our summer routine

We are officially on summer break and I am a pretty happy lady! It's been a really great week so far and the transition from school-year schedule to summer-at-home schedule was a smooth one.

Each summer, the teacher in me jumps into teaching mode. I tend to run our house a bit like a very small and very multi-age classroom where lots of field trips are taken.   We have a flexible schedule that we follow and it helps tremendously. I really don't think we would all enjoy summer break as much as we do if it weren't for some kind of routine that allows for different kinds of activities throughout the day as well as a little structure.

Our schedule this summer looks like this-
(It is very similar to the past two summers, but tweaked just a bit.)

6 - 9       cartoons, breakfast, & playtime for the kids,

                   time for me to ease into the day and get us organized

                  (I also attempt to exercise and shower by nine. This is a habit I still need to get better at.)

9 -10     kids get ready for the day and we start on folders and chores (more on that below)

10- 12   We tend to go somewhere in the mornings.

                   Monday- Mom's choice

                   Tuesday- errands/ groceries

                   Wednesday- library

                   Thursday- park or pool

                    Friday- Mom's choice or playtime with friends

noon       lunch

12:30    quiet activities for kids- independent reading, drawing, writing, puzzles, Legos

                   etsy work, computer time, & housework for me

1:30         Group Activity- kid choice

                    This is an activity that we can do at home and together, like a board game or type of play.

                    Monday is Gracie's choice, Tuesday is Luke's,  Wednesday is Drew's choice,  on

                    Thursday we'll do an art project, and on Fridays, we'll bake together. For Drew's choice

                    today, for example, he chose the marble game in the picture at the top of the post.

2:15        time to work on learning activities and finish up daily chores

3:00       afternoon snack followed by a chapter out of our read aloud

3:30- 5:00  piano practice and playtime

5:00- 6:00  screen time for this who have earned it while I cook dinner

The schedule is flexible and can change on a dime if it needs to, but it is just nice to have a little routine and structure to our day. I think the kids like it as much as I do. Luke asked me last week when he would get to see this summer's schedule and Drew loves to keep us on schedule throughout the day.   First thing Tuesday morning, I showed them this new schedule and gave them their folder for the week and they were all smiles.

The kids each have a folder with their weekly chore chart stapled to the front. The chore charts are familiar to the kids and something we do off and on all year long. Inside of the folder, each has a daily note from me describing what to work on that day for independent learning time as well as any materials they will need.  In some years past, there was a great deal of thought and planning that went into these learning activities and one year I even pulled off weekly themes. This year I think we'll have to be a little more relaxed with it all. There is such a range in ability between preschool and sixth grade that themes and shared topics just seem too difficult.

Themes made planning activities a little more fun, but I still enjoy thinking of ways to keep them learning each day even without any organization to it. My kids make it kind of easy to think of fun ways to get them to use their minds. They like logic problems. They like to write. They are pretty good at math and love tricky math problems- and don't even mind math fact review sheets. The boys love anything related to science. Gracie is beginning to be a little history buff. Between my old teaching materials, the Internet, the library, and a few new things I've picked up recently, I don't think it will be too hard to come up with learning activities for each of them.

They like these folders and chore charts because they can trade in completed chore charts and finished learning activities for weekly allowance and daily screen time. It works really well for us. I guess they inherited their mom's love of crossing completed tasks off of a list. :)  I like these folders because I can prep in the morning and then everyone is set for the day. I know I can be more intentional in my plans for them if I can make the plans leisurely over my cup of coffee in the morning instead of scrambling for stuff at two in the afternoon. I love the chore charts because the kids earning allowance is a good thing and I appreciate the help keeping the house clean.

Of course, we are only in the middle of "week one" of this summer schedule and definitely still in the honeymoon phase. I know from experience that two months from now there will be days when we will stray from it just because we will be tired of it. I am okay with that. I've learned that in order to continue to love summer break as much in late- July as I do in May, I have to be flexible and remember that this is not a classroom and these are not formal lesson plans.

I do just love these four little people of mine and am pretty darn happy about spending the next hundred days with them. :)