For kids, Summer Break = FREEDOM!!!
For parents, Summer Break = What am I going to do with these kids all day??!
In the beginning of summer, I am so thankful for slow mornings with no alarm clocks or frantic where-are-my-shoes-the-bus-is-almost-here panic attacks. I appreciate lunches in the park, afternoons at the beach and weekends at the campground. Most of all…I LOVE not having a schedule.
For about a week.
After that, I find that ALL of us need at least a little schedule. I realize that using the words "Schedule" and "Summer" in the same sentence is frowned upon, but for the sake of this post, let's go with it.
To me, having a Summer Schedule isn't about giving up those lazy mornings or lunches in the park. It's not even about scheduling every minute of your day with activities and projects.
To me, having a Summer Schedule = Sanity
It may be Summer Break for our kids, but we still have a house to take care of and errands to run. We still have dinner to cook every night. We still have activities, parties and events to plan for. We still have work and other professional responsibilities. And…we still have kids who have their own responsibilities, practices to get to, summer reading minutes to log, etc.
If we want to keep our summer chaos-free and still have time for FUN…it's a good idea to have a simple schedule to follow. Last summer, we created a Weekly Docket to help you do just that and this year, we are adding two fun printables to go with it!!
The Weekly Docket can be your go-to planner page (in addition to your monthly calendar). Use the daily squares for meal planning, activities & appointments, etc., the To Do & Errands lists for your weekly tasks and the "Activity or Project of the Week" box for any home project, vacation, party, etc. that you have planned. This printable would work great on your fridge or family bulletin board to keep everyone informed of the week ahead :)
The next printable that was a HUGE hit last year is the Summer Bucket List!
I always like to make a list at the beginning of the summer of the books I want to read, the movies my family and I would like to see and all the things we would like to Make & Do {like plant a fairy garden, re-stain/paint the swing set, plant an herb garden, etc.}
And, because my family LOVES camping, I've added an "Adventures to Take" list. This list is for writing down anywhere you want to go and explore this summer. It can be visiting family in another state, or visiting the museum, or going hiking...any adventure you'd like to have at home or far away. The reason we added the bucket list this year is because we don't want to forget about the FUN of summer!!! We've waited all year for these 3 months…we need to make the most of them :)
Speaking of fun…the next printable in our set is a Summer Holidays Schedule. This list includes your typical summer holidays like Father's Day, 4th of July, etc., but it also covers the SUPER fun holidays like National Ice Cream Day and the Great American Campout Day. We've done our best to track some of the most popular ones we could find online, but be sure to comment on this post if you know of any we left out :)
Our family is going to try our best to follow one very important "rule" this summer. We came up with it together in the hopes of actually sticking to it. At the top of our Bucket List, we wrote:
This summer is all about family, friends and FUN!!
We can't avoid work or the daily chores & responsibilities that go along with being a grown-up (boo!!!) but we CAN vow to be more present and enjoy all the things that make life worth living.
So, friends, what is your summer "rule" this year??!!
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To download these printables and get started with your Summer planning, click on the following links:
