This is my first year of having an actual summer with my kids. My daughter just finished her first year at half- day Pre-K and now we have three glorious months with steaming hot temperatures to enjoy together. Did you read that sarcasm? This calls for a little “summer survival” training on my part!
So I’ve gone to my trusty Pinterest, and planner, to make a list of things to do while we are together for fun summer survival. Let me tell you, unless you’re ready to feel a bit inadequate with your daily life as a mom and how much work you put into your engagement and daily lessons for your kids, don’t do this. And I’m not ragging on those moms who do handle this side of motherhood well. I, for one, do not and I am so very thankful to those who share all the lessons, printouts, ideas, and full-blown detailed accounts of how to do them. It helps me to feel like Super Mom when I can pull off something that was basically handed to me ready to go.
After reviewing some things, I’ve come to a rough weekly plan for our summer survival.
Monday – Make it (craft, activity, painting, building something)
Tuesday – Take a Trip (splash pad, park, zoo, friend’s house, coffee shop)
Wednesady – What’s Cookin’ (mostly baking and popsicle making)
Thursday – Thinking (school-like works, science projects etc.) & Thoughtful (do/make something for others)
*We are doing the Harkins Summer Movie Pass this day too*
Friday – Library
This is an adaptation of a few calendars I found online, which are on my Pinerest board. Obviously I am flexible to change, but this gives me a plan of what to strive for when the kids are getting crazy, makes sure we get out of the house a few times, and keeps us focused on something for a little part of the day. On Thursdays we will be incorporating the theme for most of them unless it’s just feeling like an overwhelming day with the movie in the morning. The Phoenix Public Library is having a full calendar of events for the summer, so we will be going to those in the afternoon on Fridays and then spending some time checking out books.
We will also be having much needed water play outside in our backyard as much as possible. My husband made an awesome pvc pipe water sprayer (thank you Pinterest!) for our kids to run in and we also have the wonderful plastic play pool for the kids. With a trip planned to see Grammy and Papa and a possibly Mom and kids road trip, I think this summer thing may not be too bad.
How do you go about summer survival in your household? Any free or affordable kid activities you frequent?
Um this is genius! Simple and easy to follow – win win! Summer is brutal here in AZ, so we also love to hit up splash pads (with shade!) and head to the library to get out of the house but stay cool.
I was always afraid of the over the top calendars of activites I see on Pinterest, but I definitely think this is doable! And will most certainly help with my sanity!