Summer can be very complicated. We all look forward to the different pace that summer brings. I always picture it being simple, full of popsicles, swimming, and fun. But it often does not end up that way. At least for me.
Summer does not feel the same as it did in my childhood. It is a lot of work. I am a mom, a homeschool mom, a homemaker, the cook, the caregiver of all our farm animals and pets, and the planner of all the things.
We look forward to having days without plans.
But I have discovered that.
- giving the kids too much free time leads to fighting and annoyed kids.
- I need to get out of the house.
- I want to have some at home days with a relaxed schedule.
- Our summer schedule often gets filled with fun classes, summer camps, and a few small trips.
- and I also need days where I can be productive at home with the kids busy.
These are all awesome and fun things to do but they all conflict with each other.
So how can we make the most of the free time we have?
How can we move into the Back to School season without feeling overwhelmed and exhausted from Summer?
We need some variety to our summer vacation days.
The answer = Daily Themes.
Photos by Michał Parzuchowski and others on Unsplash
Daily Theme Ideas –
- Messy Art day –
- Get out some art supplies and let the kids go crazy.
- Give them limits, materials, ideas, or don’t. It can be as big or as small as you want it to be.
- See my Pinterest board for ideas: Afternoon Art Activities
- or this one: Cardboard Creations
- Project day at home –
- Everyone gets to do there own projects, play alone in bedrooms, or play together.
- Sometimes I set up something like these ideas to keep them busy: Pinterest Board – Summer Fun Ideas
- Mom gets to work on her own stuff without interruption (or at least that is the goal🙂 )
- This obviously works better with older kids, but even younger ones can get extra movie time for one day.
- Gaming Day –
- Board Games with friends or family
- PC games online at a scheduled time with friends (Minecraft, Roblox, etc.)
- Having a specific goal for an online game to accomplish.
- Build a 5 story house in Minecraft with rooms for all your friends.
- Play 3 rounds of Mario Kart and see how high your score can be.
- Household chore day –
- We all have cleaning that needs to be done. Make it something that everyone does together. Team up as a family against the mess and grime. Turn on some dance party music and make it fun.
- See this article for help in this area: Household Chores & Cleaning the Home
- Reading Day –
- Yes!! This is my favorite!! I am a total book worm in case you have not noticed yet…🙂
- This reminds me of when I was in school and we would have D.E.A.R. & pajama days!
- Here is a series that you might find helpful: Summer Reading – Tips & Ideas
- Adventure Days –
- These are places to go and things to do outside the home. We all get stir crazy after a while and need to get out of the house. But we don’t have to spend money or spend the whole day out every time. I make different types of lists so that I have a variety to choose from. Being a homebody this helps me get out and do things more often. It takes away the decision fatigue and gives me options.
- Our lists include:
- Adventure Day – Free Activities List (parks, splash pads, friends pools, a picnic spot, nature trail)
- Adventure Day – Low Cost Activities List (ice cream, bowling, the community center, lunch out)
- Adventure Day – Special Events (that we will do one time – usually on a weekend)
- Pinterest is an awesome resource for coming up with ideas that work for you and your family! Here is my Pinterest board where I have some bucket lists I use: Pinterest Board – Summer Fun Ideas
- Movie Days –
- A family favorite in our house! We choose a movie to watch and make themed foods, do some fun activities, and crafts.
- Here are some Easy Examples:
- Finding Nemo: Ocean themed foods (goldfish crackers, fish sticks, blue Kool-aide) and fish craft projects, a scavenger hunt to find Nemo hiding in the house.
- The Lego Movie & The Lego Movie 2: (Taco Tuesday!) and Lego creations to match scenes in the movie, make your own evil character
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – (spaghetti, cheese burgers, jello, & gummy bears) and draw your favorite food as a boat or as a raincloud, do a weather news report and send it to a grandparent.
- Teenage Mutant Turtles – (pizza) and pretend to be a ninja turtle, play with green slime, draw a hideout, make your own mask and ninja weapons.
I always remind myself that summer is about flexibility, spontaneity, and relaxing. Make plans but know that you can change them at anytime.
Ways to make this work –
- Choose one part of the day to change. Block Scheduling is awesome!
- We only change the way we do things in the mornings. The day typically has a rhythm that we follow.
- We change up the morning block but keep most of our afternoon blocks the same.
- Or you could change just the afternoon block and keep the mornings the same.
- Here is my favorite YouTube resource for Block Scheduling for Moms
- Let each week be different.
- I do not have a set schedule for when those theme days happen. I like to decide that Monday what we will do for the week or sometimes I change things around during that week.
- Work with what you already have scheduled. If you have a busy weekend trip planned than adjust your weekday events to be quieter, at home, and more productive.
- I always remind myself that summer is about flexibility, spontaneity, and relaxing. Make plans but know that you can change them at anytime.
- Go with the flow of what works for your family. I find that for us going out places, spending money, and eating out more than 2 days a week is too much.
- Have bucket lists ready
- Have those decisions already made for each type of theme day that sounds fun for you kids and for you.
- When I have a list to choose from then I can make decisions quickly and do things that we have already spent time thinking about.
- It is a lot of work to get out the door with everything that is needed for whatever we are doing that morning. Any thinking I can do ahead of time is helpful to me for sure!
- Pinterest is an awesome resource for coming up with ideas that work for you and your family! Here is my Pinterest board where I have some bucket lists I use: Pinterest Board – Summer Fun Ideas
It is a lot of work to get out the door with everything that is needed for whatever we are doing that morning. Any thinking I can do ahead of time is helpful to me for sure!
Wherever you are in your Summer Vacation, you can still add in Theme Days! You can make this idea work for you. Make the most of what time you have with your kids before school starts. Lean into the fun! Set up something different for them to do and see what a change it makes in attitudes and sibling bickering.
Wishing you a very happy summer!
Smiles – April
If you want more Summer Planning ideas see this article: My Summer Planning
If you are heading into the Summer Season but need to finish Spring with gusto see this one:
Thinking About Summer – How I do spring cleaning with my planning.