Planning For Summah

I think the key to having a “great” Summer – is finding the right balance between fun stuff, chores, scheduled activities, and absolute downtime for the kids. I constantly have to resist the urge to let EVERY day be pajama day…full of nothing but fun. After all, we deserve it, right? No. We don’t. We actually deserve much, much better.

In an effort to find that balance and decrease the amount of whining that naturally accompanies Summer break for school aged kids – I have made a loose schedule to help us all navigate these hot, Summer days as smoothly as possible.

Every family has to do what works for them…but I do think that most children thrive when they know what to expect each day. PERHAPS this is why teachers do things in the same order each day…and have lesson plans. Just imagine if they waited until they woke up that morning to decide what they were going to do.

As a family, we talked about what order the kids would prefer to do things each day and we created a schedule.

So – here it is – understanding there will be many exceptions.

I hope the children will work with me on the wake-up time. It would be FANTASTIC if they would push it back to 8 am. Here’s to dreaming…

7:30 Wake up, Get dressed, Make bed

7:45 Breakfast and Clean-up

8:30 Morning Exercise- walk, ride bike, run, scooters, swing, tree climbing, baseball, etc..

9:30 Chores and Zone Cleaning

10:30 Piano Practice/Summer reading

11:00 Free time

12:00 Lunch and Clean-up

12:30 Fun Time (when we go swimming, do crafts, go somewhere fun, etc.)

3:00 School Work (they will do their Summer workbooks)

4:00 Free time

5:00 Dinner time jobs (set table, unload dishwasher, help prep dinner)

5:30 Dinner and Clean-up

7:00 Fun time (movie, DS, family game, etc.)

8:30 Showers and Scriptures

9:00 Zzzzzz

As far as the chores go, I decided that it would work best if each child had their own chore chart and clipboard, as opposed to a mass family chore chart. I think it gives the kids ownership…plus, what kid doesn’t LOVE having their own clipboard and pen??

I am not a fan of dry erase, anything, so I printed off their blank chore charts on card stock and will fill out a new chart  every Wednesday night. Some weeks their chores will be easier than others, depending on what is on the schedule. (I ordered this blank template off Etsy. It was cheap – and then I didn’t have to mess with it)

I also found a great, free, download for a weekly menu, HERE – that has a shopping list attached. My scanner jacked the color up – but it looks great in real life I will also fill my Menu out on Wednesday night. I love hump day planning.

On the menu…

And last but not least…Everything we want to do before Labor Day!

Hoping that this planning helps make this the BEST SUMMER EVAH!!!!