We've got SUMMER on the brain over here at ThePolkaDotPosie! Our camper is coming out of storage, summer trips are being booked and Summer Camp catalogs have been arriving in the mail. It may not feel like summer around here yet, but that doesn't mean it's too early to start planning with our fun Summer Printables!!
Our Summer Holidays list has been a big hit for kids and adults, so we made sure to keep that in our set. In addition to Father's Day and the 4th of July, our list covers holidays like National S'mores Day and Honey Bee Awareness Day. As you will see, there is something to celebrate every day of the summer!
The next printable in our set is the Summer Bucket List. This is such a fun worksheet to fill out together as a family. Use the top line to write your summer goal, such as, "This Summer we will spend more time outdoors!" or "This Summer we will take the trip!" Next, list out the things you would like to make and do, as well as the adventures you would like to take. Those adventures could be a bike ride to the park, a campout in the woods, a trip to the zoo, or a road trip to the beach! And finally, make a list of the books you would like to read and the great summer movies you would like to see. If you are looking for some book ideas, be sure to check out our Facebook page. We have a great list going from World Book Day!
After you've made your Summer Bucket List, check out the Summer Schedule docket. You can use this to plan meals, weekly camps or activities, babysitter schedule, errands, to-do list and more! Print multiple copies for your planner, or print one copy and laminate it for your fridge or family bulletin board!
Finally, be sure to print out our NEW Summer Reading Log! After many requests for this printable, we thought it was finally time to add it to the set. Print out a copy for each member of your family and track the books you read and give them a star rating! We kept this printable simple so that adults and kids can use it! We have a great book list going on our Facebook page, but feel free to comment below if you have a great book to recommend!
To download this Free Summer Printable Set, click the size below:
Las year, in addition to these great summer freebies, we had a lot of requests for a more detailed Summer Schedule for kids, especially one that offers weekly theme activity days, a blank daily routine checklist that can be personalized for each child AND a screen time menu so kids have to EARN their minutes each day.
We thought these were GREAT ideas and so, we wrapped them all into one useful Summer Schedule printable!!!
Trying to decide which themes to do for our weekday activities was a lot of fun, and while we had some clever topics, we thought the following themes were the easiest to follow and make your own.
MAKE IT MONDAY: This is personally my favorite day of the week because I love a good craft project. If you need some inspiration for projects or ideas, I love Easy, Peasy & Fun and she has a ton of great projects and free printables for kids.
TIDY UP TUESDAY: I know this theme doesn't scream FUN, but its a necessity around here. I like having one project a week that we can concentrate on together, whether it's yard work, closets, filling a donation box of toys, changing sheets, etc.
{Side note: If you are looking for some organization inspiration, I am just starting a new book called "Cluttered Mess to Organized Success" by Cassandra Aarssen and I think this is going to be a game changer!! Check it out here.}
WHATEVER WEDNESDAY: I will give all credit to my daughter Addie for this theme. Whatever Wednesday should be just that...whatever you want! In our house, we will all get to take turns choosing that day's activity, but you can personalize this theme any way you want! And don't forget to check on that day's Holiday from our Summer Holidays list. I believe National Ice Cream Soda days falls on a Wednesday :)
THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY: I've seen this theme on many other summer calendars and I love it so much!! The first thing the kids want to do this summer is paint and hide kindness rocks, but we also found lots of great ideas on this list of 100 Acts of Kindness for Kids from Coffee Cups & Crayons.
FUNDAY FRIDAY: Okay, maybe this is my favorite day of the week :) Funday Friday should be all about FUN! Use this day to check something off your Summer Bucket List, take a trip to the beach or zoo, organize a neighborhood baseball game, or have a family movie & game night.
In addition to filling out your weekly themed activities, decide on your child's daily routine checklist. As you can see in our sample, our daily checklist is pretty simple. The kids need to get up each morning and get themselves dressed, brush teeth, make their bed, put away any laundry that is in their room and tidy up a bit. The great thing about printing out a schedule for each child is that you can customize their list for their age and/or responsibilities. You can also add any other daily chores to this list if you don't want to use them as a screen time incentive.
And speaking of SCREEN TIME, let's talk about how this section of the schedule works. We compiled a list of the most common screen-time-earning activities, such as reading, studying (in the form of a workbook, tutor, educational website/app, etc.), building something, making something, writing or journaling, helping around the house (beyond normal chores), exercising, playing outside, etc. We also left two blank spaces that you can fill in with other incentives, such as walking a family dog or practicing an instrument. Each activity earns 15 minutes of screen time, but when it comes to the length of time on each activity, that is entirely up to you!
CUSTOMIZING BEFORE PRINTING: Many customers ask if there is a way to customize our printable before printing, and there is! To add in your weekly theme activities and daily routine checklist, just open our Summer Schedule PDF in Adobe Reader and click on "Fill and Sign". This will create a text box on the printable and you can access all the fonts and colors on your computer. Just place a text box over each area you want to enter text and then you can save and print! Easy peasy.
MONEY SAVING TIP: If you want to save some money and ink with our new Summer Schedule, we highly recommend printing a copy for each child and then laminating it (or putting it in a frame with glass) so that you can use dry/wet erase markers all summer long! No editing and no wasted ink and paper!
We hope you find this new Summer Schedule helpful!! Download your copy {HERE}
