Surviving Summer

My sweet big girl, June, at Jordan Covered Bridge last summer.

School is out for summer at our house and we are entering new territory. This is our first official “summer break” because this was the first year having our eldest in school full time.

After being out of the house from 8:00 a.m. – 2:15 p.m. being home 24/7 is quite the change for her — and us. The funny thing about raising your oldest kid is that it’s like your parenting test-run. You totally cut your chops on them – i.e., how to get them to sleep, potty training, discipline, routines, etc. By the time the second child comes, it’s all a little more familiar and the learning curve is less steep. When number three shows up, you barely bat an eyelash.

So, this being our first “summer break,” I have a feeling we will be learning a lot together. Here are the goals I’ve lined up for myself (and the rest of us!) to help usher in success.

1) Keep a routine. So important and so hard. In some ways I have a conflicting personality type. I’m organized but cluttery. I’m a type-A but easily distracted. I love lists and I love to create. You get the picture. I love the idea of a routine in theory, heck I even write out my daily schedule before bed each night, but the execution of it is something else. That being said, I know a routine serves my kids well. They do better when they know what to expect. And we accomplish more things during our day with a routine.

2) Work on reading. This is a big one for us this summer. My oldest is 5, she turns 6 in August, so she’s young for her grade and she still has a ways to go on her reading skills. She is one of those kiddos who isn’t super interested in being a student and I am trying to find ways to motivate her. I was the opposite as a kid, so it is hard for me to understand. I hope it is something she will grow out of. For now we use lots of praise and marshmallows to encourage her reading skills! ;) Library field trips help too.

3) Get out of the house/playdates. Leaving home with three people who still struggle to get their shoes on can be quite the daunting task. However, when it’s 85 and sunny out, it’s worth the hour of pre-packing and pre-pottying before we head out the door. Whether it’s the park, a run around the local high school track or a walk in to town to meet Dad, I find my kids are a lot more settled and play more contently when we’ve been out the house at least once for the day.

4) Protect and enforce ‘down time.’ This is of course the converse of #3. While being busy is great and even necessary, down time is equally important. It’s a time for us all to catch our breath and breathe a little bit. For my kids this equals drawing, playing Legos, looking at books or the all-time favorite of carting Barbies and their accessories all over the house. Anything that amounts to independent play is a winner in my book.

5) Have fun, set a summer bucket list. Because I’m a lover of lists, I like to quantify things on paper whenever I can. So far our list includes: swimming, picnicing (BYOW!), hiking, street fair, camping and the zoo. We are thinking about adding a ‘stay-cation’ day too. It finally clicked with me the other day why a stay-cation would be appealing. It’s the whole, lack of agenda, eat every meal + coffee out, act like tourists in your own city vibe. To that, I say YES!

Do you have kids at home this summer? What kind of adjustments are you making to get the most out of your time together?