Summer "school" plans

I have all kinds of thoughts running through my head! :D

First, my 10yo ds has a chemistry kit he chose a few weeks ago--and he's still not tried a single thing. There is some prep involved and he doesn't want to do it by himself.

Second, my 13yo dd expressed to me today that she really wants to learn German once and for all. Not that she expects to master it quickly, but she would like to stay committed to it, focused on it, etc. She really feels that the workbook way is not ideal, has asked about Rosetta Stone... I can set up a plan of vocabulary and phrases to use with her each day. I've already been incorporating a bit more German here and there (by a bit, I mean a VERY tiny bit), just to try to get myself more into German-thinking mode and to get them used to it; essentially, slowly building up a habit. A little more of a push on my own habits and I think she could learn a lot this summer orally--and then see the usefulness of the workbooks.

Third, I've been decluttering my den. I tackled a pile of stuff tonight in which there were photocopied pages of a TOPS Science unit. I completely forgot that I had any of these units. I'd tried to use them years ago--and I literally mean years: something like 6 or 7 years ago--and I'm not sure what happened (couldn't find the materials we needed? got caught up in something else? I don't know), but I still have the photocopies of the corn and beans unit. Would just need to buy a few items and we could do this as a project this summer.

Other ideas floating through my head:
*Lots of practical life, aka housekeeping. One idea is to make a list of everything that would be done daily or regularly in a house and have them do everything at least once.
*Lots of meal planning and prep: I want them more involved in planning what they will eat for snacks and meals, more involved in meal planning and preparation. To start, one of them will help me each day for supper. That and first thing each morning, they plan out the fruits and veggies they will eat and when. (A good amount of fruits and veggies is lacking in all our diets!)
*Lots of walks and hiking. I can't forget, though, that I will be babysitting my friend's little guy--20mo.
*I want to get myself a copy of Games for Writing by Peggy Kaye .
 Primarily to use with my ds, since he has not had anything incite him to write yet. I figure some games could be a good way to play around with writing while not requiring it nor demanding a lot!