How to Slow Down and Savor Summer Break with Your Kids

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Inside: Summer Break with your kids goes too fast. Here’s how to make the most of it.

Eighteen special summers. That’s approximately what we get before our kids venture out on their own into internships, college courses, and careers. I had this thought a few years ago and it stopped me in my tracks.

When my daughter turned eight, I realized with a bit of panic, that I had maybe ten summer breaks with her before she went out on her own, into adulthood. That’s when I knew I needed to rethink summer. If you’re looking for a way to slow down and savor summer break with your kids, read on!

This summer, I’m going to be more intentional about how we spend our time. I have a plan to slow down this summer – I’m going to share it here with you.

Making the Most of Summer Break With Your Kids

If summer is anything like last year, it will fly by. I’m not okay with that. I want to make the most of it.

Every. Single. Day.

Here’s the thing. While I want to have as many fun experiences with my daughter as possible, I also want a relaxed, easy pace.

I want to avoid cramming too much into our summer days. We need a good balance of “doing” and then “just being.” I guess you could call it “relaxed structure.”

Last summer, we were SO unstructured. Probably too much, when I think back about it. But it was my first summer to stay home with her, and I was excited at the lack of schedule and commitment.

No schedules, appointments, or commitments. It was awesome, for a while. But after several weeks, I felt a little lost. Like we were aimless. It didn’t take too long for boredom to set in, either.

From that, I learned that while downtime is good, we do better with some structure. Without some sort of a plan, I directionless, and that triggers my anxiety.

So this year I’ll be more organized and intentional. I have 12 weeks with my girl and I’m going to make the most of it and cherish every day.

If you’re looking to create a nice balance between the two, I’ve come up with a plan to be intentional with your summer schedule.

Make Your Summer Break Bucket List

What do you want to do this summer? What are your priorities? Are there new places to visit? Or activities to try?

Work with the kids to put some Summer Bucket List ideas together. Put a date next to each item and then schedule it on the calendar.

Summer Break Bucket List Ideas

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a hard time coming up with new ideas. If you’re working on a Summer Bucket List, here’s some ideas to get your creative juices going.

Schedule Your Summer Break Activities

Use the Summer Break Monthly Calendar to plug in dates for your activities and events so you have a month at a glance. Be sure and log any planned vacations or summer camps.

Plan Out Your Time Each Week

Once you’ve plugged in events and particular dates, you can schedule out your time each week with the Summer Break Weekly Schedule.

For example, pool time is a big deal for us. We love love love it. We’ll schedule that in a few times a week (at least.) We will probably take one day a week to get out and try something new, maybe one of the local museums or a park we haven’t been to.

I’ll also be watching Groupon for local deals and discounts. Once a week we will have Mommy/Daughter lunch dates.

And one day we’ll designate as Lazy Day, lounging around, reading and/or watching movies. We will also a bit of math and reading scheduled for each week. (I guess I’m that mom.)

Each week set an overall plan on how you want to allocate time. Definitely schedule some downtime, too.

Journal About Your Summer Break Fun

Have the kiddos journal in the Summer Break Journal sheets each week and write about their experiences. Print some extras so you can journal, too.

Compile those journal pages into a scrapbook with photos from your amazing summer break!