It's the first day of summer and I'm once again in my wheelhouse. The kids are home, I am home, and nothing brings me more joy than creating a place for us to live these precious breaks well on the home front. I've learned that in order for us to all feel that way, though, we need structure, routine, and some rhythm in our days or it's easy to feel like we are frazzled, lost, and wasteful with our time. Our days aren't calculated and planned every hour, but I have found success in having a general rhythm while also planning for the restful and free space we all love about summertime. Yesterday, I spent a good part of my day readying the house for summer, stocking up on groceries and easy lunches and snacks, checking calendars and weather forecasts, and organizing some creative spaces for the kids to beat boredom and become inspired. And I'm sharing my top ten favorite rhythms and routines with all of you! I've stolen a few of these ideas from other moms along the way and they have been game changers! Hoping you may leave feeling a little inspired, too. And most importantly, remember that every home, family, and season is different, so it's really about taking bits and pieces and finding a groove that works best for you. And giving yourself some grace on the days when none of it works! That's part of summer, too!
1. A general "schedule" of the day || I stole this from my friend, Kelsie and it's been a game-changer. On Sundays, I take a general look at our calendar for the week, as well as the weather forecast, and plan a rough outline of things scheduled and things we would like to do. Then every night, I rough out the following day's plan. It eliminates the constant question of "what are we doing today?" and also leaves lots of space for flexibility and fun. And it's just as much for me as it is for them!
2. Chores, Activities, and Reward Sticks || This is definitely the kids' favorite "structure" of our summer. We have chore time for about 2 hours every morning, and I try to put the kids to work for at least half of that time. Some days, I have specific things I'd like them to do and other times they can draw a stick. The activity sticks are filled with ideas for times when the kids use the "b" word, and the reward sticks are full of easy little rewards (popsicles on the trampoline, game of their choice, $1 or a treat at the grocery store) that can be used when the kids do something extra helpful or kind. The key with the sticks is to include ideas that don't require much of YOU. I blogged about specific ideas for each of the three areas here.
3. Laundry Basket Pickup || Since we're on the topic of chore time, this is one of my easiest and most effective ways to involve the kids in a whole house pickup and make a quick impact in a pretty short amount of time. I grab a laundry basket and do a full sweep of the house, grabbing everything that is not in its home and putting it in the basket. Even if it doesn't get put away right away, the house instantly looks better and you can hide the laundry basket! When you do get to it, work together to put everything in its home, one item at a time. I've also done a similar method with Mila's toy shopping cart, and it's fun for her to toy around the house and put stuff away.
4. Post-It Note Chores || I first discovered this idea from Emily Ley's, A Simplified Life (a great resource full of ideas to create a simple, functional, inspiring home). Before a designated chore time, write a number of random tasks on post-it notes and stick them in a visible place in your home. Family members can grab tasks they feel moved to do, then stick them on their door when they're finished. You can reward them for the number of post-it note chores they complete, and it provides some visible gratification (and a little competition). I do post-it note chore time when I feel like there are a lot of tiny little tasks that need to be crossed off the list!
5. Morning Routine Charts || We use these throughout the school year, but they're especially important in the summer as I've found it's important for us to get up and ready for the day rather than laying around in our pajamas (although a few of these days are fun, too). I made these personalized to each kid (found on Etsy), laminated them, and use dry erase markers to cross the tasks off each day. The kids are pretty independent with them now, and I do pay them a little each week as an allowance for staying motivated!
6. Summer Bucket List || This is by far our favorite planning tool for summer! It keeps us excited, creative, and intentional about our days and we make so many fun memories along the way. For example, I was looking at the bucket list this weekend and the tag "camping in our backyard" sparked the idea to surprise Cruz with a good ole surprise camp out to celebrate his last day of school and the start of summer. For this reason, I like to make it visible, this year using these little colored tags and washi tape from Hobby Lobby.
7. Quiet Baskets || Each kid gets a basket full of books, art supplies, and other quiet activities to take to a cozy space to rest, read, and give me a little break! I try and build in quiet time every day in the summer, and rotate materials in and out of their baskets every month. And I have a quiet basket, too!
8. Reading Challenges || It's fun having kids at an age where they can get into some of the more educational stuff that goes along with summer, too. Cruz's school sent home some fun reading challenges that give them creative activities that involve reading (reading under a blanket with a flashlight, reading to stuffed animals, reading and drawing a picture of what you read, etc.), and our library does an excellent summer reading program, too.
9. Summer Meal Planning || Meals take on a new level during the summer as I'm now responsible for breakfast, lunch, snack, AND dinner! I love planning easy summer meals at the beginning of the season, spending a good chunk of an afternoon looking through favorite cookbooks and Pinterest boards and making a list of about 25-30 at a time. Then, the hard work is finished and each weekend, I look at the list and choose 3-4 depending on what our week looks like. We grill a lot in the summer, make a lot of BLTs, and eat on the deck as much as possible to make cleanup easy. This summer, I pretty much planned our entire summer meal plan around one cookbook (read here for this adventure), and have had an absolute blast being creative, inspired, and less overwhelmed.
10. Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Picnic Lunches || My favorite kind of lunch is where I grab a big serving tray (with handles), go through the fridge and fill the tray with a random assortment of finger foods (cheese, summer sausage, carrots and dip, crackers, fresh fruit, pickles, etc.). Then spread out a blanket and let the kids have at it!
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