Summer is upon us! For those of us who spend the entire summer with our kids, those 14-hour days can feel never-ending! But fear not, I’ve got the ultimate SAHM (Stay-at-Home Mom) summer schedule that is a game-changer. It packs in loads of fun for the kids and sneaks in some downtime for us moms too! Having a well-thought-out plan in place can make all the difference.
In this post, I will share some tips and tricks for how to make the most of your summer with your kids. I will even share the exact summer schedule I have curated. I make time to fit in everything that’s important to me, while spending plenty of time with my kids as well.
Let me set the scene for you. My family and I live in West Texas, which means some HOT summers. My husband, Jeremy and I have four kids: Ezra (11), Alizae (10), Hazley (5), and Brezlyn (4). Also, my husband does work out of town during the week, so it’s just me and the kids most days.
5 Tips to Make the Most of Your Summer Days:
Tip #1: Get out of the house EVERY DAY.
Have something planned to get the kids (and yourself!) out of the house. It can be as simple as taking a walk or bike ride around the neighborhood. It can be a little more elaborate, like visiting a children’s museum or a waterpark in a neighboring town.
Don’t overdo it and plan long, crazy excursions three or more days during the week. You and your kids will get burnt out quickly! On the other hand, if you have NOTHING planned, everyone will be bored and irritable. You definitely want to avoid that!
Tip #2: Fit YOUR goals into the schedule.
If your goal is to workout more, get a gym membership with childcare, like I plan to do.
If your goal is to learn a new skill, plan for 1-2 hours of quiet time in the afternoon so you can invest in yourself.
If your goal is to eat healthier, take the time to plan and cook healthy meals each day.
If your goal is to read 4 books this summer, factor in time each day for reading.
Whatever your goals are, make time for yourself EACH DAY.
Tip #3: Have your older children help with the younger ones.
I realize this may be an unpopular opinion. However, I have found it helps build stronger bonds between siblings and encourages the older siblings to focus less on themselves and more on others. It is ultimately a mama’s job to raise her kids, but older siblings can definitely help out. They may be a little resistant at first but keep working at it. They may even learn to love it!
I’ll give you a couple of examples of how you can implement this. I have my older daughter (age 10) help her younger sisters get ready. They enjoy trying out new hairstyles and picking out outfits together. We will sometimes have what I call a “buddy system,” when going places. If we go to the Splash Pad, for instance, my 10 and 11 years olds will match up with a younger sibling, “a buddy.” At this stage of life, they think it’s fun (we’ll see how much longer my 11-year-old will agree to this).
Obviously, this will look differently if you only have young children (or an only child), but it’s definitely helpful with larger families.
Tip #4: Have your meals planned out for ALL 3 meals.
Feeding 4 kids, 3 meals a day plus snacks is no easy feat. If I decided to “wing it” for each meal, my kids would be hungry and grumpy. Which is no good for any of us!!
Keep it simple! Breakfast could simply be cereal. Lunch could simply be sub sandwiches with grapes and carrot sticks. Know what you’re serving before it’s meal time and before everyone is already starving.
Take the 60 seconds to take meat out of the freezer in the morning so it’s ready by dinner. Take 30 seconds to look in your fridge in the morning to see what fruits & veggies you could serve for lunch. It takes such a minor amount of time to plan, but it really makes a huge difference in your days!
Tip #5: Plan and prepare the night before.
Spend 10 minutes the evening before, making a simple plan for the next day: what activities are you doing, what food are you eating, and what do you need to prep to have everything run more smoothly.
If you make a plan to go swimming the following day, you’ll want to make sure everyone has clean bathing suits and towels! You’ll want to know where the sunscreen is. If you want to make a picnic lunch, make sure the lunchboxes are clean and ready to pack the next day. The prep will take you no time at all, but I promise, it makes life so much smoother!
Now onto my tentative summer schedule with 4 kids (ages 4, 5, 10, and 11). I hope this will give you some ideas of how you can structure your summer schedule.
My SAHM Summer Schedule:
5:30-8:00AM Mommy Morning Routine
I went more in depth on my morning routine in a previous blog post, although it will change some during the summer months. Check out my blog post on creating a morning routine you love. I will still concentrate on the same four steps: moving my body, nourishing my soul (time with God), getting ready for the day, and nourishing my body.
