finding it have spent 3 afternoon/ evenings hanging out and making new friends. I can see this being a place to enjoy the river and cool off during the high heat and even exploring in the early fall when the seasons change the water level rises or fall depending on the water control by the Army Corps of Engineers. It should lead to some fun adventures.

It may not seem like much but having someplace near the river to hang out is something I've always liked the sound of. My hope is that we will make a lot of special memories as a family with our friends hanging out together.

P.S. Check out what the rest of the crew thinks of beating the summer heat by clicking the button below.

Summer school lesson plans

So we are back in school at least last week, this week is VBS so not so much school per-say.
Any way, I think I have our summer session mapped out

Math: Mix of Montessori activities, Math-u-See Foundations, and Math Essentials and Professor B Math (It might look like a crazy mess, but honestly we are reviewing 2 of these for the Crew and depending on how they go will determine if they stay on the radar)
Bible: Apologia Who is My Neighbor , also considering adding a Bible marking workshop for the family.
Reading: McGuffey's along with various other books for Summer Reading Program.
History: TruthQuest, Story of the World volume1, Knowledge Quest Maps, and Greenleaf History of the Old Testament along with various fun bits and pieces as we work our way through Genesis and Exodus over the summer.

I'm still working on a handwriting program for Cameron and putting the finishing touches on my version of Montessori grammar.

Staycation, School , and Adventures

Are you staying home this summer?

 Do you school year round?

 Are you looking for adventures this summer?

 If you answered yes to any of the above I'd like to share some ideas for some fun, simple, and some affordable field trips for this summer.
My boys love nature hikes, even ones in our own backyard are fun. If you have a local nature preserve or a nature park these are great field trips especially during the summer, take a notebook and coloring supplies and draw what you see. 
Local museums are always a great thing to check out, but what about your local historical society? Are there interesting local mysteries or myths. Historical society museums are a great field trip and sometime even if you have lived in the same area for a long time you might learn something new. 
Letter boxing is a great summer activity for the whole family. You can search online for local hidden boxes so if you don't or can't travel far you can still have fun. 
Another fun stay-cation type field trip is the local library. We like to make a scavenger hunt or "I spy" game out of it. I will tell them I am looking for a book about_____. and then let them find it, it sounds simple but we have found so many rabbit trails because of this activity. The boys will spot a book while they are searching for the one I asked for and want to read it or ask a question about something the see on a cover.
Check out local children's museums and water parks. Many tourist destinations also have group rates, get a group of friends together and save money on many field trips. 
Play tourist in our own county by checking out all those travel brochures usually found at the visitor information centers in rest stops, you may even find something new.


What are your favorite summer field trip type activities?