Prepare for an Organized Summer with Kids

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Plan an Organized Summer with Kids

The transition from school year to summer can be a tough one on kids and parents. By planning ahead and having an idea of what your summer will look like, you can cut out a ton of the stress and fully enjoy every moment of your summer with kids!

There may be affiliate links in this article. You can read more about this in my disclosure.

Keep Track of Plans

Summer with Kids – Organized Calendar

Utilizing a family calendar specifically during the summer months is a great way to keep track of the sudden shift in the schedule. It can take some getting use to when the routine suddenly changes from school and after-school sports to a wide array of summer camps, play dates, and family outings. Try using a calendar for keeping track of those hectic days.

Some options of things to keep track of are below!

Summer camp schedules
- If you have multiple kids with multiple schedules, these can get crazy quick!
Play dates
Vacation schedules
- There is nothing better than counting down the days to those vacations!
Day camps
- The times and dates on these tend to vary, so it’s important to keep track.
Appointments

Check out some of these great ideas for keeping track of family schedules. You can customize a family calendar in a million different ways but these are some awesome ones to get started with!

Monthly Magnetic Dry Erase Calendar

[amazon fields=”B07KJJVXKQ” value=”thumb” image_size=”large” image_alt=”Magnetic Family Calendar”]

Weekly Magnetic Dry Erase Board Calendar W/ Magnets

[amazon fields=”B06XBL6QDJ” value=”thumb” image_size=”large” image_alt=”Magnetic Family Calendar”]

Four Piece Family Wall Organizer

[amazon fields=”B019F91A2I” value=”thumb” image_size=”large” image_alt=”Family Calendar system”]

Activities to Do In Summer Vacation

Play Dates, Day Trips, New Experiences to fill the summer with Kids

Summer is the perfect time to catch up on all of those fun things you have been really wanting to do but couldn’t during the busy school year! Make a list of activities to do in summer vacation and check them off as you go! Look for exciting new places you want to try in your area, from cool new cafes to that remodeled playground that was just finished in the next neighborhood!

New attractions in your area
- Has a new museum or aquarium opened recently in your city? Is there a fun and kid-friendly exhibit coming to the art museum in your area? Look for fun and outside the box experiences to check out! Oftentimes you can find plenty of free options!
Visit family you don’t see often
- During the school year, our weekends tend to be consumed with those things we can’t fit into the weekdays, like cleaning up the house, catching up on laundry, and kids sporting events. During the summer when the kids are home, it’s the perfect time to get out and visit with family that might live a few extra miles away!
Schedule play dates for the kids
- Keeping kids friendships strong over the summer months is certainly important, especially when they aren’t yet at the age to be constantly calling their friends and talking on the phone throughout the months. Help nurture these bonds by planning some playdates over the break with some of their closest school friends!
Plan picnic lunches
- Picnics are something that we just don’t do enough of anymore! There is certainly something to be said for enjoying a nice quiet lunch with our kids on a blanket, under a shady tree on a nice breezy day!
Plan a water-park day with a mom friend and her kids
- Water-parks can certainly become packed pretty quickly on those hot summer days so taking another mom or two along is a great way to have a backup pair of eyes to help keep track of the kiddos! Plus, it’s a great excuse to get in some mom-chat!

Related: Summer Break Schedule

Have an Australia vacay planned? Check out these ideas of what to do in Sydney during school holiday!

Set a Routine for Summer with Kids

Having a routine keeps days smooth

Kids don’t do very well going from a structured 5 day a week school schedule to zero structure during the summer months.

Consistent meal times, wake up times, etc keep things thriving
- This doesn’t mean your kids need to wake up at “school time” all summer, but waking up at a decent and consistent time during the summer is a great habit to keep!
Involve the kids in planning each week’s activities
- By keeping the kids involved in making the plans, they’ll know what to expect and be excited about each day’s activities and adventures.
Summer is a great time to get them involved in YOUR daily routine/chores
- This doesn’t mean they’re workhorses. Picking up clothes off the floor and starting a load of laundry before leaving the house are great habits for them to see and pick up daily while at home!
On days you choose to just stay home and take it easy, still keep a routine! Wake up, breakfast, chores, playing, outside times, and so on! Don’t let it become overly easy to just let them lounge around on the couch all summer.

Making a chart of the daily schedule during summer is a great way to keep the kids on a routine! These are some awesome DIY options!

This DIY daily routine chart can be customized to fit any family’s schedule and will have the kids sticking to their schedules with ease!
This Visual Routine Schedule is a great option, even if your kids aren’t quite reading age yet! This is an adorable option that you can even let the kids help create!
For an awesome way to keep things on track each day, try these creative Summer routine cards! They are sure to keep things running smoothly all break long!

