Summer Rhythms :: What Today Looks Like

If you are anything at all like me you might be super excited for Summer but then you get to thinking...

wait--what exactly are we going to do all Summer?

Yikes.

Here's the thing; For me, it is not overwhelming like it definitely could be at times when the kids were

much younger, like two and four years old...plus, I am way more relaxed and have a lot more patience

than I did back then.

Funny how that happens, huh?

Five and Seven are fun ages, I really do love it. 

There is so much we can do and not a whole lot that they can't do now.
Ya know?

That being said, Summer vacation can be long and feel overwhelming at times and I think it is good

to have a bit of a plan.

Since today is what feels like our first real day of Summer vacation, I thought I would share some

of my ideas on how to keep us all happy and mama sane for the next few months.

Personally, I don't like things to be too scheduled or planned but I do think a "loose plan" will 

benefit all of us-maybe even me more so than the kids.

Also, just so you know where I am coming from, I am not the mom that has to be out of the house doing stuff every single day,
I'm just not. 

After a couple of days at home though I am definitely ready to get out for a while or even for the

day.

We all like a lot of  unscheduled days at home so we can go swimming, make crafts, play outside,

bake, build forts, ride scooters and bikes....all the simple fun things of Summer.

The only things we actually have planned or are signed up for so far this Summer are:

1. Swimming lessons two times a week(both kids in different classes at the same time) through

the whole month of June

2. Vacation Bible School for one week in June

And that's it.

The rest is up to me.

But with a bit of a plan I am feeling confident and thought I would share here, maybe weekly,

what we have planned and maybe it will help others that may get to the point where they are

struggling a bit--because believe me, I have been there, too.

Today I thought I would just show you what a typical day looks like for us and how it worked
for us- later I will share some of our favorite activities, outings and projects.
We are working on our Summer list right now so when it is done I will share that, too.

This is a little of how today went---

Morning :: 

breakfast and cartoons

We all 3 made our beds, picked up bedrooms, clothes to the hamper

Super-quick trip to the store for coffee, butter and jell-o

I made coffee and cleaned up breakfast dishes

Sat with the kids while they copied down this recipe for jell-o cookies onto recipe cards

Made cookies with the kids; I let the kids do a lot of the prep work, Wyatt read off ingredients and

they got out utensils, etc and did a lot of the mixing, measuring, rolling with my supervision

Kids played out back while cookies baked

* Super cute recipe cards from the $ aisle at Target-- good for kids to practice writing, spelling and
reading. I let both kids fill one out today by copying recipe off of the computer.

Mid-day ::
Lunch
Kids played with Legos, Charlotte set up a play picnic, I started laundry
Charlotte helped fold laundry, Wyatt took upstairs garbage downstairs and took out recycling
Reading time:: We took blankets outside and started a new chapter book together, also read a book
Charlotte wanted to hear...we read for about 30 minutes total
Back inside for Quiet Time. We all have quiet time for one hour, usually around 3:00-4:00 pm when
we are at home.

***************

If there is one piece of sanity-saving advise I could give  moms of younger kids or even kids closer
to Wyatt & Charlotte's age, or any age at all for that matter,  it would definitely be to
make them have quiet time every single day.
Every single day.
If you are not doing this now you will thank me for it later, I promise.
We have pretty much done this since the kids stopped napping and even when I was still trying to
get them to nap because I thought quiet time in their bed was better than nothing.
Quiet time at our house is each kid in their own bedroom for one hour(this might be too long/
more difficult to enforce for younger kids) and I am either in my bedroom or on the couch, no
working done during that time but I am usually online, reading a book, looking at magazines or writing.
The kids can read, play quietly--I do not care what they do in there as long as I do not hear them.
Period.
If you make this part of your day and explain to them that everyone needs a break from each other,
including mommy, it will become a routine for them and not a struggle.
During the summer especially, when we are together all day long and we don't normally see daddy until after supper time,
quiet time is a necessity-not a luxury, but a necessity in this house.

After Quiet Time the kids and I will probably go back outside for a while--maybe take the dog
for a walk, check on the garden, water the garden and flowers,  play in the sandbox, etc.
Lots of times I will take my laundry out on the patio to fold while the kids play.
Then I will go in and start supper and the kids can stay in the backyard because I can see/hear them
from the kitchen. Then the evening routine begins.
By tomorrow, after two days at home, I am sure we will be ready to get out of the house...maybe to
the park or the zoo, maybe we will go out and stock up on summer craft essentials for some projects
we have in mind.
I do plan to start the kids on their Summer Journals tomorrow too, we'll see if that happens though.
Happy Tuesday, y'all

Ps- Love this sign that I saw on the door of an antique store over the weekend : )