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source: Andreas-photography(catching up)

On Wednesday, Shaina talked about planning a summer calendar for your family. Today, I want to talk about some of the steps for getting ready for summer and all the fun and extra activities it offers.

Your Summer Calendar

To start, pull out a calendar and add all of the camps, sports, vacations and activities you’ve planned for your family this summer (not to mention weddings and graduation parties you might have been invited to this month!). As you decide on additional activities, you’ll be able to quickly refer to your calendar to see what dates will work and which are already booked.

Pack a Summer Diaper/Activity/Pool Bag

Whether you have babies and preschoolers or older children, having a bag packed and ready to go that contains all the necessary summer items will make your daily routine easier because you won’t have to worry about finding those items scattered around the house. Your bag might contain sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, bathing suits, handheld fans or whatever else your family needs.

Write a Shopping List

As you look out over the activities for the next month, make a shopping list of items you need to get ready for the pool or day camp as well as any educational workbooks or activities you want to pick up for the summer. You could also include gifts for any of the weddings or parties you’ll be attending as well. You may not get everything in one shopping trip, but at least you’ll have a master list to work from.

Register for Activities and Camps

If there are any sports, activities or camps that you haven’t yet registered for, now’s a great time to get those finished and off your to-do list. You don’t want to wait too long, as a lot of places have higher fees the longer you wait. There’s always the risk that they’ll close registration as well, which could lead to a lot of disappointment for everyone.

Rotate Seasonal Wardrobes

If you’re in a colder area and haven’t yet rotated your winter clothes out and summer clothes in, set a time to go ahead and do that so that you don’t have to continue to dig through the boxes to find warm-weather clothing!

Clean Up and Repair Outdoor Toys

If you haven’t already, take an hour or two this weekend to pull out all of the outdoor toys, inflate tires and balls, clean off ride-on toys and sand boxes and check for missing or broken parts. Be sure to check bicycle helmets to be sure they fit properly!

Prepare Medical Forms for Children

And finally, if you’re children will be traveling out of state – or if you’ll be taking a kid-free vacation out of state – be sure to prepare a medical form so that each of their caregivers will be able to make medical decisions in an emergency. Here’s a sample I found, but you may want to look around for others.

Other Resources for Planning Your Summer

For more information on planning your summer, check out Lorie’s post on The Clutter Diet Blog, “Are You Ready for Summer?” as well as Frugal Dad’s list of “14 Fun Summer Activities for Frugal Kids“.

How do you feel about your summer plans so far? Do you feel like you have a handle on  it or are you rushing to get ready?