Our summer schedule

Since this is our first *official* summer vacation with the boys, I figured we’d better make good use of it while we can. You see, I’m not really a good ‘schedule’ type of person. Don’t get me wrong, I like having a schedule and knowing when to expect things, but I just have not been that good at keeping to one. I start to feel trapped, like I won’t be able to do something if it’s not ‘on the schedule’. Or that I’d just end up feeling disappointed in myself because I couldn’t keep to it perfectly. Crazy, I know, but that’s how my brain works. It was easier for me to just do stuff when we could and if I had a long to-do list for the day, things mostly sometimes sporadically got done and I still felt free from having to conform to a rigid plan. Of course, I ended up feeling depressed most of the time because I never had time during the day when I felt it was ‘okay’ to just sit and do nothing. I always always always would be thinking of the things that I had to get done and felt guilty when I had to spend time playing with my kids instead of getting to that pile of laundry or something equally minute.

How silly of me.

This summer, I knew that in dealing with my oldest, having a set schedule would make life IMMENSELY easier for all of us. Because he is the kind of kid that needs structure, routine, and craves being able to plan his day based on what’s next on the schedule. So, for his sake (or at least, that’s what I started out telling myself), I adopted a plan that would allow us to get things done around the house, but then also have ample free time for having fun.

And I tell you what, the first two days have been brilliant! :)

Now, I know it’s only been two days, and you’re thinking, “Of course it’s been brilliant, it’s two days worth of having a schedule, nothing hard could have come up yet to challenge it.” Or at least, that’s what I’m hearing inside my own head. But it’s been surprising to see how flexible our little routine has been so far. And it just seems to be working. In just these first couple of days, I’ve watched my kids participate in daily chores with excitement because they know that once they’re finished with their jobs, they’ll be able to have free time and do whatever they want.

And the funny thing is, I’m feeling the same way. I’ve made myself a list of daily chores that I complete right along with my kids, and once I’m done, I feel completely free and able to do whatever I want. Without guilt! It’s actually pretty cool and it’s helping me feel good about our days so far.

I got the idea for this specific type of schedule from Vanessa Christenson in this post. I knew, as soon as I read that, that it would work for us.

And two days in, we’re still going strong. ;)

I’ll have to make sure to update as the summer goes on. We’ve already made a few small changes to the schedule, to fit our needs better, and I’m sure we’ll do that more throughout the summer too. I’ll let you know!

Oh, and I also wanted to mention that we’re doing a little Family Summer Reading Program that I got from here. It’s been so fun to see E and W both get so excited about reading and earning their Bingo squares! Definitely check it out if you’d like to see more reading and less screen-watching in your house this summer!