Summer Schedule for Kids

This post may contain affiliate links.

I am kind of a schedule-type person. I like an orderly day and I like routines. We do not school through the summer because I love my time off to let my brain recoup from the school year and plan for the next one.  We don’t just go all crazy, wild and free in the summer, though. I still like to keep my kids on a schedule and that schedule does include some learning. I’ll tell you why and share our summer schedule today.

Why We Have a Summer Schedule

I think kids thrive on a schedule. When my kids do not have a summer schedule, the house gets out of control and they tend to get a little grumpier. They also don’t seem to get their chores done in a timely manner. I get frustrated because there is just no structure. If there is a routine, and they know it, it’s easier to get kids to do the things they need to do.

Our summer schedule is very relaxed.  I don’t schedule all parts of the day, just the morning. School hours, at our house are always in the morning. In the summer, the kids still have a few educational things that they are working on and they do this in the morning as well. They also get chores done in the morning before playing.

What our Summer Schedule Looks Like

The kids wake up around 7 am and eat breakfast right when they wake up.  Sometimes I sit and read a chapter of whatever read-aloud we are reading at the time. If it does’t happen at breakfast, then we do it at lunch. After breakfast, they clean up their dishes.

When breakfast clean-up is done, the kids have to get their bedrooms in order and do any other morning chores (piano practice, dishwasher, wiping the kitchen table, etc).

Once their morning chores are done, they work on their school books. They each have a few things that were not finished when school ended.  Our rule is that if their books are not done, they keep going through the summer. We have math, and some grammar that the kids are working on as well as their Summer Reading Challenge. They are also doing a little each day on educational websites. (Always Ice Cream and Clever Dragons are FREE for the summer at Homeschool Buyers Co-op. So is Discovery Education & a few other GREAT things! We are taking advantage of that this summer!)

This usually puts us close to lunch time. If all of their work is done by lunch, the rest of the day is free for them do do what they choose. They can have some technology time, play outside, play with friends, or do other fun activities.

Then the kids have afternoon/evening chores that they have to do. These include cleaning toys, windows, helping with dinner, cleaning their zones in the house, etc. We do dinner clean-up together, have baths, then usually read some books, play outside,  or watch a show together as a family.

For me, it is important to really keep our day in order to help our summer go smoothly. Obviously, it is Summer and we have plenty of days that do not follow the schedule.  We do lots of fun summer-time things, too. That’s what’s so great about Summer!!! 🙂