Finding Our Summer Rhythm

After a long, rainy spring, we finally have a week of gorgeous hot weather. I’m relishing wearing my flip flops every day, and I've switched my mommy uniform from jeans and a t-shirt . . . to shorts and a t-shirt.

School Is Out

Best of all, school is out for summer! I know that some of you are dreading and fearing this gaping hole between school years. I've been there. I have to admit, though, that this year I'm pretty excited about it!

Gone are the rushed school mornings of “hurry up – where are your shoes – brush your hair – don’t forget your backpack.” It’s time for unstructured, unscheduled play.

What Makes Your Summer Perfect?

I do wish I had for you one of those neat and tidy blog posts about how to manage your kids this summer.  I would share the perfect schedule, complete with lovely chore charts, and amazing activity lists. …If I had them.

The truth is, I’m still figuring it out.

Last year, I worked really hard on creating a daily and weekly schedule, and made a giant bucket list of all the wonderful activities we could do.

It lasted about a week. Then we stopped looking at the schedule and just started enjoying our summer.

This shouldn’t have surprised me. 

Schedule vs. Routine

You know how, with babies, some people are all about schedules? Not me. I was always more of a rhythm and routine person. I prefer the flexibility of going with the flow, and rigid schedules stress me out (I know, you may be the opposite!).

My kids thrive with lots of free time. Yes, they get bored, but that’s part of the point. They’ve created some of the most amazing projects after whining out the dreaded “there’s nothing to do.”

So this next week we'll be finding our summertime groove again. The only criteria are lots of outside play, reading time, and enough free time to get bored and creative. 

Just the Basics

Of course, we'll complete daily chores. We'll write a few play dates and field trips on the calendar. Otherwise, we'll plan week by week, day by day, even hour by hour, leaving room for lots of spontaneous fun.

I'm looking forward to finding our own joyful rhythm, filled with unbridled play and, as always, books and giggles.

Happy Summer, friends!