With summer break happening parents everywhere are looking for ways to keep their kids entertained. Summer break for parents can mean the job of juggling work and parenthood with kids who are often found bored. If you truly want to curb boredom and have those kids out from under your feet during summer break, here are some ways you can work to set a schedule that will keep everyone happy.
Get a Poster Board
While you could set up a calendar, I think kids do better with a large poster board placed in a family area for them to visual their summer schedule quickly. Purchase a large piece of poster board, grab the pencils and sit down with your kids to create a summer schedule. The schedule should include daily schedule of games, crafts, tv time and other small things as well as include going out days. Set aside certain days that you will have outings and allow your children to each chose one of two things they want to do. Once you have the list of places to visit and things your children can do daily you can use that to create you summer schedule.You’ll want to write the schedule with time on the left and activity on the right. Be sure to do this in pencil so you can erase mistakes and finalize the post board summer schedule by tracing the pencil with a sharpie marker.
Have a Family Meeting
It’s best to have your kids involved in the planning stages for a summer schedule. When the kids have a part in the planning, they’ll feel more confident about running with the schedule once summer arrives. Hosting a family meeting with your kids to make a summer schedule plan will also give them a little responsibility in knowing that their summer schedule was set by them. You will need to set boundaries on what’s acceptable times and activity ideas of course, otherwise, take the kids ideas to heart.
Make a Family Day
If you really want to make sure that you have a summer schedule to keep the kids entertained, you should set aside some time to spend with your kids each day. This is especially important for the work at home parent. You will need a break from work and the kids will want to know that you’re doing your best to make them a priority while they’re off from school. Set aside at least two hours per week, per day if you can, where you dedicate that time doing something with your kids.
Trade off Kids
Lastly, you can set up a summer schedule that involves working with your neighbors or close friends. Consider having one day a week where you all trade off kids. Take turns watching your friends or neighbors kids and they can do the same for you. This gives every parent on the block a good day off from parenthood, which is much needed during the summer break season. Talk to your friends and neighbors about this idea, make it happen.
There are many ways to set up a summer schedule to keep kids entertained. The above options should get you started in the right direction. Be certain to include activities that the kids enjoy doing as well as a time for responsibilities such as completing chores. When you opt to have a summer schedule up on a poster board for all kids to see, you’ll rest easier knowing that the kids will remain entertained all summer long.
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