Create a schedule
Children may have difficulty adapting to schedule changes, so it’s helpful to create a summer schedule. Visual schedules can help keep children informed of new routines and reduce anxiety. A schedule for children can help provide structure, keep them engaged, and ensure a balance between learning, fun, and relaxation. Here’s a sample schedule that you can adapt based on your children’s ages, interests, and needs. You can also create a visual schedule for children who benefit from a picture schedule.
Weekly Summer Schedule for Children
Monday to Friday
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Breakfast and Morning Routine
– Get dressed, brush teeth, and have breakfast.
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM: Outdoor Play/Exercise
– Activities: Biking, walking, playing in the yard, or a local park.
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Educational Activity
– Examples: Reading, math games, educational apps, worksheets.
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Creative Time
– Activities: Arts and crafts, drawing, painting, DIY projects.
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Lunch and Free Play
– Prepare and eat lunch together, then allow for unstructured playtime.
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Quiet Time
– Options: Reading, puzzles, listening to audiobooks, napping.
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM: STEM Activity
– Ideas: Science experiments, building with LEGO, coding games, educational videos.
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Snack and Outdoor Play
– Have a healthy snack and play outside (e.g., playing catch, garden exploration).
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Family Activity
– Examples: Board games, cooking/baking together, family art projects.
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Free Play
– Unstructured time to play with toys, engage in hobbies, or socialize with siblings.
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Dinner
– Prepare and enjoy dinner together as a family.
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Evening Wind Down
– Activities: Family reading time, storytelling, gentle yoga, or a calm movie.
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Bedtime Routine
– Prepare for bed: Bath, brush teeth, pajamas, bedtime story.
Feel free to adjust this schedule to better fit your family’s needs and preferences. This structure ensures a balance of educational activities, physical exercise, creative projects, and family time, providing a well-rounded and engaging summer experience for your children.
Communicate
Use developmentally appropriate terms and visuals to talk about the upcoming change. Let your child know that things might change, but that change is okay. Communicate any changes to plans as soon as possible.
Include routine tasks
Incorporate chores and routine tasks into the daily schedule, such as a specific time for reading. If your children are new to chores, check out this previous blog we did on some beginning chores: https://blog.loveandcompanytherapies.com/2023/09/14/setting-children-up-for-success-with-life-skills-tasks/
Pick a skill to work on
Summer is a good time to tackle a skill you might not have had time for before. It is also a great time to try community outings! My favorite skill to work on with my boys is how to cook and bake new things. I wrote a blog on that too! https://blog.loveandcompanytherapies.com/2023/09/20/cooking-so-many-skills-in-one-activity/
Consider outdoor activities
Some children enjoy water play, which can be set up outdoors without a pool. You can also try other outdoor sensory activities, such as drawing with chalk, mixing water with sand, or collecting and painting rocks. 5 and Below always has some pretty cool rock painting kits and other inexpensive summer activities.
Consider summer school or camp
If your child is eligible, extended school year might really help when it is available, or look for a camp program that fits your child’s strengths.
Go easy on yourself
It takes time to adjust and create a new normal. Life will sometimes not go as planned, despite our best efforts. It is ok. You are amazing. Just breathe and try again tomorrow. If you need to turn on a Disney movie for the kids and break into your secret stash of snacks for a break, know I do this too. I recommend Kung Fu Panda. Thank you Jack Black for keeping my children entertained while I eat some candy under my desk or write this blog.
More about community outings:
https://blog.loveandcompanytherapies.com/2024/03/02/community-outings/
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Love & Co. Therapeutic Interventions
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