…I ran my home like a summer camp?

There’d be:

Rise and Shine–at the same time every day.

Morning worship.

Breakfast and KP and bathroom cleaning (and songs during clean up.) (And of course staff to cook and young men to serve it ….bwa ha ha.)

Cabin Inspections in the morning with public recognition and prizes awarded during dinner.

Rest time

Swimming…..hmmmm (Not sure how to do that every day at home….but thinking.)

A sit down dinner together

Best Friends–that’s me (on the right) and my matron of honor (on the left)-it had been nearly 20 years since we served at a camp together. So. much. fun.

Teamwork: (Their job was to keep the giant sea-saw balanced while they move into order by height.  This was my cabin of lovely ladies. Only my daughter’s face is turned to the camera in this shot so I can share it with you. They were really good at this activity.)

Campfire

Bedtime Snacks

Evening Devotions

and off to bed.

Sounds wonderful.

We just got home from Camp Tiona.  The schedule was packed tight and I enjoyed every  minute of my only job being to be with the girls.  I’m glad my daughter, Heather, was in my cabin this year, but next year we plan to let her be with someone else.

Camp ran like a well oiled machine and a lot had to do with the schedule and being with friends made clean up that much more fun.  But more than that, the girls were rewarded with a bead for their name tag necklace for doing things well.  It was amazing what they would do for a bead or a little recognition.  I’m not much different as an adult.  I love recognition and attention–I’ll admit it :).

So while we unpack from camp and gather our supplies for the new school year, my mind is searching for ways to have more family time–less crazy time, less unproductive time; more relationship time. And to somehow do it without giving up every extra social or learning experience.  I’ve tried schedules before and they wear me out…but maybe if I tried one that wasn’t so packed, that had time for rest and reflection.  One with built in recognition and motivation for doing jobs well…maybe it would work.

How about you?  Do you you have a schedule or chore system that works for you? Have you tried one that you loved for a few weeks and then didn’t anymore?  I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Disclaimer (all recognizable pictures were of staff or my own children for the privacy of the families.)