I pretty much wait for summer break with my babies all year 😂. I love the time together, the slower pace, the tons of fun, the popsicles. But I also know it can feel stressful at times. Last year we had an amazing summer, we made a bucket list of fun ideas and enjoyed checking them off. But there were some rub points. Our schools send homework for every day of summer (🙄) and we didn’t expect that or have a plan to get it done. So we adjusted this year and it’s been GREAT so far! So here’s my checklist to get your summer break off to the best possible start!! Let’s minimize mom stress and maximize summer memories!
Decluttering – creating space for a stress free summer break
A few things on this – the decluttering is something that I ignored last year, but messes were NONSTOP & created tension. We needed to pair down a little to have a free and fun summer and it has turned the playroom from the most abhorred room in the house to our favorite! I’ve even caught Robbie going in there to sit and relax!
Summer Bucket List
Also, the Summer Bucket List is not meant to be an added burden or to do – it’s meant to create intentionality. It’s easy to let the summer days drift by and enjoy the relaxed vibe and end up at the first day of school without ever building that pillow fort you promised you’d build together! Don’t let this be another to do – if it’s helpful as a guide for those lazy days, use it! But if it creates a feeling of more stress – by all means ignore this step! If you decide to create one – I made a form you can download and use!
Morning & Evening Routines
You might think I’m crazy here, but stay with me! I created morning and evening routine cards for each of my big kids and myself. Because I know I have a better chance of sticking to a handwritten list vs a beautifully typed one, I hand wrote ours! I made morning on one side, evening on the other, cut each out and laminated them (so it’s a double sided square for each of us). At the beginning of our summer break, I gave each of them (& myself) their own morning and evening routine card and a dry erase marker of their own to check each item off.
Some Small Adjustments…
We are a month into using them and so far they are GREAT! It gives the big kids a point of reference of what they need to be doing without having to ask me or me having to constantly ask, have you gotten dressed yet?! This does 2 things – frees me up to finish my own list, and has given them a wonderful sense of autonomy and accomplishment! They love checking each item off and reporting to me how much they’ve done! Two adjustments I need to make: I need to get up at 5. ugh. Not a morning girl but this is so very necessary. The days when we are all together I want to be able to soak them in, which means I need to get up early to knock out my workout, my work, and some other items on the list.
I’m sharing our lists over on Instagram and will have them saved to a highlight there! Come say hi and check it out for some inspo for your own morning and evening routines! Also, I’ve created a form for you to use to get started creating yours!
What are you doing to savor summer? Drop a comment below and let me know! As always, I hope this has been helpful to you! It’s been a bit of a labor of love putting it together and refining our own process. You can subscribe below to get weekly updates on the blog and never miss a thing!
Love y’all!
