With Summer Break finally upon us, it can be easy to slip into bad habits and lose track of your daily routine, for kids and parents alike! Consistency is the foundation of productivity and organization, and while this keeps us adults on track, it is also paramount for children to stay in a relatively consistent schedule.
WooHoo! Summer Break!
The same qualities that make long breaks from school fun and novel, are also the things that can threaten to derail a well-maintained household:
- lack of structured time
- no real schedule
It can be hard to balance the “Woohoo! Nowhere to be!” feeling with some solid structure, but if you put a few routines in place from the beginning, your kids (and YOU!) will greatly benefit. Each family has different needs, but here are some basic guidelines that can help to set you up so that your Summer Break rolls smoothly.
BONUS- when August rolls around, the “school year” routine won’t seem like such a shock to the system!
Summertime Routine Guidelines
Wake Up/ Bedtime Routines
As great as sleeping in for hours sounds, you will regret it later. Whether it is that day or 2 months down the line, trust me you will regret it! I’m not saying that sleeping in on Saturdays is a bad thing, but keeping inconsistent sleep schedules can wreak havoc on kids’ natural rhythms. Even as adults, our bodies crave regularity.
For children, when they know that sleep will be coming soon, (because they experience it every day around the same time), it provides some comfort and helps keep frustration at bay. (i.e. TANTRUMS)
I am a morning person, so this one comes easily to me, but it really doesn’t matter what time you pick. Just start waking/going to bed at around the same times each day ( I typically work within a 30 minute window for each). Kids will quickly adapt and begin to expect, their sleep routines.
A Meal Together 
Between beach trips, sports, and play dates, regular meal times are easily lost in the scuffle. As a morning person, breakfast is my favorite meal, (especially with these Gluten Free Pancakes!)so this is when I make sure we are all sitting and eating together with no distractions. We have a screened-in porch and we eat as many meals as we can outside with no T.V. on or toys around. In the mornings there are tons of little critters running around to look at and talk about. This time is really special to me, it is a nice start to the day. I feel like, no matter how busy the day gets, at least we’ve had this time one-on-one together.
Are mornings are busy in your house? Perhaps dinner is a better choice! Aim for at least one meal that regularly becomes your “together time.”
Schedule a Quiet Time
Belle has finally settled on the one-nap-a-day routine. (Took her forever!) As toddlers begin to sleep less during the day, they can get pretty crabby come 5pm. Playing all day can really wear a kid out! 🙂
Set a Quiet Time!
For our family, we have conveniently coordinated this time so that she gets to watch her Sesame Street from about 5-5:30. During this time I cuddle with her a bit, but typically I need the time to get dinner ready.
A favorite quiet time activity- cups!
Want less screen time? Have some games/books/crafts/etc. that are designated ONLY for this time so that your munchkin enjoys them, but can chill out a bit from the day’s excitement.
Again, consistency is key. Try to schedule this about the same time each day- whenever your child usually needs to slow down a bit.
Chore Chart Routines
If you have read anything about my classroom routines, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that I am BIG on teaching responsibility and accountability. Every student “works” and plays a vital role in our classroom.
In the same vein, teaching toddlers to complete household tasks as a way to help out lays the groundwork for understanding responsibility, and that they are a part of this family-everyone has to help!
My first “chore” for my 22 month old was to have her feed the dog. She loves doing it and she was really good at it… until she realized that dumping the food out and putting it back over and over was super fun. Needless to say, that’s out.
Until I can figure out how to fix that (stay tuned!) these are her new responsibilities:
- Put her dirty clothes in the hamper
- Clean up her toys when she is done playing with them
- Put books back on the shelf after she is done reading them
- Helping to “wipe up” any spills with a paper towel
Stay consistent with a chore routine, even in the “off” months!
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Ready for Summer!
Enjoy your Summer! Hopefully you found some useful tips to keep your family in a good routine, and be ready for the ‘Back to School’ schedule when it rolls around again, (all too quickly I predict.)
I don’t know about you, but I am ready to enjoy this summer with my family. This time last year, we were in the middle of moving to a new home, so this year it will be nice to just chill a bit and enjoy each other. What are you doing this Summer?
