Summer break is almost over and school is almost in. It’s the home stretch and you have taken your children to every museum, every park, every single fun thing that they had on their list of summer to do’s. So now what. How do you get thru these last few weeks with your sanity intact. Because lets face it if your kids are anything like mine MOM I’m bored or MOM what are we doing to do have become the standard good morning greeting. Well I am here to help. Here’s my get through those last few weeks survival guide.
Break out the Crafts
By the time the end of the summer rolls around everyone is tired. Understand the kids are just as stir crazy tired as you are. Try some activities at home that they can do on their own. This is usually the point I break out the craft boxes and let the kids get creative. This week alone there has been paper mache and painting. My floor may be a rainbow of paint and sparkles but hey that’s why I buy the washable kind.
Embrace Electronics
I am usually the mom saying put that tablet away or trying to keep them occupied without electronics. But by the time we are in the last few weeks of summer break its time to let the tablet do the work I downloaded some games that are fun but educational and let them have 1 hour per day. Abc Mouse and Minecraft have become my friend.
Day Fun or One Last Hurrahh
Towards the end of summer I like to get in all the last minute fun. We may visit a splash pad or hit up the zoo. Nothing expensive or huge just something cheap and easy.
On the other hand I like to throw a back to school bash. Nothing fancy. Just my boys and one or two of the friends. Last year we rented a water slide and had a nacho bar. Just a quick, inexpensive last hurrah before summer break is over.
Power Prep
Studies have shown that children lose knowledge over the summer. The last few days of summer are a perfect opportunity to recap what they learned the previous year. I like to buy workbooks at the store and have them do a few pages every day. First I find what topic they struggled with the most and that will be what we focus on. This helps them to retain the knowledge so they are ready to go when the school year starts up again.
When its the last few weeks everyone is rushing to get school supplies. One thing that has always helped me is buying at sales. I always buy more than I need the year before so then Im just picking up a few things here or there. I also shop the clothing sales through the year so by the time its school clothes shopping unless they have a huge growth spurt we are usually prepared. This helps keep the chaos down and the pressure off. So while everyone else is running to stores trying to get this and that you can usually find my family and I hanging by the pool just relaxing.
Another part of prepping is getting them back into their routine. I start enforcing bedtime the last 2 weeks before school starts again and I start getting everyone up and moving at 8am. This helps get their body into the school year routine.
And Finally The Countdown
When all else fails just countdown the days until school starts and let them be. A few days to decompress and prepare mentally will be fine. Remember you entertained them all summer. Let the last few days just be relaxing. Enjoy being with your kids at home and just relax so everyone is ready to go when the first day of school hits.
