To Schedule or Not To schedule

Schedule , no set schedule or something in-between for the summer? Do what works best for your family!

While you might see lots of recommendations for magical summer schedules that make summer at home work for everyone I don’t believe there is a one size fits all solution. There is no doubt that most kids thrive when they can anticipate what might be coming next and with some structure. There is also no doubt that some families thrive on being totally spontaneous. To ensure a successful summer this is where you need to be the most flexible and watch for cues your family either needs more structure when it comes to a schedule or more freedom in the week.

Create a schedule that works for your family If one or more parent is working from home this summer while you run mommy camp a daily schedule that delineates work time from play time might be an essential. A big mistake people make with this type of schedule is trying to plan the day minute to minute. Instead, using a block schedule without exact times attached can provide just the right balance. Don’t forget to account for meals, naps (if your little one still takes one) and some quiet time for everyone to recharge!

Why The Mommy Camp doesn’t provide an hourly daily schedule

Simply because I want you to be able to make it work best for your family! For The Mommy Camp, we have a weekly schedule for each theme week broken down by day. However, the hourly daily schedule of doing each of the activities, crafts, games and field trips is up to you. We do have a reason we have scheduled each activity on a particular day of the week:

Monday – This is the day we do the biggest craft to really kick off the theme and let your kids quickly get their hands dirty. Doing this on Monday allows you to display their handiwork and let them show-off for the week and then you can take it down Friday (without too much complaint).

Tuesday – This is all about food that relates to your theme. We do this on Tuesday so you have Monday to make a trip to the market if you don’t have everything you need. Its early in the week to give you the chance to use up any theme related food the rest of the week and not have a bunch of half opened packages in your pantry.

Wednesday – This is field trip day! We do this Wednesday to break up the week but also to provide flexibility to reschedule if you run into any weather issues. If you are doing all virtual field trips which takes less time this is a great day to add a family walk or backyard game.

Thursday – This is the day we do an activity related to the theme. These activities are simple and require little set-up but with still a big impact because you are on day 4 of being Camp Director of The Mommy Camp at home and you might need a break. This also allows some extra time to do any activities from earlier in the week you might not have gotten to yet.

Friday – This is the day we do an activity focused on everyone moving their body! It’s the end of the week and this allows everyone to get out any pent up energy from the week or maybe even get some stress out that may have come up through the week. It’s also great to have everyone move their body to get ready to snuggle up for a Friday family movie night!

Each day I also provide sensory activities, free art time suggestions, printables (worksheets, games or coloring pages), books to read and shows to watch that all reenforce the week's theme. After lunch is typically a great time for quiet activities and the printables can be a real lifesaver while you try to make dinner. These are all meant to be plugged into the day as it best fits your family!