Hey my Niki MENAGES!
You know how in the beginning of summer you’re all Mary Poppins, so eager for the kids to have fun and enjoy themselves, while keeping boundaries?
Well, if you want to make sure that you and your kids enjoy summer vacation at home, without losing your sense of sanity, then you’re definitely not alone.
I’ve gat you !
If you’re also one of those mums already stressing out about what to accomplish and how to keep the kids engaged and entertained at home, then here are some thoughts to having a summer holiday free of chaos, maybe not completely, but to a reasonable extent.
- Find out what works
See what’s changing naturally around you. For instance, I find out that we tend to eat breakfast later than usual and this naturally affects the time we have lunch and dinner most of the time.
As long as the late dinner means sleeping and waking up later anyway, it totally works for me.
You can decide to get used to the new normal and go back to the old when resumption is around the corner.
- Create realistic routines
I’ve come to realise that creating a pie in the sky routine out of the blues won’t likely work out at the end. For instance, my older kids sleep until 7:30 or 8am, give or take another half hour, during the holidays, while the youngest would usually sleep on much later than that. Now, if I want to draw my timetable, I cannot include an activity by 8am because that would just be unresonable.
So ensure you set achievable goals and see them through.
Here’s a sneak peek into what a typical holiday Monday looks like in my home. (My schedule differs according to the day of the week though)
Wake up (insert time)- Disclaimer: I’ll have to let you know that it’s easier if the kids stay in their rooms until a certain time each morning, even if they wake up before that time. You don’t want a finger poking you in the eye at 6 am.
Pray together
Dress bed/ sweep /mop designated areas
Bathe and brush teeth/ Dress up
Breakfast (Monday is pancake day)
Other chores (washing of dishes,etc)
Activity of the day (Monday Crafts)
Screen time
Indoor play
Lunch
Tidy up chores
More screen time
Nap if necessary
Reading time /linner
Outdoor play
Night shower
Dinner
Finish up any pending chores
Pray together
Monday night ritual (playing cards/board games)
Lights out
It never really follows this exact pattern though but it establishes structure and that’s essential for me.
For instance, we can decide to replace nap time with reading, or even have one acitivty encroaching into another. It’s not a military rule kind of routine, but more like a flexible kind.
- Nap time
If your kids usually have 10 hours of sleep on school nights, and are now going to bed later than usual, which is to be expected considering the fact that they are on holiday, be sure to see to it that they wake up later too or make up for it through nap time.
For instance, sleeping by 10pm would mean that they are not expected to wake up before 8am. If not, then you must absolutely create room for nap time to make up for their sleep hours.
Or you will be dealing with some real issues on your hands soon, from learning problems to more frequent negative emotions, and trust me, it won’t be a pleasant experience.
- Household Chores
This is the perfect time to create a list of age-appropriate chores, if you haven’t done so already, and have the kids execute them. If you need a bit of inspiration in this area, read the post I made a while back about kids’ chores here.
You can also motivate further by coming up with your own idea of rewards for completing a particular chore.
- Make a difference
Whether you’re a home body or a outdoor body, just make sure there is something the kids look forward to every summer. Create a bucket list of all the fun you want to have/achieve.
Here’s a snippet of mine below;
- Eat a lot of homemade goodies and confectionaries.
- Stay up later than normal watching a movie, reading a book or playing a game(depending on the day of the week). Different days are mapped out for different activities.
- Play dates.
- Bible bingos.
- Take the kids out to somewhere fun.
- Go for long walks (we call it the neighbourhood scavenger hunt).
- No devices(phone, tv, laptops, etc) challenge.
It’s a period to explore all those crazy options you’ve always had in mind but somehow never got around to.
What plans do you have for the summer holiday? Please share.
Thank you for stopping by the blog today. I will be back soon with another post. Let me know your preference.
XOXO,
Yours Truly
Nikimandi
