12 Tips for Summer Planning

Summer almost arrived (or for some of you!).

My girls finished school a few days ago, so I was in full summer preparation.

I will share our summer schedule with you next week, but before that I want to share some tips that help me think about how I make summer plans.

I hope this helps you make a summer plan and schedule that is suitable for you and your family:

Tips for summer planning

1. Remember that your work is not to entertain your children all the time. If there is one thing I can say about planning for summer, here it is. Very tiring feel like your job to keep your children bored. This is one of my best care secrets: It’s okay for children to get bored and have free time. It is good for children to get bored – the miracle of imagination and creativity is on the other side of boredom. Know that they might whine and complain about boredom and you can handle it. Don’t take their boredom as your personal problem to solve.
2. Summer does not need to look like the school year. I got so many messages this month asking about workbooks and writing/reading/Mathematics/STEM schedule to make children learn this summer, and I just want to hug this parent and tell them that it’s okay for the summer to look different from the school year! Children learn a lot by having time to explore their own interests and try new things. My youngest daughter did an intelligent mathematics during the summer to maintain her skills and move forward, we have plenty of time to read hard and read personally and I usually order a few workbooks because I have children who love them, but we do not have a rigid material schedule to be passed during the summer or daily so that everyone sits and do worksheets. (If it works for you, great. I will never tell you to get rid of something suitable for your family and life, but if you feel stressed because you need to give a lot of work type of school to your child, know that more than just it’s okay not to do that).
3. You can make summer feel special without going beyond the top. I have many mothers who work asking how to make summer feel special when they are in 9-5 every day throughout the summer. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be a trip to Disneyland or all day in a local swimming pool to be special. Maybe dinner outside once a week when the weather is good. Maybe some additional stories on the bed. Maybe it will ride a family bicycle after dinner. You don’t need 18 hours a day with your child to make beautiful summer memories. Even 15 minutes of dedicated individual or family time make a big difference.
4. Choose some activities. Maybe there is so much pressure to do all the fun summer activities and make a large summer bucket list, but that usually makes stress and not sustainable. Instead, choose some of the things that you really want to do during the summer and lean on it. Last summer, we traveled a day to California! We caught the flight in the morning and flew home that night! It’s very fun and we don’t have to dedicate 3-4 days! We also got a seasonal ticket for an agreement to scream to our local water park and we left several times a week. It’s very easy because we experience a good rhythm and routine and everyone knows what is expected when we leave, what to be packaged, and how long it takes to be fun without too tiring. Having a few consistent things that we do repeatedly makes summer feel memorable and special and also makes it easier.
5. Choose the things you want to do. If you hate entering the community swimming pool or hiking is not your idea of ​​a good time at all, you don’t have to do those things. Choose the things you want to do and rely on it. Maybe you like playing pickleball and your family can do it together. Maybe you like sitting by the pool in the morning when your children play. Maybe you like to bake or watch outdoor movies. Summer will also be fun for you!
6. Let your children buy. Sometimes we feel like we have to plan everything and then children can take a summer train, but when they get the chance to share what they want to do and learn during the summer, you are far more likely to get plans that can be applied. I feel the same thing about books – you can make a list of giant books for them to read during the summer or you can let it be part of the chosen process and the possibility they will be more invested in all experiences because they have ownership.
7. Identify possible places of problems. The good news is that you enter the summer with yourself and your family – people you already know well! You don’t start with a group of strangers. Which means you might already know where things tend to get out of the rails. Is dinner on the table? Does the house become an absolute chaos zone? Is that endless quarrels? Do you try to get a job when your children are at home? Write down what you suspect will challenge and then exchange ideas to leave before. If you know dinner will be disturbed every night, make a very simple eating plan and repeat throughout the summer.
8. Set a clear expectation. In our house, we often say “Hope is the key to happiness.” Make sure everyone is in the same page about what summer and what is expected. We sat with our girls on Sunday afternoon this month and walked everyone through what was desired every summer morning, what kind of weekly schedule, and then wrote a three -month family calendar for the fridge so they knew what was expected throughout the summer as far as the trip and the event went on.
9. Make a screen time plan. Many of us know that the screen time can be a total nightmare to be managed in the summer. In fact, I wrote all posts that only focused on tips and tricks for managing summer screen time. Make a clear plan for how the screen time will be part of your summer, make sure everyone understands it, and then holds fast to it (I promise, giving a few times because whining only teaches your children that whimpering about it is a good way to get what they want and they will only whine). You may have an hour of show every morning before breakfast or video game in the afternoon. You can choose what it feels like but choosing first will make a big difference rather than letting it take over and then try to govern afterwards.
10. Your schedule must work for you, not vice versa. Schedule is a tool in your equipment box-this is not the boss all of which becomes all! If a few weeks enter the summer, it is clear your plan does not meet your family’s needs, return to the drawing board and adjust. You might want the most minimal schedule because you like freedom and small framework. You might want a much more rigid schedule with a lot of activities. You might want to stay at home. You might want to get out of the house every day. There is no correct answer – try to plan something that is suitable for your family and personality and willing to change it as needed.
11. Become realistic. In the world of dreams, everyone will only play in the backyard together throughout the summer months. In the real world, there will be quarrels and whining, children who are very bored, in the afternoon it looks like they will never end, and days so hot you hope for winter. Know that it’s part of life and it’s okay to be imperfect. Hope there is crying or bad sportsmanship or smooth children. When you don’t expect perfection, it’s far more frustrated when it doesn’t happen.
12. This summer is not every summer. Don’t feel like this summer vacation must determine how every summer will be forever. Some summer, you have small babies and toddlers who need a nap. Some summer you have a lot of money or energy and some summer you don’t do. Create a plan that matches what your life is now and next summer, you can make a different plan if your life is different. My summer this year will look much different from what happened seven years ago when I had a house full of toddlers and we lived in Arizona where it was too hot to go anywhere except the pool.

What are your best tips for planning summer? I want to hear!

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