How To Enjoy Summer Fun Without Losing Your Cool

Now is the perfect time to plan your summer fun.

Thank you, teachers and school administrators. Job well done. It’s time to enjoy some summer fun.

Thank you for your many hours spent educating our children. May you find rest and rejuvenation in the next couple of months. I know you are just as excited about the end of the school year as your students. 🙂

For some of you, summer fun means no schedules. You look forward to the relaxed pace, lazy days, and cessation of daily have-to’s.

For others, you just broke out in hives reading that last sentence.

Whether you are part of the yay-no-more-schedules crowd or help-summer’s-here-and-I-need-a-schedule crowd or somewhere in between (I hope you are), summer is a great time to relax and enjoy a new routine.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Routines are necessary. To help you relax, exchange schedule for routine. Like it or not, we are creatures of habit to some degree. Yes, even you non-conformists and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants folks have some sort of routine to your day. Even in summer, your children need routine. Spend 30-minutes to an hour while your kids are still in school to figure out your summer routine. Write it down. Decide now what types of things are included in every day and when. Include summer school readiness books like Brain Quest or Summer Bridge. Click here to download a daily simple chart to help you get started. Put it in a plastic sleeve and use dry erase markers to update for each day. If you want a little less detail, download a weekly block chart. Again, put it in a plastic sleeve and update each week.Here are some additional ways your kids can help out each day. Click here.
2. Research no or low-cost summer fun activities in your area. A quick Google search for my area results in over 20M results in less than a second. Trust me, there’s plenty to do. And playing with friends, backyard activities, puzzles, coloring, Play-Doh, Legos, and any other creative options they can do on their own are fun activities. Take advantage of local Vacation Bible Schools as well. Picnics in the park. Libraries have plenty of activities. Local pools or splash parks. Daytime movie options. Think outside the box and have fun.
3. Plan kid-friendly vacations. If money is an issue, plan a staycation. Take advantage of fun activities in your area you wouldn’t normally do. You could even camp out in the backyard. If money isn’t an option, focus on doing things your kids will enjoy. You’ll have time later to take that awesome vacation the two of you dream about regularly.
4. Rest time is good for the whole family. You know by now that I’m a huge proponent of a daily rest time for every age. This doesn’t mean sleep necessarily. It is a time to slow down and allow yourself time to recoup. The key is to be quiet, stay on their beds, no noise, and no technology. Your eyes need a rest from screens. During the summer, when days are longer, the kids want to stay up later. Having a daily rest time is a good way to extend the normal bedtime hour. Plus, it’s great to slow down and enjoy a siesta in the heat of the day. Practice being Mediterranean.
5. Plan a camp week or day camp for your kids. They’ll love it and so will you. Plus it will give you a break from each other. The list of camps is amazing. Again, Google it, talk to your friends about camps their kid’s love, check out church camp options. If money is a concern, have the kids come up with creative ways to earn some or all of their registration costs. They’ll appreciate camp more, learn about working for something that’s important, and it won’t break your budget. One year, friends of ours that worked for an organization that sponsored kids camps sent us a discount link for specific camp weeks. We made that happen. Also, grandparents often like to give a camp gift option for birthdays or Christmas gifts. Suggest it.

Summer is a great time to slow down and enjoy a different pace.

But, with kids, it does still take some planning. Drop the schedule, but keep some routine. Your kids and you need it.

Celebrate summer.

Enjoy the relaxed pace.

Plan now to soak in the sunshine with your family.

Eat ice cream for dinner one night or more.

Run through the sprinklers with your kids.

Capture each special moment.

What is your favorite summer fun activity? Leave a comment below.

If you need help, please reach out. I promise to listen without judgment and help you take the next step.