Family Routines for the Summer

Creating a rhythm and routine around your summer with your family is a great way to make sure that your summer off was intentional and purposeful. There is nothing worse than getting to back to school season and thinking, “Where did the time go? Did I do enough?” Today, I wanted to share some routines that I implement during the summer to make sure that it is always the best summer ever! Hopefully you can pick up one or two rhythms that would be useful for your family.

“The Get it Done Day”

Choose one day a week where you get all the house stuff done. For me, it is Monday. On Monday, I grocery shop, do laundry, meal prep, etc. This way I don’t have to worry about that any other day, so I can focus on fun and family. 

“FAMILY ACTIVITY DAY”

Once a week we plan a family activity day. This just means we are doing anything outside of our house as a family. Sometimes it is the beach, the local park, or the coffee shop. Then, sometimes it is bigger like an amusement park, a mini vacation, etc.

We don’t tell our kids until the morning of which day it will be. We start the morning with some loud shouting of “FAMILY ACTIVITY DAY!”. It really pumps them up and gives us a fun memory. Plus, it makes sure that I intentionally spend one day a week with my people. 

You Choose, I Choose

If you are anything like me, there are a lot of “to-dos” that you always plan to do all summer, but you don’t want your summer to feel like an endless to-do list.

If you have children, playing “you choose, I choose” is a great way to not only get things done but also have fun. I let the kids choose one activity for a period of time, let’s say an hour. Then, I choose one for the same amount of time and we go back and forth all day. Their activities usually include play and mine organizing! 😉 

Daily Exercise 

Summer is an EXCELLENT time to get into a daily routine with exercise. Choose what you love to do most and what time of day you want to do it. Then, intentionally do it each day. In the summer, my routine usually looks like this 

• 1 Day of Walking with a Friend
• 1 Day of Walking with my Family
• 2 Days of Outdoor Running
• 3 Days of Beachbody on Demand or Lifting
  •  (Head here to check out my coach if you are interested in Beachbody)

Read-A-Thon

Have each person write their name in fun letters on a piece of paper and hang them up somewhere in your house. Then every day, sit together as a family and read for a chosen amount of time. 

Each time someone reads a book, they add it to their paper on the wall. Then, you could get ice cream or go out to dinner every time someone hits a certain amount of books.

The Morning Chat

Long extended breakfasts are the BEST part of having summers off. We do breakfast together every day with a morning chat. During morning chats, we talk about what we dreamed of the night before, what we are grateful for, and what we are doing throughout the day.

School Stuff?

Womp, womp. I know as a teacher you have a long list of school stuff that you want to get done. The job doesn’t stop in the summer.

My suggestions are to pick one month that you will do NO school work. Then, during the other times pick a day or a few hours each week where you will go into school. You can read more about tips for getting prepared for summer so you aren’t working all summer long here!

I hope some of these simple activities and rhythms will find their way into your family’s summer this year!