Break Goals 2016

Last year, we had a lot of success at meeting our break goals by choosing small goals to mix into every day.  This year we have two big goals and a few smaller one.  The two big ones are

1.  Build a Front Patio
2.  Create a Park Review Website

The patio is done, mostly.  That was our January big goal. Over the last few months, this idea has been taking shape.  We gradually removed all the overgrown plants from a small area of our front yard and I made some paver stones out of concrete.  After making about 15 or so pavers, I decided I'd had enough hunching over a bucket of concrete and bought 35 12"x12" red pavers.  We put in layers of crushed rock and sand and I fitted in the pavers as best as I could.  I think I like it better with the homemade pavers mixed in rather than all red pavers.  We swept sand into all the edges and then it rained and rained, so there is wet sand all over and I don't have a finished picture yet.

It is not completely level.  The pavers are not concreted down, so if I want, I can relevel them at a later date, but for now, it is usable and I'm ready to use it!  The search is on for the perfect table.

The kids and I had the idea to survey lesser known parks in our area and create a blog that reviewed them.   This is our February goal.  I am not sure how this will work out - Irene needs lunch promptly at 11:00 because by 11:30 she is falling asleep in her high chair.  But we are going to give it a try.

Our smaller, but still important goals are:
*Finish Math - kind of like home-summer-school, this doesn't apply to everyone and we expect to be finished by February 1st.
*Potty Train Irene - as in ongoing training, not completely trained, unless she decides that will happen...it could happen, right?
*Do more Art - something we neglected in the busy-ness of the fall, Mr. Otter's Art studio has posted lots of new projects since last year!
*Assign New Chores - this has also already been done, most of the chores were just shuffled to different kids - Natalie surprised me by being very competent in all her new chores - requiring very little training.  I also completely reorganized who folds what in laundry and it was funny how happy one kid was to get rid of socks, while another was delighted to sort them, if it meant no more towels!  I passed Irene's clothes off to C & A, which made me happy!