Time With Kids is Too Valuable to Let Slip By: Summer Plan 2015

Confessions of a Planner
Ok, call me uptight, but I'm the first to admit to being a planner.  Don't get me wrong, spontaneity can be fun, but when it comes to filling your memory bank with life experiences, I'm all about a plan.  Every summer I ask the kids what they want to do, see, learn or accomplish during the summer months (it usually spills into October) and we compile our Summer Plan.
Planning the No-Plan Days
The kids get 1 "lazy day" for each summer month.  This means, they sleep in as late as they want, don't have to practice the piano or do other chores.  They can lounge about as they wish.  (Yes, this is how we planning-types appease the kid complaints that their friend's moms never make them do stuff like this during the summer.)
The Basic Routine
Otherwise, the rest of the days we stick to more or less of a routine.  We get up to have family prayer before my husband leaves for work, and then they can go back to bed for another hour or so (as we hit the teenage years, the wake-up time is getting a bit later).  All the regular chores remain in place: laundry, housecleaning, cooking once a week, emptying garbages, dishes, etc.  with the addition of a weeding assignment in the yard that must be weeded (and checked) every 2 weeks.  We try to get the work and chores done in the morning so the kids have the afternoons free to hang out with friends, earn money or whatever.  Reading is a big part of summer as well, and we usually have some sort of reading competition or reward activity. (Plus their grandparents pay them for book reports. . . spoiled kiddos!)
It's Intentional
I try to make sure that the kids are involved in learning homemaking skills such as sewing, baking, canning, etc. so we plan those "training sessions" in as well.  If I was just concerned about getting the projects done in an efficient manner, involving kids would never happen.  So this way I intentionally make the focus on training them, not achieving a perfect outcome or end-product.  I no longer make my 15 year old boy do full-on sewing projects like when he was younger, but the occasional mending project fits the bill nicely for his training.  We've done ironing days also to train and hone their ironing skills.  By now they're pretty good at ironing, so we don't include that in our plan anymore.
The Crux
My hope is that besides training my kiddos to have good life skills, I'll also fill their memory banks with some really fun experiences and traditions.  So, without further ado, here's the plan for summer 2015: