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Guest post by Emily Rempe, mom, education advocate and Productive Parenting co-founder.
I don’t know about you but my thoughts towards summer have swung like a pendulum over the years. As a kid, like most, I anticipated it as a time of freedom and exploration. With the structure of school lifted, it was a time of allowing my imagination to predominate my thoughts and actions as I played with friends and spent time alone completely engaged in the moment. Fast forward to being a mom of three children ages 1, 3, and 5 and the pendulum seemed to have swung in the direction of anxious-what in the world am I going to do to keep my kids occupied for three months? Where once there was freedom it was replaced by a feeling of responsibility to be the resource for my kids summer months. No background in early childhood education, no money or desire to send my kids off to camps for the summer and a disdain for crafts…what was I to do? As any mom understands over time, experience and necessity lead to wisdom.
As I have made my way through the past several summers I have learned these lessons:
Unstructured Time
Revisiting memories of my own summers as a kid remind me that kids not only need unstructured time, they enjoy it! Instead of trying to fill their days with preplanned projects, I have learned to, once again, embrace the freedom that summer is meant to bring. As I allow myself the freedom to read a book, my children are thrilled to tap into their imaginations as they play in the woods. Sometimes my input can obstruct the skills they learn by creating their own games.
Routine
While unstructured time is great, I balance it with routine. We have index cards that list several items to be done in the morning (make bed, brush teeth, put away dishes from breakfast, maybe a short math worksheet so that the past year of learning doesn’t slip away…) When they are checked off by me, it’s time to play. The kids are contributing to household duties, becoming more responsible and feeling part of a team and I am appreciative of the help.
Theme
Each weekday we’ve come up with a theme.
Monday is Nature Day and we may go for a hike or work on the garden,
Tuesday is Try It Day when we try a new food at a mealtime,
Wednesday is Washdown Day when we do laundry,
Thursday is Thank You Day when we find someone to thank and a creative way to say thank you, and
Fridays is Field Trip Day, which could just be to a Farmer’s Market.
This provides a loose focus for each day that seems to fuel creativity and provide a platform for free play.
While I am confident that this summer will add to my lessons learned, I am happy to report that the pendulum is swinging back in the direction of anticipation. This summer my kids will be 4, 6, and 8, and I’m 3 years older too. More than growing in age, I feel we are growing into a team working together to share household chores and providing ample opportunities for one another to enjoy the freedom and exploration that summer is meant to provide for EACH of us!
Bio: Emily Rempe blogs at Productive Parenting, LLC. Before kids, she worked as as orthopedic physical therapist. She and her husband Doug have three children, ages 8, 6, and 4. They share their love of the outdoors with their children through biking, kayaking and hiking. Emily also enjoys running and volunteers as a coach with Girls on the Run. She is an avid reader and loves photography. Connect on Twitter, Facebook or her blog.
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12 Comments
I LOVE it! It is the perfect mix of structure and unstructured time, just what the summer should be all about.
Love these! We have fairly structured mornings and unstructured afternoons. We do a little family camp in the mornings after chores and free play or trips in the afternoon.
I was feeling anxious about this first summer that my kids will all be totally nap-free – I really appreciated the down-time for the little ones and the required quiet from the older one and her friends. These suggestions make me feel a little better about not having to fill every waking second with activities and keeping a little down-time on the schedule, even if nobody actually sleeps!
[...] Thinking About Summer Routines and Play [...]
I try to mix it up during the summer. I’m a big believer in unstructured time, but with 8 kids my life screams for routine. Otherwise, it would be chaotic.
Past summers have seen me come up with schedules for how we’d spend the day. At this point, I find it most important to plan lunches and assign lunch helpers. Also, with a lot of kids who enjoy computers and video games, I schedule time for them to play those, usually early in the afternoon. I also have a designated cleaning time from 9-9:15 each morning.
I don’t like going to outdoor places in the afternoon. I hate being hot. I wilt like a delicate flower.
I always love summer because for me, it means no schedule. I kinda enjoy not having to rush around in the morning to get them out the door. Maybe it’s just my personality?!
Great ideas. I am a huge fan of unstructured time. Kids learn so much about interacting with others, imagination and the world around them when they are able to go it alone a bit. I love the theme day idea too.
[...] Thinking About Summer Routines and Play [...]
These seem like great ideas for loose structure for any age group. Could going to Starbucks be a field trip?
[...] Are You Anxious or Anticipating Summer? [...]
I really enjoyed your post — love the intentional balancing of routine and unstructured time. There is such comfort to be found in both aspects. Having a plan sounds that includes both sounds so much more nourishing than just haphasard scheduling with some relief of downtime.
PS meant to say that I especially love the Thank you day