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As mentioned in a previous article, one of the things I do to keep the kids from driving me crazy in the summer is having a summer schedule for our family. For those who want to set up something similar for your family, here's a sample schedule for you to tweak according to your family's needs.
Monday: Catch-up and clean-up day. Since we typically spend the weekends doing family things, the house ends up messy by Monday. Plus, with work, I end up with catch-up things from the weekend. So we stay home and get things done so we can enjoy our week.
Tuesday: Writing Day. I belong to a group called Words for the Journey Christian Writers Guild that meets Tuesdays. While they do take part of the summer off, I keep Tuesdays set aside so I stay in the rhythm.
Wednesday: Library Day. Jefferson Public Library (as well as other libraries in the metro area) has a great summer reading program. Not only are there great freebies offered, but when you go to the library, you can get new books and movies for the kids. Letting them explore new books and movies is a great way to keep them occupied while you're working.
Thursday: Friend Day. My best friend, who works outside the home, has Thursdays off. She and I have a longstanding tradition of setting aside one Thursday a month to spend together. I've passed this tradition on for the summer, and the kids know that Thursdays (as long as it's not the one with my friend) are days that they can set up play dates. Kids hate being told no. And this is one day a week they know the answer will be yes.
Friday: Field Trip Day. Denver is a great place to raise kids in terms of all the activities we have available. This is their reward for doing what's necessary for me to get my work done. I let them help choose where to go (park, pool, zoo, other attraction within financial reason), and we spend the week working toward, and looking forward to, this goal.
Saturday and Sunday: Family time. This is flexible time, since it's dad's only time not working outside the home.
The great thing about this schedule is it helps the kids know what's happening from day to day. It also gives them a degree of ownership of their time. If it's Tuesday, and they want to have a playdate, they know the answer will probably be no, but we can make it work for Thursday. That's not to say we don't allow for some flexibility. Maybe our church is having a swim day on a Wednesday. We'll swap the usual Library Day with a Field Trip or Friend Day. We try to keep the schedule as consistent as possible so we get in all the activities and the kids have a sense of continuity. The activities are intentionally planned around work time so I can get work done, yet the kids feel like they are getting out of the house and doing something.
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