Summer Schedule For Kids

Are you surviving or thriving this summer?  Do you have a child who always wants to know the plan?  Do your kids know when their free time will be?

I ask because, kids thrive on structure and routine.  As parents, we can help them by loosely scheduling their day during their free time, weekends, holidays, and summer time.

It helps them to eliminate unknowns and surprise.  Schedules also lessen anxieties and worries.

Can we have boundaries and still be flexible?  Sure!

Maybe when your children were little you realized how powerful it was to have boundaries and routines.  Consistent food, naps, snacks, bedtime helps your child feel safe and secure.  We also realize that we cannot hold too tightly onto our boundaries because … life happens.

Our children need to learn how to relax.

They are scheduled every minute of every single day.  When they walk into school their schedule is on the board.  When they come home they have homework, chores, sports, dinner.  Then they hit repeat for the next day.

Our kids are used to tight schedules. They usually have something like this up in their classrooms.  {Thanks Lisa – this is from a real 2nd grade classroom.} Or maybe you adopted this schedule from Bernadette. Use a pocket chart with this free printable.

How to Make A Summer Schedule for Kids

I usually start my summer with a basic plan for the day and I write it down (see below).

Writing it down is critical!

I never put times with it because children will hold you to it!  Sometimes my schedule only goes until lunch time.  Then I figure out the rest of the day after lunch.

I always try to include the following 5 things each day:

• Outside time
• Chores
• Quiet time
• Free time
• Reading time (Generally around the time the mail arrives).

I also make sure I put down TV or computer time, then they don’t have to bug me!  Depending on the child, they might really benefit from the “Earning Technology Time” chart.

Toward the middle of summer I am able to back off and relax a little.  Before school starts in the fall, I bring the schedule out again!  The kids are happier and it makes the transition back to school not as overwhelming.

A simple dry erase board or pad of paper will do the trick!

As your children get older and mature, your boundaries may be tested.

I’ve found that my tweens and teenagers do not want me to let go of our boundaries, they just want to have a say in them.

Helpful Links for the Best Summer:

• Summer Points – How to motivate your child throughout the summer.
• Life Skills – The essential skills they don’t teach at school, for ages 2-18.
• DIY Summer School
• “Earning Technology Time Chart”
• Printable Picture Schedule
• The power of “Free Time”

At Busy Kids Happy Mom, we believe that kids will ultimately do best over the summer if there is learning involved too!

Please check out our posts on Do-It-Yourself Summer School and Summer Points.

They’ll help you get started on thriving even more this summer!  Note:  Just start with a simple schedule.  I promise your day will go smoother.