Building a Summer Schedule that Works

The last day of the school year likely brings mixed emotions.

“Yay!” you all shout. “SUMMER IS HERE!” Bring on the barbecues! Let’s go to the pool! Where is the sunscreen? 

Quickly followed by, “Oh my goodness what are we going to DO all summer?!” 

Summers often start out great. Your kids are basking in being home, out of school, meeting up with friends or family with no cares in the world. You swim, or hike, or go to the park. You have laid-back grilled dinners with friends, and head out for ice cream afterward. Or maybe you build a campfire and do s’mores. 

And then, the summer schedule blues start, sooner than anyone expected. “I’m booooooooored,” says your child(ren). You suggest all kinds of (to you) fun-sounding activities, only to be met with a shake of the head. You get irritated. Your child rolls her eyes. It spirals from there.

So how can you kick (or pre-empt) the summertime schedule blues? How can you make this summer fun and memorable for your family, instead of descending into irritation, boredom, and Netflix binges?

What you need is a schedule. You might at first be hesitant, for two reasons. First, a schedule seems to imply inflexibility. How can a summer schedule happen during soccer camp in July? Or the family vacation you’re planning in August? How is it possible to maintain a regular summer schedule when your activities are changing by the week? And second, will your kids actually like and commit to a schedule? Or will it become one more thing to argue about?

The solution to the first of these objections is to create a flexible summer schedule, with blocks of chores/activities/reading/fun all interchanging but getting done each week, no matter what outside activities may be happening. And the solution to the second problem is to get your family’s buy-in by creating your schedule together, versus imposing it on everyone. 

The first thing you’re going to do is to hold a family meeting where you talk about what’s going on this summer. What activities (sports, music, camps, vacations, etc.) are you already committed to? Are there any other activities anyone wants to suggest? Brainstorm, write it down down, and start plugging things into calendars.

Next, start thinking about the various parts of a good summer schedule. Here’s some possible suggestions to get started, but anything that you feel like doing or accomplishing this summer bears discussion.

Morning Routine

If you can get this down, your chances of success for the rest of the day go up exponentially. Nothing ruins a parent’s morning more than being awakened before dawn by an over-eager preschooler. If you have very young children, consider using something like this Teach Me Time clock. It turns green when your kids are allowed to get up, so you have time to get your cup of coffee or shower before anyone emerges from their room. If you have older children, your problem may be getting them out of bed! Work together to figure out an appropriate wake time, and make everyone responsible for setting their alarms. (See our post on how to Reimagine a Routine for more tips!)

Chores

Don’t be afraid to give your kids chores! Research indicates that children benefit from having responsibilities at home. These benefits include developing an increased sense of efficacy and self-worth. So make sure that daily and weekly chores are included in your family’s schedule. Figure out which ones actually need to be done at a specific point each day (unloading the dishwasher, feeding Fido, etc.), and which ones can plug-and-play better with your other activities (mowing the lawn, doing the laundry) . Chances are, you’ve also got a long list of projects you’d ideally like to get done this summer. Perhaps you want to grow a garden, stain the deck, or build an outdoor shed. Include your kids in this, too. Just make sure you plan those projects for weeks when you don’t have a long list of camps or other activities to attend. Older children may also have jobs outside the home. Be mindful of their work schedule, and do what you can to schedule family activities when they are home and refreshed. Help your child adjust to juggling multiple roles.

Academic Work

Giving your kids some academic work to continue throughout the summer keeps them engaged in the learning process and combats summer learning loss, but it also helps them to focus and feel better about their own accomplishments. For younger children, these Summer Bridge Activities are a great place to start. You may want to mix it up a little, as well, including some art instruction, music appreciation, or daily reading. If your kids are in middle school or high school, now may be the time to have them start doing more regular research on possible college or career options—maybe 30 minutes a week, followed by a short talk with you about what they learned.

Camps

Once your kids are around five or maybe even younger, the camps begin! There are likely athletic, arts, church, or a myriad of other camps and activities near you that your kids would enjoy trying out. They can be short, a couple of hours in the morning for a week, or full-day for a few weeks. When your kids are little, letting them explore their newfound skills and talents in various camps can be a great way to encourage their gifts while also getting some extra time playing with other little kids. Camps are also a fabulous, low-effort way to let your children try new activities—cooking, crafting, building, soccer, biking, or lots of other options. The temptation here is probably to overcommit, and to sign your kids up for something every week out of fear that they’ll be bored if you don’t. But just like you, your kids need down time. When they’re little, they simply get waaaaaaaay tired. And while older kids may be able to handle a heavy summer schedule, allowing for some space to just chill a bit is still a healthy thing to do.

Vacations
One survey found that 92% of families got along better and felt reduced stress and worry after vacationing together. Think back on some of your own favorite family memories. Do a lot of them involve a specific vacation spot, like a family cabin, grandma’s farm, or that beach you drove to every year? Vacations allow for deeper connection, shared adventures, and even some group problem-solving. (“Honey, we missed our trailhead . . . And sunset is in 30 minutes.”) There’s no getting around the fact that vacations also require time off work for adults and older children alike, and probably some extra cash. In other words, they take some pre-planning. If, this summer, you’re strapped for either time or cash, think about how you might make a three-day weekend into a camping trip to remember, or a visit to see family or friends out of town. If you have the time and money, make a larger commitment. Experts agree that spending money on experiences, versus things, is more likely to boost happiness. And regardless of what you do this summer, start planning for next summer, and prioritize vacations together.

Now that you’ve identified some things that you want to get done and need to do on a routine basis, work as a family to decide how to put those things together into a schedule.

You may decide on some academic time every week and certain chores that need to be done daily, in addition to activities like vacations or camps. You may also have a designated list of fun memberships, passes, or activities that you can rotate in to fill the time. Your schedule may vary week-to-week; in this case, make sure you’re meeting every week to plan the week ahead. If July is soccer camp in the morning, what do the afternoons look like? Even family vacations benefit from a schedule of activities.

Flexibility doesn’t mean that your schedule goes out the window. It just means you have to be intentional about making it work. And when you’re combining a bit of work with a bit of fun, and making sure you all get enough rest and exercise in between, you’ve got a winning formula for success! 

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