Tuesday Talk: A Little Bit About Our Summer Schedule!

Hi friends!!! Happy Tuesday!!!

How was your weekend?? Is your week off to a good start?
We went to my parents' house for one last visit before we move and we had a great time!
Aaron gave my parents' fence a MUCH NEEDED makeover- he re-stablized a bunch of loose boards and repainted the whole fence. While he was doing that, the kids, my mom and I played outside, went to the park and took my dad's dog on lots of walks. It was a HOT, fun, chill weekend! We got home yesterday morning and sweet little James kept on telling me that he, "WANTS TO GO BACK TO BABA'S HOUSE!!" He especially loves my dad's dog and he had such a fun time exploring in my mom's fun backyard :)

So- we have officially started our first, FULL week of summer break! 
I would say my girls were kind of in funky moods last week...they had school for the first part of the week, then summer break started, then we went to my parents' house and now we are back home. They really are flexible little kids- but I can tell they need a routine set in place as well as some ideas for what to do when "there is NOTHING TO DO." (Insert major eye roll from me- HA!)

So- last week- I told you we have a "summer schedule" we follow- here it is!
I know it probably seems like our schedule is a BIT detailed...HA! 
It IS detailed- and that's because my girls THRIVE on that kind of routine. They LOVE knowing what they should do next and it really helps to have our day set up like this, because when there are moments of them flopping around on the ground and complaining they don't know what to do, I tell them to go look at their schedule. They really do well with it and honestly keep me on track throughout the day! HA!
The biggest thing we have to work on is understanding that some days we might not be RIGHT on schedule. But that's a good lesson in flexibility and they totally understand that sometimes our day might look a little different than what our schedule "says." 
My kids wake up SUPER early. Like- 5:00 am early. That's not cool. HA!
So- we have their wakeup time on their schedule and we have an alarm clock in their room. Since the girls are older now- they are actually using a regular old digital alarm clock that used to be mine. But before they could understand time- we got them this clock and it worked GREAT. I actually just got it out of their closet because I am going to set it up in James room at our new house. He wakes up ridiculously early too- and while he won't go back to bed- I want to teach him to stay in his room and play/read books, until his clock is "green."
You can find it HERE on Amazon! It's a little on the pricey side- but I definitely think it's worth it- especially if you have several kiddos that will be able to use it!

We are basically a technology free household. Obviously, Aaron and I have smartphones and each have a laptop- but the kids do not have iPads or access to a computer. We do let Charlotte use our computers when she has to do schoolwork that requires the internet- but that's it.
So- with that being said- we are all about being creative and encouraging the girls to independently play. One of their absolute FAVORITE things to do is draw/color/create- and while we do have big tubs of crayons and markers- their favorite thing to use is this art kit by Crayola. They love that their have their OWN markers, colored pencils and crayons and I love that it is kept nice and neat in a case! :)
You can find it HERE on Amazon! One of these cases is definitely more expensive than a box of marker or crayons- but I feel like the "investment" is worth it. Especially since this kit is portable and it would be perfect to travel with if you are going on vacation this summer! My girls like to bring their kits outside and color at their picnic table or they like to sit on the front porch and color. 
I also LOVE giving this art kit as a birthday gift!
Another one of our favorite activities- and one that the girls can do independently- is to play card games. We love the classics- UNO, Go Fish, and Crazy 8's. We have also recently started playing this super fun card game called SLAM with the girls.
You can find it HERE on Amazon for less than $7 and it is Prime eligible!!
I love this card game because I consider it a "learning game"- but it is totally fun and the kids have no idea they are actually working on their spelling/reading skills :)
Card games are perfect for when nobody "KNOWS WHAT TO DO!"
You can play them inside on a rainy day or play them outside on a blanket in the back yard!
We keep our playing cards accessible so the girls can reach them and get them out whenever they want!

Our other favorite things to do during the summer is play outside as much as possible. We go to the pool almost every day, go on nightly walks/bike rides, jump on the trampoline, play soccer in the back yard, go to the park, visit the library and go to the splash pad. We love to stay busy and being outside makes us the happiest!

I would love to know some of your "go-to" activities your family does during the summer!
Do you have a summer "routine" or do you just kind of fly by the seat of your pants? 
I would love any suggestions for fun games your kiddos love to play- I would like to get a few new games to have on hand for the girls to play at our new house while Aaron and I busy unpacking!

Hope you have the BEST day!

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Comments

  1. You are so good having a summer schedule! We had more of a schedule when the kiddos were younger, but know....no schedule for us!

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  3. Ooh, this is a great reminder for me to get a summer schedule going four my little ones. Your kids are older than mine, but I can tell someday we'd love that card game! Will have to check that out. 😊

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  4. As a teacher, I love a summer schedule. My boys (ages 7 and 9) get up early too. They eat, watch TV 7-8, play inside while I get ready, go somewhere in the AM, lunch at home, play with neighbors, down time, dinner, baseball. It works well for us.

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  5. I love a summer schedule! I didn't make one this year for my "big" kids, but they do have their chore list. They jumped right on it yesterday and got lots checked off. We'll see if there is as much enthusiasm in August! Thanks for the tip on Scrabble Slam. I might pick that up, along with a Monopoly card game I saw listed under it, for our summer vacation. Looks fun!

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  6. I love seeing what you do to fill you days, especially with such early risers.

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  7. Love this Justine!! Thanks for sharing!!

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  8. What a great idea! I thrive on a detailed schedule like that too so I bet they will love it!

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  9. You've got such a great routine down! I need to implement something like this to structure our days a bit as the kids are getting older. I have been wanting to find some way to display our schedule for Olive - like your big menu board so that project is also on my radar. I love your game ideas, too! Thanks for sharing :) Olive loves wooden puzzles, Connect Four, and we are doing letter games along with handwriting/tracing practice this summer. I found the cutest books/flashcard sets at Sams for that!

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