Summer can be three months of fun, but it can also mean three months of trying to think of activities to keep the kiddos entertained. It can mean three months of feeling like you’re failing because your summer doesn’t have picture perfect crafts and exciting activities. Don’t worry! Simply planning ahead can save you an entire summer of headaches and makes planning all these activities fun and effortless!
The easiest way to maximize your time is to set up a plan! That’s why, in our house, we have a summer schedule! Now, I know, most people don’t get as excited about schedules as I do, but, by following this you can keep your littles engaged, entertained, and most importantly plan fun activities without wanting to pull your hair out!
So, here is our Summer Schedule!
If you know me in real life, you know I LOVE music! So of course, I had to factor it into our summer schedule. Now, remember, this schedule is JUST a guideline, you can get creative with was music is to you. in our house, music Mondays consist of Dance Parties, Sing-A-Longs, musical instruments, field trips and more! Get creative with what music means to your family and use that to get active!
Now I know what you’re thinking, and NO! I don’t mean iPad Tuesday. We use our Tech Tuesday as our STEM day! Just like with music, you can get as involved as you want with this! Some days, we simply do space puzzles and go over the different planets! Others, we do more hands on learning like building a robot kit, or building chain reactions with hot wheels, marbles, and dominos! Science, Technology, Engeneering, and Mathematics are EVERYWHERE! Use that to your advantage! You can go on a nature walk, read books, watch videos, build new things, etc.!
Definitely the kids LEAST favorite day, BUT it has to be done! We spend our Wednesdays doing a weekly reset. This is when we pick up the rooms, finish any dishes, do the laundry, sweep, mop, etc.. While it might not be tons of fun, it resets our house to allow for the mess! Why Wednesday you might ask? Let me tell you. Traditionally, resets are done on Sundays to prepare for the work/school week, but its SUMMER! For us, cleaning on Wednesdays ensures the house is clean for any weekend activities and, because it’s in the middle of the week, we don’t spend all weekend dreading the reset! Now, this doesn’t mean leave EVERYTHING for Wednesdays, or you will be miserable, but its a perfect way to get the kids involved in the deep cleaning!
My stepdaughter’s favorite thing is art! So of course, art has it’s own day! You might think this just means coloring and painting, and while we do those things, we also love hands on art! Use this to try something new! Try tie-dying shirts, building something with paper-mache, or creating outfits out of household objects! Really use this day to get the kids (and your!) creativity going!
When in doubt, get our of the house! Use Friday to enhance their learning by going somewhere! This can be educational like a museum or the aquarium, orrrrrr it can be just for fun! We love going to the park and playing, going on walks around the lake, or splashing around at the natatorium or splash pad!
That’s right! Planners even plan to not have a plan! Saturdays are filled with barbecues, pool parties, and other fun, and unplanned, activities! So on Saturday, I challenge you to go with the flow! Long and tiring week? Make a spa day at home! Do the kids have tons of energy? Go to the park and play soccer! This is your day to do whatever with your family! So go to those parties, splash in that water, do whatever makes your family happy!
This is honestly my FAVORITE day! For us, our Sundays consist of Church, Bible Study, Family Brunch, and whatever else! So, to continue with that train, we made Sunday our Selfless Sunday! This is the day that each family member commits one selfless act for someone in our family or community. Some examples are helping our neighbor carry in groceries, writing a thank you letter for someone who deserves it, or something more in depth like helping out at the food pantry! The opportunities are limitless!
What about working moms???
So you don’t think you can do this because you work full time!? Not a problem! I work full time as a Program and Curriculum Specialist at a preschool, and I still follow (mostly) this schedule! What we usually do is: Go to work/daycare, Get pick up, Do a themed activity at home, Eat dinner, then bedtime! These activities don’t have to be day long! Just pick a 30 minute activity and do it with them after work/ school! Trust me! The kiddos just want to spend quality time with you and as tired as you are, you’ll be making memories that will last forever! If I can do it? You DEFINITELY can!!
Summer does not have to be a stressful three months of running around trying to entertain the kids, follow this schedule and you’ll never be at a loss on what to do! Remember! Like anything, our schedule doesn’t always go as planned. Sometimes, the kids will get invited somewhere and we do that instead. This is just supposed to be a guideline! So, make it yours, and have some fun!!
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