By 8:00, my personal morning routine will finish, and my focus will be on the kids and their needs.
8:00-9:30AM Kid’s Morning Routine
Breakfast is served around 8:00. I’ll try to get all 4 kids at the table at the same time to eat together. My goal is to read a devotional as a family. I ordered Indescribable, by Louie Giglio, which includes 100 devotions about God and science. I am excited to start this with my kids this summer!
I plan to have a learning time with my two youngest (4 and 5 years old). They will each spend about 20 minutes with me going over ABCs or reading skills. My older daughter, Alizae, will help get the opposite daughter ready for the day and then we’ll flip flop.
9:30-12:00PM Morning Outing
Remember how I mentioned previously that getting out of the house is a MUST?? Here’s one of the times where we get out and enjoy time together. Does it have to be 2 1/2 hours, like my schedule shows? Absolutely not! Even if it’s an hour or so, definitely do it!
Have a list of options for this. Here are some outings/activities in our area that I came up with:
- Library (our library has many summer events, check out your local library!)
- Pool (we have two neighborhood pools, so we will switch it up)
- Park (there are probably numerous parks in a 10-mile radius, so you could make it a summer goal to visit each one)
- Playdate (visit a local place with a friend & her kids)
- Picnic (you can even plan a picnic lunch!)
12:00-2:00PM Lunch/Relax
We don’t usually go out to lunch during the week, so unless we are having a picnic, we plan to be home by 12 to make lunch.
I save all the dishes (breakfast & lunch) to do at this time. The kids can help clean up after lunch; even my four-year-old will help clear the table and wipe it down.
Then, I’ll turn on a YouTube kids workout or Cosmic Kids Yoga while I finish cleaning the kitchen. Wear them out, so maybe (fingers crossed), they’ll nap for you or at least be really quiet for a while.
By 1:00, kids will have one hour of electronic time while I spend 15 minutes reading a non-fiction book and then 45 minutes completing a cleaning task (ex. Monday-clean bathrooms, Tuesday-dusting & surfaces, etc.)
2:00-4:00PM Afternoon Outing/Activity
It gets SOOOOO hot in West Texas in the summer! Any outdoor activity not involving water is definitely out of the question during the hottest part of the day. So, unless we are in or near water, we will more than likely spend the afternoon doing activities at home in the AC!!
- Splash Pad (the one in our community is only open in the afternoons)
- Pool (if we didn’t go in the AM)
- Sprinkler on in the backyard
- Baking
- Science Experiments
- Kinetic sand or Playdoh
- Board games
- Free Play (the girls will play Barbies or American girl dolls for hours)
I will try to get some blog work done during this time too, if possible.
4:00-5:30PM Workout at the Gym
My gym has childcare, so I’m taking advantage of that! My goal is to get in a workout every single week day, while my kids are being entertained in the childcare room. This will also ensure that we get out of the house at least one more time during the day.
5:30-8:00PM Dinner and Family Time
6PM is my typical dinner time, but this summer I will aim to be more flexible. During this time, I will prep dinner, we will eat dinner, and then clean up the kitchen after dinner. After all the dinner festivities are complete, we will do a family evening activity. That can mean going to the neighborhood park, going on a walk, having the kids play outside, or watching a movie as a family.
8:00-9:00PM Evening Routine
By 8:00, it’s time for baths/showers, the 26th snack of the day, and reading to calm them down before a peaceful night’s sleep. If only the bedtime routine were that easy, but hopefully by this point the long summer day has worn them out and they’ll be asleep within minutes. We’ll see how that really plays out.
9:00-10:00PM Mommy Night Routine
This is the time for ME (and my husband, if he’s home). I have a PM hygiene routine I will complete (brush teeth & skincare) and then it’s time to work on the blog or read whatever my current fiction read is. I try to stay away from watching TV (a show will get me sucked in and then nothing else is accomplished while I binge watch.)
I’m sure I won’t even make it until 10pm most nights. Can any other moms out there relate??
Here’s a summer schedule that’s a great fit for my family (with my kids ranging from 4-11 years old). If you’re navigating through a different season of life, your routine might be streamlined and that’s perfectly fine – tailor it to suit your needs! The key is to have a structure that is feasible for your family, one that is peaceful and enjoyable.
I wish you an absolutely splendid summer! May your days be filled with the perfect blend of productivity and making memories with your family.
