Moms share their secrets to a successful summer break

Kids off school for summer vacation? Use these tips from moms who've been there to make your summer break a success!

School’s out for summer!

Which means summer break is here. (If it’s not, it will be here soon.)

Have you started panicking yet?

Or are you organized and calm, ready to embrace the chaos?

As a work-from-home mom, my days are about to get complicated. So, I turned to you – the parents on my Facebook Page for advice!

Here’s how some of you are planning to survive summer vacation this year…

Enjoy the Lazy Days of Summer:

  • “Play outside. Go swimming. A few camping trips planned, but mostly go with the flow.” – Ananda
  • “Go to the park once a week at least.”
  • “I arranged for my toddler to go to a sitter one day a week from 9-4. That will allow me to take the older kids to the movies or an amusement park on those days — or even relax at the pool without having to chase a toddler! The other days of the week, we will work around her schedule.” – Jen, A Bookish Nook
  • “Mostly letting them run amok outside. My older children went to local summer camps. Hoping this year to get some trips to the zoos and museums and fairs and parks and going to enjoy the sun at the beach.” – Angela
  • “Cinema is an absolute must!!!We also spend a lot of time catching up with old friends you lose touch with when school starts, as well as just lazy days when you don’t get dressed.” – Katy

Same Routine, but Different:

  • “We keep a routine, but it’s different from the school year. Later bedtimes, sleeping later (win!) more flexible with daily activities. If we’re doing something we like and don’t feel like doing what we had planned next, we don’t. During the school year, we are always running from one thing to the next so it’s nice to not have to watch the clock all the time. We love being more go with the flow.” – Jamie
  • We keep a pretty strict schedule year round. But in the summer, we have more time for fun activities and more open-ended activities. We still keep the same routine but have more time outside and more sensory/art time since we aren’t scheduling around preschool. – Rhianna

Brainstorm Together:

  • “We make a list of fun destinations and then tackle it. Only a few paid adventures allowed. 1 week of camp, 1/2 day, for 6-yr-old. 1 week family vacation. Pool, pool at Grandma’s. We let the weather be our guide. The kids can choose an outing day or a stay home & play day. We try & stay spontaneous (but I have a mental plan for each destination on our list). Oh, and we always do the summer reading challenge at the public library.” – Jessica
  • “I always find that the summer passes by so quickly and during the last couple of weeks, I want to cram in all the things I had hoped to do, but didn’t. This year, we’re going to brainstorm a big list of ideas before the summer and space out the “bigger” ideas that need planning (i.e. trip to NYC to see their uncle). Then each week, we’ll look at the list and decide if we want to try a few ideas.” – Sharon
  • “Before summer, we come up with a list of several things to try to do during the summer. Simple things like splash puddles, more outing things like that zoo or beach. Some things that can be done in the back yard, some elsewhere. No ideas are off limits. We look at our list and see what we can fit into our week, no pressure if we just want to chill either.” – Jeannine
  • “I get the kids involved in brainstorming what activities they’d like to do. That way I can still plan the logistics and timings, but they are part of the choices etc. They love it!!! Also, keep a good balance of indoor vs outdoor and structured vs unstructured play. Keep those creative juices flowing! My crew are under seven years old, so keeping (overall) a regular bedtime helps not get overtired.” – Lisa

Find a Work/Life Balance:

  • “During the summer, I am with our kids 24/7 with barely a break or a quiet moment. It’s the time of year when I find out exactly how much patience I do or do not have. My summer couldn’t survive without a loose schedule. Kids have the predictability of a schedule for the 9 months of the year when they are in school and it’s hard for them to go without one. I also keep a big tote of some really fun, exciting, and sometimes messy toys in the basement and I break it out when I need some self-care or when I have work to do.” – Kristina, Thriving Parents
  • “One of our favorite things to do is picnics for dinner. We go to the park and enjoy the longer hours of sunlight. And I’m not cooking or heating up the kitchen. I made a space for my son in our home office. We have “office time” where I get some emails done and he plays with scissors, stamps, markers and tape.” – Ashley, Nurture & Thrive
  • “My kids do summer school in the morning for a few hours which they love (normally art class). Then in the afternoon, we all go to the beach together. No mobiles, no work, just family time (and a healthy snack!) My work hours are reduced but I do keep things ticking over.” – Orlena, Snotty Noses

Summer Camp (for Sanity Sake!)

  • “I’ve decided this summer I am going to have my older twins (13) go to week long summer camps every other week or so. They have never liked going to summer camp but the fighting has gotten so bad during school days that I believe having them in the house all summer will be a disaster.” – April

Are you Dreading Summer Vacation?

If the thought of having your kids home all summer makes you cringe, I’d like to invite you to join a bunch of awesome parents and work on improving the communication in your home! (With all of that time together, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice new strategies, right!?)

In the Communication for Imperfect Families eCourse, you’ll learn how to get your kids to listen without yelling or repeating yourself 1,000 times, how to stop the backtalk and arguments, and confidently handle meltdowns and disagreements.

Interested? Sign up now and I’ll send you more details soon!


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Nicole Schwarz (couch 3)

Welcome! I'm Nicole Schwarz.

I'm a Parent Coach, Licensed Therapist and Author of It Starts with You. I help stressed, overwhelmed, confused parents find calm, confidence and connection with their kids. No one is expecting perfection here. But, if you’re willing to examine your parenting, find encouragement, or try something new, this is the place for you.

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