School in the Summer

No, I'm not going to suggest we have year round school!  I'm talking about keeping our children's skills current over the summer.  I have NOT done this well in the past.  We always go to the library and check out books to read.  I read with my son almost every night.  The summer after K4, I didn't work on much with him.  That was a mistake for him.  He needed the reminder of what the letters looked like, how to hold his pencil, etc.  After K5, I did a little more with him.  But I didn't have anything structured.  I mean I didn't want to have him 'doing school' all summer long.  This year, I think I've struck a balance.  My friend Joy suggested a journal.  (THANK YOU!)  So I printed off lots of the special large lined paper that he has at school, placed it in a three ring notebook, and used my handy dandy Silhouette to cut some vinyl on the front saying "Summer Journal".  I showed it to him and he loved it!  Our 'deal' is that he does one page, and then he can draw on the back of the page.  Each day I give him a couple of options; capital alphabet, lower case alphabet, numbers, or two sentences.  Even though we've only had two weeks of summer, it's really working well.  He has even ASKED to write in it!  I usually have him practice piano at the same sitting since he's already focused.  I look over the work and have him correct any major mistakes but I try not to criticize what he's done or the sentences he's worked on!  Hope this helps!