Summertime Kids at Home: How Scheduling Can Stop The Madness!
Does having your children at home during the summer vacation feel a little stressful? After all, it's summertime.
Shouldn't that mean lazy afternoons, plenty of time to relax? It does...
unless you have children who take their "free" time and turn it into chaos.
If you don't send your children to summer camp or some other organized activity, you will soon discover what homeschooling moms know to be the biggest challenge: how to get schooling AND housework AND playing AND (fill in the blank) done without everyone killing each other? I find a similar challenge during vacation time.
My boys love to play together, and are good at finding things to do.
But after 2 days off or so, I find that there is not only an increase in bickering and injuries, but also they are more likely to find things to do that...
ahem...
I don't approve of.
While free time and "boredom" can stimulate creativity, I find that lack of boundaries/expectation/direction leads to less than desirable behavior.
What to do? Just as a homeschooling family must do, you schedule.
I know some of you are thinking that it doesn't sound like much fun for them, that you want them to be able to relax and enjoy themselves, and think of their own activities.
I'm not suggesting an absence of free time.
Instead, I'm suggesting that even free time gets scheduled.
Some of my favorite tips are:
Working together will enable you to get more done in less time, giving you more time to spend doing things you enjoy.
Kids love dependable routine.
They are much more likely to go along with the program if you already know what the program will be.
And I really think it's the only way to stay calm in the eye of the vacation storm.
So the next time you are wondering how to keep your children behaving and having fun during a vacation time from school, remember to schedule their days.
I've tried it the other way during vacation time.
I didn't like it much.
This time...
I'm ready.
What are you doing with your little ones during summer vacation?
Shouldn't that mean lazy afternoons, plenty of time to relax? It does...
unless you have children who take their "free" time and turn it into chaos.
If you don't send your children to summer camp or some other organized activity, you will soon discover what homeschooling moms know to be the biggest challenge: how to get schooling AND housework AND playing AND (fill in the blank) done without everyone killing each other? I find a similar challenge during vacation time.
My boys love to play together, and are good at finding things to do.
But after 2 days off or so, I find that there is not only an increase in bickering and injuries, but also they are more likely to find things to do that...
ahem...
I don't approve of.
While free time and "boredom" can stimulate creativity, I find that lack of boundaries/expectation/direction leads to less than desirable behavior.
What to do? Just as a homeschooling family must do, you schedule.
I know some of you are thinking that it doesn't sound like much fun for them, that you want them to be able to relax and enjoy themselves, and think of their own activities.
I'm not suggesting an absence of free time.
Instead, I'm suggesting that even free time gets scheduled.
Some of my favorite tips are:
- Schedule play periods for 2 siblings together.
They strengthen their relationships and get along better than they do when there are 3 or more. - Schedule meal helpers
- Schedule one on one time with Mom or Dad
- Schedule playtime alone; every child should learn to entertain himself
- Choose activities for different days of the week so that they rotate and the children don't get bored.
Example: Monday finger-paint, Tuesday playdough, Wednesday blocks, etc.
Working together will enable you to get more done in less time, giving you more time to spend doing things you enjoy.
Kids love dependable routine.
They are much more likely to go along with the program if you already know what the program will be.
And I really think it's the only way to stay calm in the eye of the vacation storm.
So the next time you are wondering how to keep your children behaving and having fun during a vacation time from school, remember to schedule their days.
I've tried it the other way during vacation time.
I didn't like it much.
This time...
I'm ready.
What are you doing with your little ones during summer vacation?
Source...