Summer Daily Schedule

After months of reading Growing Kids God's Way, I should have been better prepared with a daily summer schedule ready before the kids even got of our school.... but leave it to me to wait until I was frustrated with how things were going (rather, NOT going!! ).


You will see no "errands" our "outings" in our schedule -- I don't tend to do those "outings" on a consistent schedule anyway -- so what works for us, is to fit those outings in during the "free times" of each day. If the kids happen to miss a bit of "chore time" I don't think they will be heart broken. What was most important to me was to have a PLAN for every minute we would be at home.

For those of you who think this might be a "nice idea" but you just couldn't manage to get it done... let me give you this word of encouragement... My kids have done this for 2 summers previously... and it wasn't all sunshine and roses the first time we started the schedule. But since the kids had been in school, they were used to a predictable routine... The little ones sometimes have a harder time working into a new routine. The best advice I've heard (and used successfully!) is to take a week at a time to introduce the schedule slowly... Start with the morning routine first... and stick to your guns mommies!! When that goes pretty well for 5-6 days... start adding the Afternoon schedule. Most families I know already have an evening routine, but this is a good chance to tweak that routine if you want to make any changes for the better in your evening home time.

You may notice pretty big amounts of "free time" each day. Thor especially does very well with outside free time. However, I do have to give encouragement to Anika when it comes to outside playtime. She is beginning to love garden work, so helping her focus on things she enjoys to do makes it easier. When they start to get bored, they will get themselves into trouble -- so I try to be proactive and make more/less plans to "guide" the free time. Planning outings each week, at least 2-3 has helped too. When they really only have 2 afternoons a week at home, they appreciate our own yard and neighborhood more.

So here it is... our flexible routine for Summer Days...

7:30am: mom get up, dress, "mom time"
8:00 - kids up (no later than 8) - breakfast
Morning Chores: (total time is 30 min. or less for both)
Everyday: dress, brush teeth,make bed, clean in own room for 10 min.
Chores for Allowance: taking out trash, clean own bathrooms, vacuum, etc.
9:00/9:30: Morning Free Time
Thor - outside
Girls - 30 min. of TV time
10;00: Outside Play time
11:30: Lunch & help clean up
12:30: Quiet Time
Thor & Anika: in room, reading, quiet projects
Liv: in mom's bed - nap time or rest time
Mom: FREE time! :)
2:00 Afternoon Free Time
Thor: 30 min TV, computer or PSP time
Anika: Mom time (one on one time w/ me to do project or read together)
Liv: still napping (hopefully!!)
3:00 snack time if needed
3:15: Resume Afternoon Free time
4:30: Mom prep for supper
5:30: Supper - help clean up
6:00: evening chore time: (smaller chore jobs like doing supper dishes, doing laundry, etc.)
7:00 p.m. Family time: movie we ALL like; games; reading, etc.
8:00 Bath Time
8:15 Girls Bedtime
9:00 Thor's Bedtime
Mom FREE Time!