How to plan for a great summer with kids

I hope you are enjoying each day of the glorious season of Spring-flowers! sunshine! warmer weather! At the same time, I know the end of the school year for moms brings so many end of the year activities. There are concerts, sports games and tournaments, and award ceremonies. It's fun...and crazy at times. Keeping up with fitting it all on the calendar can feel like you need a degree in something other than what you actually got your degree in!
But when the craziness of May dies down, it's great to have a somewhat intentional plan going into the summer.

Here are four tips for transitioning from school to summer:

• Plan some downtime for everyone to rest. Even if it is just a day, it is important to have some unscheduled time to allow for you and your kids to decompress, to rest, to play.
• Celebrate as a family. Take time to go out for ice cream or whatever your family considers special, to celebrate the end of the year. Each family member can share a highlight or a thing they are thankful that happened this school year. 
  
• Talk about your summer plans as a family.  Get input from your kids about some activities they want to do. Even though many of your weeks may be scheduled with structured summer plans like VBS or camps, be sure to listen to the simple things that make summer fun in the unstructured times. You may be surprised at the things they voice. If they can't think of anything, get them started with these ideas or others you think everyone would enjoy: running through the sprinkler, playing a family soccer game, going on a picnic to a local or state park, going to the pool, having friends over, staying up to look at the stars some night, etc. Make a point to schedule some of their ideas on the family calendar. These are the things that build family memories. Do them more than once, and they become traditions.
  

Our family enjoyed lots of fun activities in the summers that became traditions. We always went out for ice cream to celebrate the end of the soccer season. We also always went to Lindy Freeze, a little roadside stand next to a playground 20 minutes away from our house, to celebrate the end of the academic year. We always went to the County Fair in July, and often to the Dunes to Lake Michigan. 

• Establish your nonnegotiable structures. These don't have to be over the top, but talk about whatever it is you expect your kids to do to make the days run more smoothly. Post their chores in a place that kids can see and know what is expected of them every day. Are you doing school in the summer?  Expecting them to practice an instrument? Post a visual and explain your expectations. 
  
  

I decided that "nontraditional learning" in the summer worked better than trying to do academic curriculum, (workbooks🙁) so after a few failed attempts I didn't really pursue that.  But in the summers our kids did learn to swim, learn a bunch of worthwhile lifeskills in 4H, and experience all the rich learning that comes from church programs and camp. We didn't do any of this perfectly. Great summers with kids DO take planning but aren't HARD to put into place.

To extend your kids' learning time with art activities to do at home, be sure to check out the Drawing for Kids and Art Club Online classes for easy to do art that will keep them learning, listening, reading, and growing this summer!

I hope your family's transition to summer is filled with both intentional and spontaneous fun that brings you delight and makes wonderful memories!