Summer Rhythm: Adding Structure to the Chaos

Sweet, sweet summertime! It’s upon us which also means structure goes out the door. I’ve noticed a trend that if we don’t have a loose structure to our days, everyone feels a little confused and doesn’t know what to expect in our day–mom included! Now, a daily summer rhythm can be used throughout the week or it can be a different “schedule” for each day of the week, depending on each families needs. We’ve been sticking to one routine for the whole week, but as schedules change, we will adapt.

I have found it helpful to go over the routine each morning, that way everyone knows what to expect and what might have changed in the routine from the day before. For example, sometimes we skip “school room play” because mom goes to the gym instead. Discuss the change, adapt, and get back to the daily rhythm when you get back home. Same with impromptu playdates, a rainy day where we don’t get much outside time, etc.

I’ve found a few free printables on Pinterest, but also creating your own template on Canva has proven to be my favorite way to go about this. Canva has plenty of free options that can be edited to your liking, and also Canva is user friendly enough to start from scratch and build your own.

Summer Rhythm: Weekly Option

Our current schedule allows for a loose rhythm that looks the same most days. I am not a mom that runs well on setting time frames for things, but rather a general guide for our day. Adding or removing times is easy to do if you create your own template on Canva. I keep our current schedule geared towards what the little one in my house will be doing vs what I will be doing, though I think as kids get older, having everyones task and schedule would be helpful. I also let my kiddo help design the colors on the schedule to keep him invested and engaged in the process, and wouldn’t you know–he carries this paper around with him all day. We are still transitioning from homeschooling to summertime, so our current rhythm is a bit of a mash up of the two. As seasons change, so will the rhythm.

Summer Rhythm: Rotating Option

Another option that works well is a set of cards with different task that can be sorted through and laid out different each day. We have used sticky putty or tape to arrange the appropriate cards on our refrigerator each morning. The plus side about doing each task on an individual card is that it’s easy to change through the day as things come up. Again, I find discussing things as they change helps kids (and myself) know what happened to created the change and also what to expect because of the change. Keeping kids involved in the changing of (especially Summer) chaos, makes the day-to-day a bit smoother.

Summer Rhythm: Themed Option

Maybe one day I will be a themed kind of mom. Five years in and I’m still not that mom. But, boy, does it seem like it could be fun. The idea behind this is that each day of the week follows a theme to help know what to expect and to help build excitement and anticipation for each day. Examples I have stumbled up are:

Monday–Make it Monday, Music Monday, Lazy Monday, and Meaningful Monday

Tuesday–Take a Trip Tuesday, Learning Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, and Thinking Tuesday

Wednesday–Water Day Wednesday, Whatever Wednesday, and Whats’s Cooking Wednesday

Thursday–Thoughtful Thursday, Theatre Thursday, Theme Park Thursday, Nature Thursday, and Take a Trip Thursday

Friday–Fun Day Friday, Fun in the Sun Friday, Foodie Friday, and Field Trip Friday

Saturday/Sunday–Selfless Saturday/Sunday, Spontaneous Saturday/Sunday, and Super Saturday/Sunday

Happy Summertime, mamas!