How 2 Make a "Schedule" for Your 2 Kids in Order for Summertime Not 2 Be HELLISH

Summer bucket list. It might be fun to get two bulletin boards and fun post cards that you are the girls can decorate and write different activities on the cards. One board will have bigger activities the other will have smaller activities. Then have the regular schedule like people are saying with the regular, wake up, do this, do that, okay outside activity.... but maybe each day you pick out something from one bulletin board (think a new puzzle, play a new game, make up a new game, dress up, build a fort, water balloon fight) and then on the day you dont pick from that board you pick from the big activity board (aquarium, zoo, picnic in the park, etc).

Maybe by making the cards with the girls you will also get ideas that they think are fun that you might not have thought of and they will also be more apt at behaving when you go out for bigger activities because they picked that and they feel like doing that activity that day. opposed to 'hey girls get dressed, we're going (here)' 'noooooo I DONT WANT TO GO THEEERREEE"

Good luck!

Our schedule from last summer:
8-9 am free time
9-10 am eat breakfast, clean up, get ready for pool
10-12ish swim
12ish-1 post-swim clean up and eat lunch
1-2 rest time
2-4 "summer school" when we did easy science experiments, read, daily journal, and learned about a different topic each week
4-5 free time and clean up
5 dinner and clean up
6-7 free time
7-8 get ready for bed
8 bedtime (or watch a movie)

We usually saw friends at the pool, or during the evening free time periods. About once a week we took an all day outing (obviously schedule out the window!). If there were friends who couldn't play in the evening, we'd skip "summer school" occassionally for playdates. Flexible schedule, but a framework so when "nothing" was happening then we didn't drive each other crazy. Enjoy!

To set your schedule, just start with a blank piece of paper and start:

1. Wake up at _____ a.m.
2. Breakfast from _____ to _____
3. Get dressed - straighten room
3. Chores
4. A bit of unscheduled time
5. Lunch
6. Go to park for picnic or go to library; or go to pool or whereever
7. Return home - unpack and put things away
8. Relax time - maybe a movie or a video
9. Help mom fix dinner and set table

Something along those lines. Then post the schedule so everyone can refer to it. You will find that when there is a schedule in place, things move along at a lot calmer pace!

Good luck and enjoy your summer!

take a trip to the library and see if they have the summer passport thing going on. where the girls wll get prizes for the books they read. also our park districts have a lot of fun free stuff going on so check there also.

Make a calendar just for summer activities--you can print one off the Internet. Then start filling it in--this is what I'm doing! Our local theater does $1 movies on Wednesdays, our library has activities on Thursdays, and I signed my older two up for swim lessons in June. You can also schedule your pool time. Don't forget the academic stuff. Even if you just block out 30 minutes a day, it's important to keep up with math facts, reading, etc. Barnes & Noble has some great workbooks you can use over the summer. You can also do crafts, day trips, play groups, etc.

Maybe you can actually have and post a schedule. I would opt for something that looks as follows-

breakfast
indoor chores
outdoor activity
lunch
indoor chores
indoor activity
outdoor activity
dinner
bedtime routine.

The thought is that you get out of the sun during the peak sun exposure hours. If you want control over the indoor activity or chores/ crafts, choose them yourself. If you want the kids to have more input, have a jar with cards that they can draw from for indoor and outdoor activities/ chores/ crafts. do the drawings once a week. retain veto power.

good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

there are tons of places to visit

Nature areas
gymnastics places have cheap open gym
free story hours at the library
playdates with friends
pool
painting
arts and crafts
zoo
aquarium
beach
mountains

i wish i was home- i'd do a day trip almost every day and playdates

I lvoed having a filled day when I was home with Emmy

On weekends one summer we packed lunch and went hiking at various places and tried to find cool spots to each lunch- behind a waterfall, at the lake with out feet in the water
sitting in a stream, top of a cliff
I'm going to do that again this year=)

Check your public library for their summer reading program. Ours does one each summer and does a big kick off and the kids that participate get something at the end of the program. That way you could have one day be a library day each week and each day schedule a rest time and the girls can read at that time.

Why don't you schedule them for some actual activities away from the house (swim class, day camp, gymnastics, summer dance program?)

Also pick 1 day a week to be library day, 1 day a week is "ice cream day" (try all the different spots around town) 2 days a week swim days, 1 day a week is the big activity day (zoo, aquarium, movie)

I actually don't schedule my summer other than the already scheduled events (but I have a lot of those- several weeks of pre-school camp, ballet camp, swim lessons, a vacation thrown in there). However I can see the benefit to doing so for kids who are used to a rigorous school schedule (mine are still young).

That's great you are trying to think of fun stuff for them. Is there a gymnastics gym in your area? They may have like a open gym time each week durning the daytime that you could take them and let them play inside and have some fun and get exercise.

YOU need to also, in addition to what everyone has suggested here is:
TALK to your kids. Sit them down and tell them, what to expect, what they will need to do, what you need to do, and that Mommy is not a money machine who can take them places every single minute of the day or outings at venues. And that you are not a constant entertainment machine.
Kids... NEED to be talked to, openly, about what to expect.
So that, you are all, hopefully, on the same page.
Your girls are old enough, for you to sit them down and talk to them about "summer."
AND they should be doing chores, daily. And responsibilities.
And, also keep up with academics.
Have them read, and do workbooks etc.
I do that too.

That is what I do with my kids.
They understand.
My kids are 5 and 9.
I am a SAHM.

I am going to be a SAHM late this summer.....My plan of action is to hit up my girlfriend for a day at her pool with the kids. YMCA activity list and library and play dates with other moms. Best wishes.

It sounds like you would be ok with the list of suggestions for what to take them out to do, but maybe you need more help with the more mundane regular chore stuff.

Do you have any expectations that the kids would clean up their breakfast dishes? do they have any household chores they need to do? what schooling do you want to do, a daily quiet time for silent reading, or some time to play some educational computer games.

this is a great graet question and one i need to think about myself, maybe i'll post a schedule once i having some quiet to think.

OH probably the biggest is to have together time and APART time!