Tuesday was my daughter's final day of kindergarten!  Woo-hoo!  With summer's arrival, I want to be purposeful in having fun with my kids and not wasting the summer!  That is why I made the Summer Fun Poster list (and more detailed lists elsewhere for my own use.)  The follow-up to our fun list is to have a bit of a daily schedule for our family so the children know what to expect, AND so there time is built in daily for a bit of fun...if the children cooperate and complete their chores.

I work hard at not being too rigid in our family scheduling.  I know that flexibility within a schedule is ideal.  Children also respond very well when they know what is expected of them AND what will happen next.

My oldest two respond well to a schedule, especially knowing that play or going somewhere would not happen until XYZ were completed.  My youngest also naps daily at noon, and that is non-negotiable though may have a small window of flexibility.

I made our Summer Schedule in a list form in a Word document.  I like the simplicity.
My son pointed out immediately that I didn't include snacks.  I know many may want to do that, but I opted not to since they are super flexible in timing.  The "play" times can include television, though not four times a day for our family.

Family Fun time will be dedicated to science experiments, pool time, games, and all sorts of things that I mentioned with my Summer Fun Inspiration Printable.  GO!  just means that we'll go somewhere together.  Today we'll be heading to a friend's house, but it might mean the library or park, too.

I began by making our summer schedule rather complicated.  Somewhere, likely on Pinterest though I can't find the pin at this time, I saw where a mom used sentence strips to make a schedule.  She may have used
magnets to put it on the fridge and moved things around as needed.

With that in mind I created a summer schedule printable, which you can see to the right.  Each card is about the size of a business card when printed at regular size.  After I printed and laminated them, I realized I didn't like the idea.

If you the cards are your style, please download and print the Summer Schedule Cards Printable.   Print on cardstock and/or laminate them.

So what is your schedule style?  Are you home enough to even implement a schedule?  Do you do everything by the clock?  I keep my eye on the clock to allow adequate time for lunch prep and Little Sister's nap at noon.  My afternoons are spent at home daily, with rest time for all, but mornings last 5-6 hours in our home since we are early risers.  (Not all of us rise early by choice.  Ahem.)

~ Annette {This Simple Mom}