Schoooool's Out For Summer!

Growing up in Utah, I never went to school in June so it still seems strange to me that my kids go back to finish up a few days after Memorial Day. But here we go, another summer vacation is underway.

I have been debating myself on the virtues of rewarding or not rewarding my kids for getting good grades. I remember some of the kids I went to school with getting a monetary breakdown--$10 for every A, $7 for every B and so on. Maybe I was envious, or maybe I was wise beyond my years, but I remember thinking that you should get good grades because getting good grades is a desirable goal. I still stick fast to this rule and was bothered when I found out that my kids were being given candy for bringing their school library books back on time. I always thought that the reward for bringing your books back on time was not getting in trouble because you brought your book back on time. Silly me.

Anyway, both of my kids had excellent school years and have the grades to prove it. Eliza pulled off straight As and Wilson, while not getting letter grades yet, rocked in kindergarten. His teacher told me that he and his BFF circle were the most well-behaved boys she has ever had. So I want to reward them, but not with cash.

Wilson is obsessed with a particular collection of Lego stuff right now, so that would be an obvious choice as a reward for him, but that is what I used yesterday to bribe him to sing in his kindergarten graduation program. (He was chagrined to the point of sobbing when he realized he was going to stand in front of a group of parents and sing songs that have hand actions while wearing a red felt graduation cap) Eliza is really into being "fancy" lately, and loves new shoes, hair stuff and wants nothing more than to spend an afternoon at a spa. Seriously. So I could make her day by indulging her, but she is set for clothes for the summer and I personally believe there is something very wrong in a society when we pay other people to paint our toenails for us (no offense to my spa-lovin' friends). So that's out. The frugal housewife in me wants to offer to cook their favorite dinners as a reward for their great school year but even I think that's awfully boring. A late night with some of their friends? I don't want to deal with that.

So I thought that to appease the education pedant in me, and to appeal to my kids' desire to do something 'fun' I will take them to Barnes and Noble to pick out whichever book they want. This is actually more exciting than it might sound. First of all, Aunt Carly will be there. That alone is a treat. Second, we always manage to grab a cookie or a cupcake from the bakery. And also, my kids just really love books. I brought it up to them this morning and jumped for joy.

Yeah, those are my kids. Happy to curl up with a good book before they go out and conquer the summer.

I wish this picture was better because it perfectly captures Wilson's terrible discomfort of having to perform publically in a silly hat! It looks like he is saying, "Just breathe, just breathe"