As school begins to finish for the summer months, families find themselves attempting to adjust to a new summer schedule.
This can sometimes be tricky, especially as it involves adjusting expectations and making new plans.
Read on for our tips on the easy way to transition your family to a new schedule this summer.
The rest of the year, kids (and parents) are used to waking up early and spending the majority of their day at school.
But with the long weeks of summer stretching ahead, parents now find themselves having to entertain their children for the hours they spend at home.
Having kids around the house makes it harder for you to be productive in your work and to get everything done around the house.
See How to Work from Home During the School Holidays for our top tips!
And then there are all those cries of "I'm bored!" as children get used to all of their newfound free time.
Read on for some ideas to help your family establish a new summer schedule that will work for all of you.
You'll soon be into a new fun routine that will help everyone have a wonderful summer of memories to look back on.
Take A Reset Week
After school finishes, it's good to take about a week and allow kids to get out of the school year grind.
During this time restrictions on bedtime and electronics might be eased or altered.
You could also take the time to pull together some summer plans and create a list of fun activities everyone would like to do.
Stuck for ideas? Check out these two lists:
Allowing kids, and yourself if possible, to have fun and unwind for a week can help ease everyone into a more relaxed schedule.
It also lessens the feeling of simply moving from one rigid timetable to the next.
Over the course of the week you might start to implement some new rules and patterns that will help your family to adjust to their new summer schedule without going all in straight away.
Reschedule Bedtime
The first major aspect of your schedule that will need to be changed is bedtime.
Kids are used to going to bed weary and waking up early during the school year, but this is not ideal for the summer.
I recommend setting a bedtime that is a little bit later and allowing your kids to wake up later as well.
This will give you more time in the morning to accomplish your hardest tasks before the household begins to get all loud and excited for the day!
Somehow getting up to work early in the morning doesn't feel quite so bad in the summer!
Especially if you can get outside with a coffee for some fresh air first.
You could also consider implementing a quiet time hour after your kids wake up.
Quiet toys like LEGO, blocks or Magna-Tiles, some TV or even some extra electrnics time first thing will help you all transition into the day a little more quietly and calmly.
Set Boundaries
Boundaries and restrictions are incredibly important during the summer.
If left unchecked kids can easily get into the groove of snacking and gaming all day!
As enticing as this might be when you are a busy parent, this is not healthy for your kids.
It's important to set boundaries as to what is acceptable behaviour during the summer.
For example, set times for when your kids should be eating breakfast and snacks if they are old enough to prepare it themselves.
If you are working at home , try to plan your breaks to align with your kids meals so that you can chat and catch up while everyone is quietly sitting down.
Help children to plan activities even for the time they're playing together.
Encourage outdoor play with appropriate equipment, and plenty of exercise and fresh air, of course.
Wondering what to buy for outdoor play this summer?
Schedule Activities In Advance
No-one wants an overscheduled summer with an endless whirl of activities.
But it is a good idea to make use of the weekend to schedule some activities in advance.
Talk to your kids and ask what they would like to do in the next week, then schedule your work and household activities around that.
For example, if your kids would like to paint it is better to have that planned in advance so you have the supplies ready and then be there to assist (and help clean up afterwards!).
With a bit of advance planning, you can find a balance between scheduled activities, ad hoc plans and everything your children want to do.
After all, there are 168 hours in every week!
Make Use of Printables
Charts can be a great way to easily set schedules during the summer if you want to keep everyone on track with chores or activities.
Rather than asking you continually, your family can refer to a chart or printable to see what chores they need to do and what activities are available.
Alternatively, use printables to create fun activities for the whole family.
Here are some of our free printable ideas, just click through to sign up:
Getting into the groove of summer isn’t always easy, but we all need a break and a more relaxed schedule.
With these tips, your family can easily get into a productive and fun summer groove, reducing the hassle on your end and increasing the fun for your kids.
Have a great summer!
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