Prep for Summer

We are in the thick of May. It’s hard to look past tomorrow, let alone the next few months. However, summer will be here before we can say popsicle and doing a little mental prep now will help us be ready for those sweet summer days. Here are a few things we can do to Prep for Summer.

Prep for Summer

The Perfect Day

We are imperfect people living with other imperfect people. The Perfect Day might seen unattainable (and probably is). However, there are some pretty dang good days. You know the ones. The days you plop in bed with an exhausted body and a full heart.

I think it’s valuable to think through how we want a typical, ‘perfect’ summer day to look. As moms, we get to determine the rhythm and flow of our days. While summer’s rhythms and routines are looser and different than other times of year, it can be helpful to determine and sketch our perfect day. If we are intentional, we can make these summer days what our families need and want. In fact, summer is the perfect time to create lovely days and long lasting memories with our kids.

So what does your perfect day look like? Slow mornings, pool afternoons? Playdates with friends certain days of the week? Library time? Screen time boundaries? Chores completed? No one asking what’s for dinner?

You may roll your eyes, but grab an old fashioned pad of paper and pen and write down what you want a typical day to look like. I did this recently and here’s what I came up with:

Our Perfect Day

Kevin serves Breakfast

Essentials Checklist: Chores, 15 Minutes of reading, 2 pages of math

Outside playtime/Playdates/Errands/Crafts/Library

Picnic Lunch (no kitchen clean up, please and thank you)

Reading Lessons & Screen Time

Quiet Time & Quarry (our swimming hole)

Dinner Prep

Our days won’t always look like this, but I will do my best to make sure many do.

Screen Time Boundaries

Before summer gets here, I think it’s worthwhile to have screen time boundaries in place. If your kids are anything like my kids, when normal rhythms go out the window, they can sometimes lean towards asking for screen time. And if you’re anything like me, you don’t want to be asked 20 times in an hour when they can use technology.

Let’s put some screen time boundaries in place. For our family, that looks like screen time after lunch and reading lessons each day. It also looks like them asking before they can look up something or play music on their iPad, which my nine year old has been really into lately. I’m also working on putting their iPads in an inconvenient place for them, so it’s not as easily accessible.

The first week of summer break is a good time to introduce or review screen time boundaries. Let’s be proactive with this. Screen time is a part of our kids’ lives and having boundaries in place will save our sanity and their brains.

Snacks

Feeding kids takes up half the summer. Amen. Deciding how we want to tackle snacks now limits moments of frustration later. Will kids be able to get snacks whenever they like? Will there be a special snack cabinet? Are snacks limited? I’m not sure why we need to think so much about this, but we just do. If you’ve been a mom in the summer, you know it’s true.

For our family, we don’t do many snacks, unless we are out and about. I will keep our snack cabinet stocked so we can grab what we need on our way out the door to playdates, the park, the quarry, or zoo. Knowing how I want snacks to be handled during the day and my kids understanding the expectations makes our days run smoother.

Speaking of snacks, let’s stock up on those items now so we won’t be in a bind when we are heading off to the zoo with friends. You know they won’t go to waste.

Gather Supplies

Summer requires different supplies and tools. Sunscreen, bathing suits, s’more ingredients, a sprinkler, snacks, towels, outside gear, crafting bits and pieces. After mentally thinking through the perfect day and deciding about screen time and snacks, make a list of supplies needed to prep for summer. Then put in a Target or Wal-Mart order or head to Costco and gather the goods. Our summer days will be a lot more enjoyable both for us and our kids if we are prepared with the supplies we need.

Summer is a magical time. Lazy days and starry late nights. Pool afternoons with sun kissed faces. Popsicles and neighbor friends and sprinkler parties. Road trips and ice cream dates. Before these sun-shiny days are here, let’s prep for summer so we can savor and enjoy this season with our people. How will you Prep for Summer?