Great tips! I remember using some of those myself!
This is so helpful! I love the chore schedule and the quiet time. This momma sure needs that!
Thank you, I am glad you liked it! Sometimes that quiet time can’t come soon enough 🙂
YES! I am big on keeping routine during the summer months, too! I still wake up before my kids do so I can get myself dressed and ready for the day. I love the tip about setting aside certain puzzles and books only for the times when you need to prep dinner. I’m definitely going to start doing this to cut down on our screentime. Love the chore ideas, too. All really great tips and ideas! 🙂
I didn’t mention that, but getting up and working out/having morning time before the kids get up is really beneficial to mamas! I NEED my morning workout or I’m crabby!
We are definitely staying consistent through the summer. Mainly a consistent naptime lol.
Oh yes! 11-2 every day, you could set your watch by us!
I love this! Routines make my world go round.
Yes!! I like you 🙂
Wow…what an AWESOME post! Consistency and a structured routine is essential for kids, even during the summer time. This will work with kids of any age, although I would expect some resistance from teenagers who may prefer to “chill” on their smart phones all day during the vacation days.
Thank you so much! Oh for sure… I do not have teenagers yet, although I teach 11 year olds and they would probably prefer the smartphone, too! I am all about routines 🙂
No kids for me yet – so it will be an interesting road when I get there and school is out for the summer. Maybe in ten years I will have to deal with it. HA!
It’s always good to prepare! You’ll be ahead of the game!
I love this. I am big on routine and consistency. Even though it’s summer I’ve definitely stuck with bedtime schedule. I also love chore time. We sings songs while cleaning to keep her engaged in cleaning after herself. Helping fold towels makes her feel like a big girl. I am definitely one that plans ahead. I go no where without my planner. Lol. Nice post
You sound like my kind of girl!
Having a routine is so important! It is truly what helps to keep this ship running! Love your tips. Thanks for sharing! XO Amanda
Thanks! Routines are my middle name for sure 🙂
I am a work from home teacher and I only have 6 weeks or less off in between school years. It is so important that I keep the schedule for my toddler and I extremely consistent to make the transition back to “headphones” on that much easier at the beginning of the year. I also think that kids crave the structure of a regular routine and you can still have plenty of fun while still sticking to a schedule!
That is a great point, kids actually LIKE routines! They don’t really know it, but they feel more comfortable and in control when they know what is coming. I can only imagine that when you work from home it is only MORE important to keep to the schedules! I have a guest poster coming on soon who will be talking about schedules/routines from a home school mom standpoint…stay tuned!
Yay, can’t wait to read that!
These are such great tips! Having a routine also allows everyone to be much more productive!
routines = Efficiency=productivity! You are so right!
Consistency is a bit easier as they get older and get into sports. Even though it is summer ours kids stay in Tae-kwon-do & Gymnastics which helps keep a routine. This is some amazing advice speically for the fact that kids will do anything to get mommy off track!
For sure, having those activities helps a lot, I’ll bet! Toddlers don’t have as many set activities like that, so we can really get derailed easily!
These are such good tips! Quiet time is a must around here- it helps things go much more smoothly. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! Yup, we have to get our quiet time in around here!
Our summer feels so chaotic! I need to reign it in and get it together! Thanks for the tips!
Stay tuned next week! I have a guest poster talking about “taming the summer chaos!” She has some AWESOME tips!
Great tips! I’m struggling with bedtime for my toddler right now because the sun stays out longer. I’m trying to keep her on a bedtime routine because she has always been a good sleeper and I don’t want to ruin that now!
I know! I feel bad putting her down when it’s still light, but 7pm is our normal time, so I figure as long as we’re in by 7:30 we’re good! I use blackout curtain in her room, too, so that helps 🙂
I agree with you 100%! It took us a couple weeks to find a routine that works, but now that we have, our days go by so much smoother. I am a big advocate of getting my kids enough sleep and they go to bed pretty close to the same time in the summer as they do during the school year.
You sound like my kind of girl! My mom always made us go to bed around the same time even through Summers, and I really feel like it helped!