Summer.
Most kids count down the days until they can be free to have fun and relax. Many moms get anxiety thinking about all the empty, unscheduled hours which lead to bored, fighting children. What if I told you that it IS possible to love summer as a mom. It really is! And you don’t even have to go on a fancy vacation, although that doesn’t ever hurt. The key to a summer that is fun for both mom and kids is to PLAN. Yes, summer is meant to be free and unstructured, but too much of that can get really old, really fast. So today, I want to share with you a way to approach your summer this year feeling confidant and ready instead of full of dread.
Follow these steps to get started:
1. Print out month at a glance calendars for all summer months.
2. Fill in all known vacation days, camps and activities.
3. Proceed to Option A or Option B
Option A: “Crazy Teacher Brain” Themed Weeks
This might be right for you if :
you have kids who are ages 3-12 who are still happy to go with the flow. Or if you have a wide open summer that needs to be filled. Or if you have really struggled with enjoying summer and need to try something new!
Having themes for each week has been my go to for the last six years. I used to be an elementary school teacher and themes just make everything more fun. Having a theme makes it easier to fill in the empty holes in your week.
Less holes=less boredom=less fighting =happy momma.
I also think it is fun to have a theme to learn about throughout the week. I usually will start off going to the library to pick up books that go along with the chosen theme for the week. Learning can be fun!
Here is how you make it happen:
a. With your kids, come up with a list of themes that might be fun to explore. Some themes we have done in the past are:
Ninjas
Water
Animals
Art
Music
Transportation
Science
Outer Space
b. For each theme, come up with a list of outings in your area and at-home activities you can do (Pinterest will be your best friend).
For example, if I pick the theme of Ninjas, my brainstorm might look like this:
Outings/Activities: Library day to look for books about ninjas, Trampoline Park, Ninja Obstacle course, karate lessons, try an Asian restaurant
At home: Watch Kung Fu Panda, make toilet paper roll ninjas, learn Thai Chi/kung fu by watching You Tube Videos, Make exploding Ninja stars with popsicle sticks.
*For our Ninja week last year, I invited a neighborhood boy who I knew was learning karate to come and teach my kids some moves. They all loved it! I just paid him in chocolate chip cookies!
c. Plan out the week. Using your brainstorms, fill in the blanks of your week. I would choose the activity or activities based on what we already had going. If we had swim lessons and plans with friends, our only “themed” activity would be a movie night or at home craft. If the day was wide open, I would fill in an outing or 2-3 activities from our list. Another thing to note is that if something that does NOT pertain to our theme comes up, we do it! The beauty of a theme is that there is always a plan when you need one, but summer is mean to be flexible!
Example of a planned, themed week:
Ninja Week: June 1-5
Monday: Library, read books, watch you-tube videos about ninjas
Tuesday: Learn Karate, Make Ninja Stars
Wednesday: “Ninja training” at the Park with friends, watch Kung Fu Panda
Thursday: Toilet paper ninjas, eat at an Asian restaurant
Friday: Go to trampoline park
d. Proceed to do this with different themes for all empty weeks of summer and before you know it, you will have awesome, action packed summer that not only your kids will look forward to, but YOU will as well.
In my opinion, this is a real game changer for summer. Some of you may have a number of older children who might be too cool for themes, so this might not be for you… although, you could probably do some really cool themes with older kids if they would go for it. Give it a try and see what you think!
PLAN B: Rotating Weekly Activities Plan
This might be right for you if: You have a crazy, busy summer ( like me this year). You have a wide range of children that you need to plan for or just mostly older kids. Or if the themes weeks are a little over the tip for you (I won’t be offended).
When I was newly married, I was befriended by a mom who I really looked up to. She was fun and energetic and I wanted to know all of her parenting tips! I clearly remember talking to her about summers with her kids and I loved what she shared so much that I held on to the idea for the past 12 years! She said that each week day in the summer had its own general “ theme”.
For example:
Move it Monday – play a sport or do something active
Try it Tuesday – go explore a new place
Wet Wednesday – swim or some sort of water activity
Thinking Thursday – library day, learn something new
Friend Friday – make plans with friends
These can be anything you want… and alliteration is not even required! The general idea is that you have the same basic structure for activities each week. The upside to this is that it is more flexible and will meet the needs of a wide range of kids more easily.
I believe in planning. I believe in planning for the summer. I also believe that planning for the summer will help you have a fun, successful summer that may have you considering homeschool once it’s time to go back to school. Just joking, but it really will make a huge difference! Hope you make it a great summer!
Add paragraph text here.