Prepare Activities for Rainy/Bored Summer Days with Kids

Kids Can Tend to “Forget” How to Entertain Themselves

After so many months of a structured school routine, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that free time can feel almost overwhelming to our kids. A day or two here and there with nothing on the schedule can be a great break but when there is a rain-filled week or a lull in the schedule, kids can get restless in the summer months!

Make a rainy day scavenger hunt ahead of time. Try coming up with different themes like Pirate Treasure Hunt or The Princess and the Toad!
Have extra sheets and pillows in a designated spot for a pillow fort on a moment’s notice
Have the kids’ help you come up with things they’d like to do this summer throughout the months leading up to summer break! Jot them down on scraps of paper as they tell you. Put those papers into a shoe-box and keep it handy. You now have a boredom box!
Write down your OWN list of memories you remember from your own summers as a kid. See if any of these ideas could be reinvented activities for your kids this summer!
Check out some of these other great ideas for rainy day activities!

Don’t Let the Summer Recession Hit with Kids

Teachers often send home “summer packets” to keep kids on track

- Do a few pages a week of grade level school work to keep those brain juices flowing.
- Create your own specialized summer-fun style worksheets, such as crossword puzzles or math problems that incorporate summer fun. (Timmy has 3 water balloons. He throws 1 at Sarah. How many water balloons does Timmy have left?)
- Make use of the vast world around you during the summer months for plenty of hands-on learning opportunities. Try some of the great ideas below with your kids for different educational activities that don’t even feel like learning!

- DIY Catapult for learning physics from Little Bins for Little Hands
- A Bouncy Egg Experiment for practicing science from Parenting Chaos
- Seed Jar Experiment for learning about nature and science from Little Bins for Little Hands

Plan Ahead for Healthy Summer Snacking

When chips and cookies are easiest to grab, that is what they’ll choose!

Summer is a great time to keep fresh fruits and vegetables around! Try checking out your local farmer’s markets for a great selection.
Keeping fresh produce cut up and pre-portioned is a great way to help your kids make wise snack choices over the summer!
Check out some of the snack storage options that I love.
- The Rubbermaid produce savers are literal lifesavers. Since I like to prepare produce in advance for easy snacking, I have no idea what I would do without these. They make produce stay fresh so much longer and there is simply no comparison, no matter what other solutions I have tried! These are one of those items that I consistently say is worth every penny!

[amazon fields=”B07957VZXX” value=”thumb” image_size=”medium” image_alt=”keep produce fresh longer”]

This lazy susan snack storage keeps my pantry a thousand times more organized. When I have little hands tearing into boxes, I tend to find empty boxes, knocked over boxes, or a wide variety of messes in the pantry. This one little gadget allows me to place the kid-friendly snacks all nicely together in one spot where they are easily accessible!

[amazon fields=”B078Y5SZ2P” value=”thumb” image_size=”medium” image_alt=”lazy susan snacker”]

Prepare the Summer “Gear”

It’s easy to forget about bikes with flat tires or sidewalk chalk buried in the garage.

- Make time to get out all of the summer toys ahead of time! You are likely to forget toys that are well put away in tubs and totes in the back of the garage over the winter months. It’s better to get those out and ready now than to find them the last week of summer break!
- Air up any bike tires, adjust the seat height for those growth spurts and tighten loose handlebars. The last thing you want to do is get dressed and ready to head out for a family bike ride and realize that half of the bikes need a bunch of tune-ups before anyone can go anywhere.
- This is a great time to pull out any inflatable pools or even inflatable pool toys and find leaks before the day you go to use them!
- If you have one of those huge buckets of sidewalk chalk, go ahead and pull out those tiny pieces that can barely be held onto! This will allow room for any newly acquired chalk throughout the season.
- This is a good time to hold a garage sale and clear out any of the toys the kids have outgrown and won’t be using anymore. Make room for new summer toys or just make some extra summer adventure cash!

Love Your Summer with Kids

It can be hard and loud and stressful and chaotic with kids home for summer.

Let’s get really real here moms. Summer can be a whole lot of things and stressful is definitely one on that list. Summer with kids stirs up a wide variety of emotions within all of us, ranging from excitement and glee to absolute terror and dread. It all depends on how we choose to look at it, prepare for it, and spend our time!

Sure, there will be SO much more sibling fighting to break up. A ton more time for back talk and whining to occur. Oh and the messes? Oh goodness, all of the messes they can make with that extra 5 days a week at home.

I get it guys, I really do. But the memories? The laughter? The growth?

Make a little video of your kiddos on the last day of school, record their personalities, what they’re looking forward to that summer.

Then do the same thing at the end of the summer and record their favorite adventures from the summer. You’ll be surprised to learn how much they have grown and how much the smallest adventures meant the most to their spirits.

Make memories!

Libby

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