Summer Time Schedules and Rhythms
Anyone else hear Kenny Chesney’s Summer Time in their head when they think of summer?
No? Just Me? Ok…
For some children, summer is WHERE IT’S AT. The bomb. Awesome. Freedom. Perfect. For some children, the transition to summer is stressful, especially for kids who thrive on a set and strict schedule.
I have one of those darlings, and while I love him to pieces, his need to know what’s happening next sometimes drives me batty when I want to fly by the seat of my pants. What’s a mama to do?
We use a mixture of schedules and rhythms with anchors.
Let me go over those words, just in case they’re new to you.
schedule — a timed list of events that happen in sequence
rhythm — a list of things we want to do, usually blocked by category rather than hours
anchor — any activity that has the effect of bringing people together to regroup; it also is usually tied to another activity, so it helps you get back on track if your day goes off plan
Let’s look at an example of a schedule and a rhythm.
Summer SCHEDULE:
As you can see, the schedule is great for families who have days full of camps, sports practice, day care, work, and… yup- scheduled- life. Everything is planned out by the hour, and everything happens in sequential order.
Summer RHYTHM:
This rhythm is perfect for days where you don’t have any time constraints. Play time before lunch could be 2 hours or 4. It could mean the backyard or the beach.
You can see the anchors bring everyone back together to refocus the day. Everyone can wake up at different times and do their own thing, but breakfast anchors the family and provides a clear path to schoolwork.
Dinner anchors the chores - the children do chores while mom or dad cooks, then everyone sits together to regroup. Bedtime is the anchor for showers (right before) and reading (right after).
You can see how activities are blocked- it would be easy to switch showers and chores, or move chores to right after breakfast, or skip showers… a rhythm is flexible.
Schedules and rhythms - one is not better than the other.
You need to use what’s best for your family and your children. Some children thrive with a schedule and some love the freedom of a rhythm. A lot of moms love schedules, but their lives are in a season of rhythms, or vice versa.
So here’s the secret:
Use a mix of of schedules and rhythms!
That’s what we do! Some weeks you use a schedule and some weeks you might use a rhythm - or some days need a schedule, and others have a rhythm. Maybe one child has a schedule and one has a rhythm (especially in families where one child is older and has camps and jobs, and the other is younger and doesn’t). Maybe you, Mama, use a rhythm but your children have a schedule to follow.
Do what works for you, and don’t be afraid to change things up as needed.
Some summer printables for you…
I wanted a pretty summer routine that could be used for either a schedule or a rhythm, so I made one to share. It’s the top right corner on the image below, and some days I list out times (schedule) and some it’s listed as a rhythm.
Print it out a copy for yourself, and pop it in a sleeve protector to use with a dry erase marker so you can change it by the week or day.
I also made some summer bucket lists, a memory list, some summer drawing/writing pages, and a summer screen time checklist. I was in a groove and just kept creating! I hope you find them helpful!
Head on over to the printable page to get your downloads!
Happy Summer, friends!
If you found this helpful, please pin or share (thank you!).
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Is it in your head now? Gotta love some summertime!
