Summer is HERE!!!
Or a week away for some of you.
The kids are officially bouncing off the walls or bored and you’re counting the days until school starts up.
I know we’ve talked for the last couple of weeks about objectives and goals for summer planning. Now that summer is here, we need practical steps not introspective questions. First thing we need to do is decide what type of Mom you are? Are you the mom who’s scheduled the whole day in thirty-minute increments or spontaneously packing up a lunch for a trip to the zoo thirty minute before it opens, or some where in between?
I’ve been all three at some point in my mommy journey.
For the Spontaneous Mom
For you the plan is there is no plan until you decided on a whim hey let’s make a plan.
Tools that might help to be intentional in these precious summers is to make a bucket list. I know I’m not reinventing the wheel here, but brainstorming activities that lean toward your parenting goal (18 Summers Blog Post) allow you to have an idea of where to go when you get that spontaneous itch.
Let your kids be involved in making the list too. You’d be surprise what they will come up with that makes for a precious memory.
Once you’ve made your list do the hard work of finding out ticket prices and opening times, so when the urge to go and do hits you aren’t caught up in the minutia of details that your joyful spontaneity is flushed away.
For the Super Planner
I tend to lean this way the most. I am a self-professed control freak and plan make me feel in control. But I have found that sometimes my ‘Perfect’ plan doesn’t leave much room for my kids to be themselves, which leads to none of us having much fun. We found a system for there to be structure and creativity, we call it the Brother Box or the Fun Box.
The Brother Box is an upcycled Kleenex box with strips of paper inside with activity ideas on them. Each of us pick one from the box then spend about fifteen minutes on each activity before moving on to the next. Sometimes I join in and sometimes this allows me to get a few things done around the house.
Activities range from Cloud Watching, Hide and Seek, Balloon Tennis, Face Paint, Side Walk Chalk, and several papers with some of the kid’s favorite imaginary play.
The great thing about this system it that you can always of adding new ideas based on your kiddos interests and promotes structure and independent play.
For the Mom who teeters between a plan and spontaneity
I find when I can be this mom provides a summer sweet spot. If I allow the planner in me to have themes, whether that is on a weekly basis like, farm week or ocean week. Or to make a daily theme, like Make it Monday, Thinking Tuesday, and Wet Wednesday, etc.
When I have something to focus on, I at least have a launch pad to allow the spontaneous side and my planner to coexist within our summer.
Pop over to my Teachable Summer Pinterest Board for more ideas
Download my FREE Summer Survival Guide PDF HERE for other tips and tricks.
Next week we'll talk about Screen Time...... Join the email list to get access to the encouragement and help build a relationship with your kids and with God.
Feel Free to share the link with other moms that might have the deer in the headlights look at the mention of summer.