Kids’ Summer Schedules
Summer time and kids just sounds picturesque! The kids running outside playing while mom and dad fill the kiddie pool. Doesn’t it just sound lovely? However, that looks a little bit more like summer vacation. And I imagine most of you are like my husband and I, while the kids are out of school, work goes on for both of us.
So how do we let our kids have a fun summer, get our work done, and keep them from telling us “I’m bored!!” 40 times an hour??
Today I’m going to share with you my summer system. This worked well for us last summer. It’s a system you have to customize for your family. If we see something isn’t working we can change it. Nothing is set in stone.
Let’s start with my 14 year old. He is going into high school next year. This summer is very full for him. He has several camps he is attending and even working at a camp. But for the weeks he is home, I do not want him watching shows or playing video games all day. We sat down together and created a system. It started with a question. “What would you like to learn?” This was sparked by @simplyonpurpose from Instagram. It’s been an on going conversation and we write down ideas on a sheet that’s on the side of the fridge. He really surprised me in all the things he wants to do.
Here were some of his ideas:
Learning Japanese. I used a free app that a friend of mine had told me about and we set a goal of 15 minutes a day. While I have zero idea what he’s saying, he’s loving it!
Learning to cook. This is one I mentioned to him and he jumped on board. So each night at dinner I’ve been having him help and our goal is to have him solo cook one night a week.
Fencing. This was one that our summer schedule just won’t allow for. We will not be home consistently enough. But thankfully we have a fencing school close by and I plan to sign him up in September.
Art. This year’s art class re-sparked his love for art. And he’s really good at it! While this will involve some screen time with watching tutorials for the things he enjoys, this one thing can take up hours of his time.
These were some of his ideas and his list is growing!
I adapted his daily list from the school year to reflect his summer schedule. He still has chores he must accomplish. In the summer he can take on a few more responsibilities now that school is not taking up a lot of his day. Once he finishes his chores he can do whatever he wants in the “learning” category or he can read. After dinner he is allowed his media time. In the summer I don’t limit his media time to a certain amount of hours, I just limit the time block it’s allowed in. If he decides to do something else or if we are out of the house for that time block, so be it. He does have a hard bed time during the summer as well. It’s later than during the school year, but I do want him to get the sleep he needs.
I often get the comment “My kids don’t like doing chores, or cleaning their room, or …” The reality is that mine doesn’t either. He enjoys a tidy room once it’s done, but he never ASKS for more chores. But it’s the system we have in our home. Once you do A, then you can do B. Last week I picked him up from a long day at work and he rushed to do his list before dinner so he could play his game after dinner. Some days does he complain and need reminding? Absolutely! Do I choose to show grace some days? Of course! But I know he is learning important things by having these responsibilities.
You can find his list HERE.
Now for my 5 year old. I learned quickly last year that setting a strict schedule with times for everything was not working. If we got off it felt like the whole day was off. Instead, her schedule is more of “what do I do next.” She wanted a list like her brother’s. I tried to be creative and add some photos so she can know what she is checking off each day since she isn’t reading yet.
You can find her list HERE. She asked for a checklist like her brother. I also have a schedule HERE that we keep on the fridge for her to reference.
The key is to not be too rigid. We can feel like we derail our day if someone sleeps in - which I totally allow sleeping in during the summer. I get a whole lot of work time in first thing during the day while all the sleeping is happening. So sleep away! But rather than have them constantly asking me what they should do, the list helps out.
We have also created a bucket list for this summer. Each week we will try to do one of these. Some are as simple as visiting the library and some are more involved and require a day trip. This helps the kids have things to look forward to while also allowing me to work it into my schedule.
I hope these simple tips will help you to have a fun summer and take some of the stress out of “what do I do next?” And hopefully relieve some of the “Mom! I’m bored!!”
I pray your summer is full of margin for the good things.
***Updated to add blank/generic checklists for little ones: