Our Summer Schedule
What are your thoughts about summer? There is so much good about summer. Longer days, warmer weather, more time outside, family vacations, and making memories together. However, summer can also bring more challenges to a momma raising kids. So much free time can make anyone go crazy. That is why I encourage you to start the summer off strong. Kids (and parents) thrive with structure and a schedule. I personally am trying to find the balance between plans, fun, activities and enjoying the slower pace of the summer with less expectations.
Our Summer Plan
June is filling up fast. My daughter will be attending several camps. On the days that she is at camp it will just be me and my boy doing our morning activity. I have learned that when I give my kids dedicated time in the morning the day goes much smoother. On the days with busy mornings when I have a lot that I am trying to accomplish, I tend to get more frustrated with the kids.They are wanting extra attention and I am just trying to knock things off of my to do list.
However, when I spend intentional time with my kids in the morning, it makes the whole day better. They play on their own much better later in the day and I can focus on my to do list. Also, Texas gets HOT so I am planning on getting outside in the morning so that we don’t die later in the afternoon.
Morning Activities
During our morning routine, the kids will get ready for the day, make their bed and then do some learning activities. Then we will leave for the day’s activity. I have listed below some ideas to get out of the house and make memories together. One thing that I will be focusing on is enjoying slower mornings in the summer. I want to be productive and structured but without the stress that the school year responsibilities can bring.
We are setting expectations right from the get go when it comes to screen time. This is an area that I have really felt the need to focus on. It is so easy to put on a movie so that you can clean the house or whenever else you need to get done. But the time that your kids are looking at a screen can really add up fast if you are not being intentional about it. Here is ours but you can make your own here.
I recently read, Habits of the Household. The chapter on screen time was very convicting to me. One shift that I would like to make is making screen time a family activities. TV and movies are a family bonding time that we all enjoy together, instead of using it as a babysitter. That seems harsh but I will be honest, I have used the tv to entertain my kid’s when needed.
Screen Time
I hope you have a fantastic memories and make a ton of memories with your kids. If you need more ideas on how to kick off your summer, check out this post, School’s out for the summer.
If you’re looking for ways to add in summer learning be sure to read Summer Learning Ideas.