April meeting recap!

This past Thursday was our last meeting at New Covenant! It's really difficult to even say how much we appreciate NC... they've hosted us for 10 years & done everything possible to make us feel welcome. So thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, New Covenant Church!! So, so much!

Our last meeting of the year, on May 9th, will be at our new location -- Boulevard Baptist Church, located at 700 Boulevard. Please write yourself a note, mark your calendar, put a reminder in your phone... whatever you need to do to make sure we don't leave you behind! The Steering Team is hard at work to make this transition a  smooth one... more info on our first Boulevard meeting will be coming soon.

Thursday's meeting theme was "Deserted Island: Getting Ready for Summer Vacation." Summer is a wonderful time... that is, until you're only a week in & the kids are yelling that they're bored & you're feeling a little crazy & don't have a clue how you're going to make it for 2 more months in a semi-sane state. :)

And that's where our Mom Panel comes in!

We had four of our MOPS mamas talk about different aspects of how to keep your kiddos happy & learning throughout the hot summer months. Our speakers have so kindly shared their hand-outs with us... they're (hopefully) available for download below. This is the first time I've attempted downloads, so let me know if things don't work!

The Summer Schedule

It's easy to have great intentions... it's a little more difficult to actually put all those plans into motion. So give this schedule a try:

Click here to get the printable schedule.

On "Make Something Monday," get creative! It can be as involved as doing a craft or as simple as letting the kids help make cookies or dinner... just tweak based on your family's schedule!

On "Take a Trip Tuesday," throw the kids in the car & get out of the house. Go to a MOPS playdate (click here for our summer calendar) or go to the park to feed the ducks. I did a handout of free & cheapish things to do in our area.... I've added a few suggestions from our meeting as well. This list is available for download at the end of this post.

On "Wise Wednesday," try to do something educational. Britney shared a fabulous list of ways to teach your kids while having lots of fun.

On "Thankful Thursday," teach your kids about serving others. Aubrey did a great handout of things we can do with our kids, from taking applesauce to AIM to choosing one of their own toys to give to a friend for his/her birthday.

And on "Have Fun Friday," just do something fun! Emily has a great list of ideas... I loved her suggestion of hiding snacks in leftover plastic Easter eggs for a snack scavenger hunt! And try to snap some pics of all these little moments... no matter how seemingly insignificant, it'll be wonderful to have all these summer memories captured!

Printables to help you get ready for summer!

Here are the handouts if you'd like to print them:

• Summer Schedule
• Community activities for "Take a Trip Tuesday"
• Educational fun for "Wise Wednesday"
• Service ideas for "Thankful Thursday"
• Fun "at home" activities for "Have Fun Friday!"