I remember the first time I heard one of my friends say those words, “I can’t wait until school is out,” and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d never thought those words before, let alone said them. In fact most of my friends would panic and say, “Oh no, schools almost out!” Honestly, before taking Keepers of the Home, that is exactly how I felt too. Oh no, their home all of the time, Oh no, now what am I going to do?
My friend, I don’t know which woman you are. If you are excited to see your kids home or if the thought of it causes you great headaches, no matter how you feel about it, summer is coming and the new routine will be starting very soon.
Before you go and sign your kids up for non-stop entertainment & sports camps for the next 12 weeks, let me share two ideas with you of things I do that help me survive summer with my kids.
Enjoy a TV Free Summer! Okay- I know what you are thinking; impossible, can’t be done. Well you are wrong. I have actually done this 3 years in a row and it has worked out just fine. What I do is tell the kids that we aren’t going to watch any TV programs in the summer. They are allowed to watch one mom-approved movie per day that was rented or one that we owned, but NO TV. After the first couple of weeks, they find other things to do and really don’t miss it. In fact the first year we did this, we didn’t turn TV programs back on until November!
Plan Your Summer Now! This is for everyone with kids of all ages. No matter whether you have toddlers who will no longer be in Mother’s Day Out programs or teenagers, plan out the summer. Here’s a simple idea on how to do this.
Print off a calendar for June, July and August. (Here is a website with free printable calendars:
click here for a free templates)
Hole punch the calendar and put it in a 3-ring binder or folder with brads.
Fill in the things you already know you are doing, like VBS, vacation, camp, etc.
Ask your kids to tell you some things they would like to do this summer. Ask them to be creative. We categorize our ideas by price. For example, we try to have a few things that might be costly- like going to the local amusement park. Then we have some items that cost marginal amounts of money, like going to buy supplies for a craft or going out to eat with friend. Finally I urge my kids to think of as many free things as they can think of, like riding our bikes, playing with friends, etc.
Lastly I look at the weeks that we have nothing going on and try to incorporate one of the costly things per month and then fill in the rest of the weeks with the other less costly or free activities.
If you are a mom who works outside of the home, then summer poses a different kind of challenge for you. You have to make sure childcare is lined up and you may have those longing feelings that you wish you could be home with the kids. I understand how you feel. What I have found is that through my part time job, I still have to plan for my kids. I have to plan what they are doing and make the most of every precious little thing we get to do together. I’d like to talk more about the subject of planning chores and learning and reading time into every day next week!
I have found that when I look at the 12 weeks of summer at a glance, that it really isn’t so long after all. Hopefully these tips this week will help you to get ready for the summer, so that when it is time for them to go back to school you can truly say you are sad to see them go. These days I can actually say I can’t wait until school is out to spend another fun filled summer with my kids.
Figuring life out together,
Gena Sego
