photo by KE-TA
We recently ended our school year, and our much anticipated summer break has begun. At first, the 10 weeks of no school seem like a long, long time. However, I have learned that if I don’t make a summer schedule, then the weeks quickly slip by, and I failed to accomplish all that I wanted.
Making a Summer Schedule
Begin by making a detailed list of what you hope to accomplish during your summer break. Divide your list into several categories such as:
- Places to go (library, park, museums, etc.)
- People to invite over to your home
- Cleaning jobs (garage, porches, closets, storage areas, etc.)
- Creative pursuits (quilting, sewing, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc.)
- School preparations for the upcoming year
- Chores to teach to your children
- Fun activities to do with your children at home (cooking, painting, various crafts, etc.)
Next, review your summer calendar, making notes of the days that you will be home, days you have appointments, days or weeks that you will be out of town on vacation, and days that your children will attend Vacation Bible School or various camps. I like to print out a large calendar for the entire break period and hang it somewhere in clear view of the whole family.
Decide the frequency you want to work on or complete each item on your list.
For example, you may choose to invite someone for your children to play with into your home one afternoon each week, and also have a family over for dinner once every other Friday night. Schedule these events with the families, and write it on your calendar.
Choose one day each week to be a “Places to Go” day. Each week you can visit somewhere on your list.
Lastly, create a daily schedule to follow on the days when you and your children are at home. This schedule could include time for your and your children’s regular daily chores, Bible study and read aloud time, and some free time for the children to play. Also include time for each of the items on your list. I like to work for 30 minutes each morning on my cleaning list, followed by 30 minutes of fun activities with my children. After lunch I usually schedule another 30 minute block of time for my cleaning list as well as 30 minutes for my creative pursuits list or my school preparation list.
Assist your children in making their own list of items to accomplish during the summer break also. When you are working on your cleaning list, they can be working on cleaning out closets and drawers of their own. Provide them with time each day to work on fun projects independently, and help them make of list of these projects.
With a little bit of advance planning, you can enjoy your summer break knowing that you are accomplishing many tasks as well as having fun.
Roan is the homeschooling mother of 5 children whose ages range from 4-15. You can read about their fun and productive summer break at Joyful Always.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! We have a 6 week break and I felt silly for scheduling things for “fun” but then also realized that the time will slip by and we want to pack in the fun! I am also focusing on chore training and we are joining our two children into one bedroom so we can have a whole room dedicated to school and play….exciting! Enjoy your break!
I crave structure and we don’t do well without it. I LOVE our summer schedule. We actually wake up earlier because I have to have the kids fed and at swim team by 7:30am. While the 3 big kids are swimming, the two little ones and I walk (I push them in a double stroller). For the last hour of swim team the little ones get to play in the baby pool. T, W, and Th we go directly from swim team to art. While the 3 middle kids are in art, my oldest and youngest and I drive through to get a drink then sit in the car and study while the baby naps. My oldest and I are working on our 90 day Bible so that keeps us busy. We go from art to lunch then nap time for the littles then snack, supper, evening activities and bed. On Fridays since we don’t have art we are hosting a summer Bible study for kids at our house. Saturdays are free unless we’re at an out of town swim meet.
As far as what I expect from my kids school-wise… as long as the older two read 1.5 hrs per day and my almost 7 yr old reads 30 minutes per day I’m happy. They are also working through their Vacation Stations workbooks which only takes 5-10 minutes per day. My oldest son is learning to type and my oldest daughter is learning to knit. The older two are also continuing with piano this summer and practice 30 minutes or so per day. It may sound like they’re busy working all the time, but they still have lots of free time. I hope I’m setting them up to be industrious young men and women who will contribute to the betterment of our society someday. I feel for the adults out there that find the smallest of chores so difficult. I want life to seem easier for my kids later so I’m trying to teach them to work hard now. I guess we’ll see if it works:).
.-= Celee´s last blog ..Phase 1 of the bedroom switcheroo completed! =-.
Thanks for sharing. I started a few weeks back planning and some interruptions came. This is getting me motivated to jump in again. I also was planning very similar to you. I wrote things I wanted to get done, chore training, bible studies, character, field trips, crafts, playdates, and VBS. Then started on a schedule for when at home. THis is where I get fustrated and tend to close the book and move on.
I love the idea of 30 min clean and 30 fun with the kids, and then the afternoon block you mentioned.
.-= Chrissy´s last blog ..Our Yesterday~Farmer’s Market and Wet Fun =-.
Great ideas! I always have great ideas about what to do, but it seems like we always let the summer slip away without doing half of them. I love your scheduling idea.
.-= Sarah at SmallWorld´s last blog ..My Homeschooled Graduate =-.
Thanks for the post! This was just the motivation I needed to make a plan of my own. I don’t want to let the summer slip by and regret not taking advantage of these months. I even blogged about it!
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