I absolutely love summer. Now, don’t get me wrong. As a teacher, I also live for the fall–new pencils, new books, new students entering my classroom.

But the summer is about spending time with my own kiddos. About slowing down and hanging out together. About splash parks and library programs, movie nights with popcorn and lazy afternoons spent reading books aloud.

So, you might think that such a lazy, slow summer would require very little planning and structure. You might think that, at least, if you don’t know me!

But, seriously, one of the biggest things I have learned as a teacher and a mother is this: children thrive on structure and routine. Children need to know what is coming next, what to expect. And part of our job as parents and teachers is to provide that structure.

Today, then, I thought I would share our family’s summer schedule and give you a few resources that may help you in planning your own schedule.

Our Family’s Summer Schedule

Daily Schedule

7:00-8:30 Wake Up, Eat Breakfast, Get Dressed, Morning Chores, and Morning Prayers

8:30-9:30 Homeschool Time

9:30-11:30 Morning Activity

11:30-12:00 Lunch

12:00-1:30 Quiet Time

1:30-4:30 Afternoon Activity

4:30-5:30 Movie and Supper Prep

5:30-6:00 Supper

6:00-7:00 Evening Pick Up, Baths, Stories, Evening Prayers

7:00 Bedtime for Little Brother and Sister, Big Brother reads or has one-on-one time Dad

8:00 Bedtime for Big Brother

I wanted to give a bit more explanation for a few parts of this flexible routine. (I call it a flexible routine because I am not constantly looking at the clock, rushing my kids on to the next part. If chore time takes longer some days, that’s ok. If we eat lunch a bit later one day, no problem! Just having a basic plan really helps structure our days.)

Morning Chores

Believe it or not, one of our favorite parts of each morning is the morning chore time. I printed off some basic chore charts for my kiddos, put them into sheet protectors, and bought a few dry erase markers. Each child then knows which chores they have to do each day and can mark them off as they complete them.

And, because I know that people will ask, here are their chores:

Big Brother (age 8):

Make Bed

Feed Fish

Shower

Brush Teeth

Empty Dishwasher

Water Plants

Family Chore Time

Sister (age almost 5) and Little Brother (age 3):

Make Bed

Brush Teeth

Pick Up Toys

Family Chore Time

For Family Chore Time, I use the amazing chore planner from Confident Mom. I printed off the 2017 Weekly Household Planner (a FREE resource!) that has chores listed for every day of the year. It is cute, practical, and a fun way for our whole family to keep on top of the household chores.

Homeschooling

Now, we do not homeschool our children for a variety of reasons. However, during the summer I do like to have a bit of low-key learning going on. Teachers, right? We try to keep it simple, though. Some days we’ll even watch an episode of Be the Bee or listen to Ancient Faith’s Saint of the Day before we get started.

Morning and Afternoon Activities

The kids and I sat down at the beginning of the summer and made a big list of possible activities that we could do. These include simple things like blowing bubbles, learning how to jump rope, and playing with sidewalk chalk. The list also includes small outings like playing at the park, going to the library, and having a play date with friends. Finally, there are some larger outings like going to our local (free) petting zoo, going to the children’s museum (with a free pass from the library), and going on hikes.

Quiet Time

Quiet Time is an essential part of the day! During Quiet Time, the kids are in different rooms reading or playing quietly. Sometimes my three-year-old will fall asleep. But most of the time the kids just get a little bit of down time alone. I also get some time to myself to write, read, or nap!