It’s the end of June! School is OUT and Summer Holidays are here.
I’ve already been doing these things in my days before the end of the school year that I figured, why not share it here with you.
If you have kids in school and maybe your excited as I am to have the kids home (or your not), hopefully what I have to share to help survive the summer will be helpful.
If I miss something and you want to add to this, please do so in the comments below.
I love having my kids home. Some days, I feel like I’m only surviving. I would rather be a mom that models to her kids that she’s thriving and not only in survival mode.
However, it’s summer vacation…I might just need these tips to look back on and review again.
Here’s my ‘Mom’s Summer Survival Guide’:
Prep your home BEFORE school is out:
I worked hard last week that my son was still in school to get all the at home activities and house cleaning ready to go for an easier start to summer vacation.
My kids know the usual household stuff I do on a regular basis. Usually they leave me alone when I do these things.
Having to NOT be doing all this on the first weekend or start to the week when the kids are home, helps me to not burn out.
Plan/Post your July/August Calendar:
I’ve been struggling with keeping up with my calendar and recently got a nice planner for at home. Attempting to keep up with a digital one is clearly not working.
This is the one I ended up buying. Simplified by Emily Ley
With summer here and learning how the months are taking shape, with company coming into town, when to schedule a summer Reno (like our deck at the moment). I needed to have the summer calendar posted up for the kids to see and have it all laid out. Plus my husband and I spent a whole evening dedicated JUST to looking it all over.
Plus, we all know that life loves to jump up and add to your schedule and make it even more busy. But that’s the adventure right?
Plan PLAY DATES NOW!!
Yes, I put lots of emphasis on this. I booked Play dates for the start of the week and it’s really paying off already. Knowing our summer schedule is keeping me on task with when it works and when we are available.
We can all chat as mom’s and say “Hey let’s plan a play date”…I can promise you if you don’t put down a date…it’s not going to happen. My kids don’t leave me alone and make sure I’ve contacted “so and so’s mom”. Save yourself the headache and get on it before summer comes and goes like it always does.
Summer Bucket List:
We did this last year and it made a massive impact for us. Jordan Page from the blog Fun Cheap of Free has a post about a summer bucket list. I actually watched her video on YouTube about it and figured why not give it a try.
It was a life saver last summer!
We actually ended up finishing our list way past summer. It helps teach your kids about goal setting which is awesome. Go print one or make one!
Local FREE activities:
Save yourself lots of money and find local summer activities in your area. Well worth it. More money you have for the much needed camping trips.
At Home Activities:
I keep lots of activities at home for our kids. During the summer we get to do more as I have a crafting table outside.
Just a disclaimer: Activities like painting that need to be supervised…should be supervised.
This is that survival mode I was talking about. This is what happens after I was exhausted having a wonderful night out with friends in Vancouver and I fall asleep and had a nap. My 3 year thinks he can mix paints!
At Home Summer School:
What? Like homeschooling? No, my kid doesn’t need summer school, that’s not what I am getting at.
My son LOVES crafting and science projects, so we do stuff like putting flowers in food dye and watch them changed colours.
Also, I have seen lots of friends getting their kids to do just one page a day during the week from the curriculum books you can get at Costco or at a local Walmart.
My sons teacher sent him home with a little printed journal thing like he’s used to doing and willingly he’s filling it out.
Sure helps for the upcoming school year if they have kept up with a simple, reading, writing and math over the summer. I’ve shared a FREE printable from Education.com website in my Spring Break Post and they having a CONTEST!! Click on the link to apply.
You Time:
Don’t forget the much needed down time for yourself. Plus planning summer date nights with your spouse. We have one coming up.
Make adult zones! I love this swing in our backyard. The kids can fit in it but, it’s more for us.
FYI, yes the day I took this picture with me having “mom time” was still jeans weather, I was keeping it modest ;).
I hope this is helpful as you coming into summer break with kids home.
You have 18 summers. My kids are still young, and 18 summers comes really fast. Enjoy the time you have when they are young.
That’s what our family is trying our best to do.
Notefull Living 