I can’t believe it’s officially summer!
Ok, I know it’s not actually technically summer, but school is out and Mom is in charge of the entertainment 24/7!
So, it’s officially summer.
Thankfully, I’ve started to feel MUCH better this past week. I actually rallied enough to make a little bit of a summer schedule.
In our family, we THRIVE on routine. We all need it. It’s crazy enough as it is with Theo’s schedule, and every single one of my kids needs the routine to function. Plus, it’s really good practice for if/when we decide to homeschool starting with Tera in Kindergarten next fall.
Heavenly is the one who needs the routine the most. She needs to know what is for dinner next week and where we are going to go, exactly when we are going to leave and how long we are going to be there. Sometimes it causes so much frustration for me because I don’t know the answers to those questions and I’ve already been asked no less than 9 billion questions in one day. So I’ve found that just planning everything out, writing everything down and sticking to it is what gives our family the best functioning ability.
Please don’t hate on my creativity, I’m not strong in that area. All these pictures look blurry because of the shadow on the glass, so I apologize. But planning and scheduling? Now, that I can handle.
First up, a weekly routine. While this looks very structured, it’s actually quite flexible.
I just took an old picture frame that wasn’t being used and drew on the glass with dry erase markers.
I included our daily schedule. I really hope to stick to this, but we shall see how that goes. Each day I chose an “activity”. Don’t be impressed, I’m actually keeping it really simple. Mondays are Craft Day, Tuesdays are Library Day, Wednesdays are Field Trip Days, Thursdays are Playdate Day, Friday is Baking Day, Saturday is Friend Day, and Sunday is Church. Field Trip Days are the day trips that we will take to various locations in the area (also don’t be too impressed- Theo is off on Wednesdays). I also picked a theme to work with each week, just because that makes it easier to pick crafts haha.
We also looked up all our state recognized local parks, and made a list of each one! We would like to hit up each one in Greene and Montgomery County- we LOVE going and exploring new trails, and we have a lot of them around here! I also collected a list of all the local splash pads/pools, and we plan to hit each one up this summer, too! Maybe if I’m really organized, I will have an updated recap on all of those with star reviews!
Daily Schedule:
8:00- Breakfast, Dressed
8:00-9:00- Go for a Walk!
9:00-9:30- Chores, Cleaning Up
9:30-10:30- Devotions & Daily Activity
10:30-11:30- Free Play
11:30- Lunch
12:00-2:00- Naptime/Quiet Time
2:00-5:30- Outside/Park or Splash Pad
5:30-6:30- Dinner Prep/Free Play
6:30- Dinner
7:00-8:00- Clean Up/Read Books/Wind Down/Bedtime Routine
8:00- Bedtime for Littles
9:30- Bedtime for Heavenly
Summer Weekly Craft Themes:
- Colors
- Bugs and Butterflies
- Transportation/Travel
- Ocean
- Stars and Stripes
- Community Helpers
- Explorers (7 continents/ecosystems)
- Weather
- Farm Animals
- World Cup/Sports
Field Trip Ideas (Ohio Local)
- Kettering Rec Center/Water Park
- Zoo
- Boonshoft Museum
- Air Force Museum
- Cox Arboretum
- Learning Tree Farm
- Hocking Hills
- The Wilds
- A Senior Center/Nursing Home
- Columbus- State Capitol Tour
- Cemetery- History and Respect for the Fallen
- Animal Shelter
- Kayaking
- Cave Tour
- Climb to the Highest Point in Ohio
Summer bucket list:
- Go Hiking
- Make Popsicles
- Have a Water Balloon Fight
- Heavenly Cooks Dinner 1x a week
- Camping/Backpacking
- Dayton Dragons Game
- Run a 5k
- 1 week or weekend without technology
- Have a game day party
- Go to a Drive-In movie
- Go to a Street Fair
- Watch Fireworks
- Have a Movie Day
- Have a Photoshoot
- Complete a Reading Challenge
- Paint Rocks
- Go to a Farmer’s Market
- Camp Inside
- Star Gaze
- Go to Ceaser’s Creek for a “beach day”
- Have a fire and roast s’mores
- Attend VBS
- Visit Memaw and Pepaw in PA
- Take a family vacation
- Go to the Fair
What is on your summer bucket list?