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Can you believe that we are on the countdown till the end of school… well we are . Today marked the last full day of school . Today is the day my children brought home a boat load of supplies that they didn’t really use but they did use from school. Including old school books and papers that they can do for the summer. Fun!!! Said no one ever.
Since its the end of summer we have to think about what we are planning for our children to do during this break . I am that one parent that would love it if my children stayed sleep till 9 or 10 and then we would meander around going to the pool and then a nap , watching a few movies and fasting . You know the things that you think will happen when you have kids but never ever happen . The truth is my children are sleep by nine and they are ready to wake up at 7:30. It does not help that I am a night owl and a sleepy head so I must plan ahead . Here are some of the things that I have selected this year for my children that you may want to plan to implement in your family.
- Buy Summer clothes: I know that we buy clothes for our kids for the summer but when I say buy summer clothes I mean like uniforms that your kids will wear daily. It is nothing like waking up in the morning and wondering what they will put on everyday . I typically buy 4 pair of shorts and 4 solid shirts and two dressy casual outfits this is two dresses for the girls and a pair of khaki shorts and a nice tee shirt for the boy . This is for when we have to go to places that we have to look kinda decent. You can lay your clothes out nightly for the children and you will be one step ahead.
- Plan your summer. We usually take small trips all summer , we do a few summer camps, but mainly we build a weekly routine. Monday is the Library. Tuesday is discount movies. Wednesday is the Bowling Alley . Thursday is movie day at home because its the day I have to work . Friday is cook out or out to eat. While the kids are in school we plan their Summer camps currently we have two in June and two in July so for the remainder of those empty weeks we stick to this same routine . Kids love routines.
- Plan Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. This is something that I do during the school and it eliminates that time when the fridge is opening none stop. Go grocery shopping once a week . Plan what you will eat each day and feed them like school. Wake up you have breakfast ( waffles, puff pastry, bacon , toast and jelly or eggs, cereal ). Lunch pre pack your lunch just like school. I live in the South so we search more for cooler foods. So sandwiches, pretzels, fruit or yogurt and water is pre packed for the day . All kids want a snack , my children like fruit or crackers , prepare this when you are preparing lunch . Disclaimer: this is what I did during the school year so it was easy for me to do this during the Summer.Include a mandatory amount of water that they will need to drink daily …this will fill them up quite a bit. And then there is time for dinner . When kids know food is about to be prepared and what time it will happen they will rarely try to steal food.
- Initiate a bedtime routine . I know it gets dark later but kids still need the same amount of sleep. Honestly after a full day at my house that includes recreation my kids were ready to take a bath at 8 and be sleep by 9. This may not work for some people but it worked for us and it was easy for us when it was time to return to school. The truth is when we let the kids stay up past the time they were supposed they still woke up at 7 and we never got any time to do anything . We were just overwhelmed so the bedtime was needed.
- Read and study daily . Pick a hour or 45 minutes of everyday to read. Have your children read to you and then have a time when they read alone . This is the perfect time to call your bestie and catch up . Its also a good time to get online and pay those bills or order some clothes. Also introduce some games and science projects . Kids love to learn something new daily .
This can help in some cases when you are planning your summer. I hope that you found something in this that will help you as you prepare for a fun summer break…Basically
Tesha
