Making Summer Plans: Thinking Through Your Needs
source: Chris_J
I was pretty sure that 2009 had just started, but it turns out we’re almost halfway through it already!
As we prepare for the start of summer, we’re going to spend the next two weeks talking about making summer plans – adjusting to new schedules, daily activities and routines – as well as planning vacations and staycations so that you spend more time enjoying them and less time stressing over them.
What About the Children?
If you have school-aged children, summer probably means all new routines and schedules to get used to. Preparing ahead of time and having a basic idea of what your new daily routine will look like will make the transition easier on everyone.
:: Will your children be home during the day? Or will they be attending a day care or other formal program throughout the summer?
:: Are there lots of free-play opportunities in your neighborhood, or will you be looking for more structured activities?
:: Are there any community activities you want to take advantage of (story times, $1 days at the movie theater, VBS, etc.)?
:: Will your children be taking any lessons or attending any camps?
Staying Home or On the Go…
:: How does having your children home change your daily schedule and routine?
:: How will summertime affect your grocery budget? Your eating out budget?
:: Rather than school backpacks, will you need a summer bag or a diaper bag that contains different things than it does during the school year?
:: What things to do you still need to buy or pull out of storage for summer activities (bathing suits, pool accessories, sports gear, strollers, slings/carriers, etc.)?
Vacations and Staycations
Although we’ll be focusing more on planning your vacation/staycation next week, let’s think through the basics this week and how they’ll affect the daily routines and weekly schedules of summer. For this purpose, we’ll use “vacation” to describe all vacations, staycations and weekend getaways.
:: Do you already have your vacation(s) planned? Have you confirmed the time off at work for yourself, your spouse and/or your children?
:: If you haven’t picked a date yet, are there options to choose from that don’t conflict with the other activities and schedules you have planned?
:: Are there any day trips or weekend getaways that you want to try to plan as part of your summer as well?
Have you started making your summer plans and schedules yet, or has summer snuck up on you? What is your favorite part of summer? Least favorite?
Thanks Mandi! You reminded me!! I have been so stuck on trying to figure out this blog thing that I forgot that the kids will be home for the summer in 2 weeks! Gosh, how time flies!! We do have some plans already for the summer. VBS, 2 of my kids have a mission trip and 2 family vacations being planned at the moment! I have not done any kind of routine schedule yet! Now I will be working on it!!
Chele’s last blog post…Monday Shout outs!
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Hi Mandi!! we started trying to figure out this summer about 4 weeks ago. My son is special needs so he is going to be going to a special summer school for about 6 weeks of the summer, ever morning for 4 hours a day 5 days a week. but after that i am hoping to have him take a vacation(thus US take a vacation) for a week at EACH grandparents house . We are going to be doing some summer activities like museums, zoos, rennasiance fair, summer fairs, whew!! we have a nice lake front beach here too with a kinda fountain park the kids can play in. so i am thinking we are going to have an action packed summer! LOL
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One of my children is finished with school for the summer and tomorrow marks the last day for my other child. We are trying to keep this summer as relaxed as possible. I don’t want to waste it running around. We have 2 weeks of bible school, softball once a week until mid July and the kids are spending a week at the grandparents. Beyond that, we’ll just play it by ear! I did plan lots of art and outdoor activities to try and keep boredom at bay.
Marci’s last blog post…Peace in uncertain times
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This is exactly where I am right now, trying to figure out summer plans and make it an all-around balanced summer. I’m excited to follow along…!
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Hi Mandi! We’re leaving this Friday for a 3-week long trip to see family, friends and 14 MLB baseball games… with a 2-year old! It’s a sort of crazy idea but we figure we need to take advantage of the time we have while my husband is between jobs.
We’ll be documenting it on our baseball blog, which I linked to here.
Nicole aka Gidget’s last blog post…Baseball Survey
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The new design is beautiful! Very uncluttered and easy to navigate. Two thumbs up.
This was such a helpful post for me – thanks for getting my wheels turning. Two resources I plan to lean heavily on are The Family Manager’s Guide to Summer by Kathy Peel (may not have that title exactly right, but it’s close) and FishMama’s Camp Wannalaffalotta series at lifeasmom.com.
We are at one of those awkward in-between stage around here – my boys are now too old for VBS and similar activities but not old enough for summer jobs. I’ll be trawling here, there, and everywhere for alternatives to PlayStation and SpongeBob (deliver me…).
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