Sizzling Summer: A Peak Into My Summer Routine
No doubt about it, my summer has definitely been sizzling! Read along to sneak a peak into my summer routine.
Summer with Kids
This by far has been our busiest summer. It is the end of a season in our lives, our second son graduated in May and will head off to college at the end of the summer. I was not prepared for how busy his last summer at home would be. He has participated in many wonderful opportunities this summer and I am just sad to see it come to an end. With that being said, much of our summer routine revolves around the kids’ activities.
My summer routine included many drop offs and pick ups from various camps: church camp, choir tour, Boy Scouts camp, and student leadership retreat. Add in our fabulous trip to Greece – which you can read about here – and there is a bulk of my summer routine. When the kids were younger, we kept a much more structured weekly summer schedule similar to the one I will post below; however, as the kids have grown and have more functions through various organizations, we have less time to devote to a daily summer schedule.
Many summers we followed a similar schedule. Daily Rituals
My daily rituals in the summer include: sleeping in, enjoying a peaceful devotional time with a hot cup of coffee, and getting ready for the day. Most Thursdays this summer, I attend an online Professional Development course to maintain my teaching certification. Also, I participated in a brief, six week Bible Study of the book of Philippians.
Now that my kids are older and sports, activities, and church events guide our routines, I think back to the days of the summer schedule similar to the one shown above. That schedule helped keep three littles on track and me sane. I appreciate this mom’s post of how she structured her summer routines, “just enough”.
Relaxing Vibes
While I personally believe there is always plenty to do at home, relaxing vibes are always my goal. Summer routines serve the best relaxing vibes. We are seldom stressed to get out the door at an early time during the summer. Maybe the extra time at home this summer afforded me the opportunity to online shop a little too much – ha! I have enjoyed ordering some of my favorite travel outfits from Amazon.
This dress has been an absolute favorite all summer long! *As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission on any eligible links. Special Treasures
Part of what makes summer so awesome are the special treasures tucked in throughout the summer months. We have enjoyed so many sweet treasures this summer: trip to Greece, a wedding for my nephew, and camp trips.
How has your summer been? Would you call it, sizzling? Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear from you!
Creating a Summer Schedule
While it is still spring, I like to spend time creating a summer schedule. My kids are 22 (our oldest lives on his own), 17, 15, and 11. Summer schedules have been a lifesaver to me during the summer months. I will share some of my strategies for enjoying the most out of summer break!
1. Add events to your calendar.
Looking at a three month calendar spread and adding all the events your family has in store for the summer will give you peace of mind. Having a visual calendar on display somewhere in your home is also a good idea. For my family, we place all of our events in our iPhone calendar so we can all access the event schedule.
2. Plan ahead.
Before moving to a suburb of Birmingham, the most planning ahead I would have to do would be if there was a sports camp I needed to get on the books. However, moving to a larger city with a larger demographic of two income families, planning ahead for summer is imperative. In our area, some summer camp registrations open in the December before summer break. For example, for summer 2023, some camp registrations opened December 2022. That is quite the planning ahead!
3. Make a list.
Make a list of how many children you have, what sports and activities each child is involved in, what camps and vacations you will be attending this summer. We love heading to the beach for summer vacation. 30A is one of your favorite destinations. You can read about what activities we enjoy at the beach here. Having everything listed out ensures you do not leave any events out when you go to plot them on your calendar.
4. Don’t forget the freebies!
Free events are AMAZING! Reference your local newspaper or happenings page to see what local events are free. A local mom’s group or page is an excellent source of event information. Birmingham Mommy and Rocket City Mom are two amazing sites filled with local events for the Birmingham and Huntsville areas respectively. Two organizations that I have used for years to supply my kiddos with free activities is the church and library. Vacation Bible School and children’s library programs are both FREE! Many volunteers and educators give their time to create remarkable events for our children to enjoy over the summer.
5. Create a weekly and daily schedule.
One of my biggest concerns over the summer months is keeping my kids off of their screens all day. To help with reducing screen time, I create a daily schedule for my kids. For example, each child gets a three ring binder at the beginning of the summer that is his/her Summer Binder. As a family, we decide what activities we enjoy best then create a weekly schedule. Our weekly schedule covers Monday through Friday. Saturdays and Sundays are left alone for weekend time. For example, we have: Make a Meal Monday, Theater Tuesday ($5 movies at AMC theaters), Wet Wednesday (pool day), Thinking Thursday (library day), and Family Friday (another pool day with family and friends – what can we say? We love the pool!) Here is a great example of a summer schedule that I was able to 1 find on Pinterest and utilized to help me craft my own.
Our daily schedule may look like: No more than three hours of screen time, complete responsibilities, play musical instrument, walk the dog, play outside for 30 minutes, read a book, do devotions. Giving a list of possible activities that can be done greatly reduces the “I’m bored!” comments. Factor in our weekly activities and we have a great summer!
Whatever your crew likes to do, my hope is that my tips for creating a summer schedule will benefit you!
