am I going to get through three months of having my kids home. Even home school moms often are unsure how the lack of a school schedule is going to change the home. I have felt many different ways as I looked forward to summer. Sometimes I was excited and other times I was scared. Over the last 25 years of having children I’ve found a few things that have helped.
1.Be patient with the first
week or two of summer. It takes time for
everyone to get into a good routine.
There has been such a upheaval for every member with the change of summer.
2.Have a mix of activities
planned. Try to plan some structured
activities and some non-structured ones.
A good mix throughout the summer works better than a month of high
structure and then no structure for the rest of the summer.
3.Keep a schedule even if it’s
more relaxed. It will help everyone know
what to expect and hopefully cause less conflict.
4.Allow your children some
choices about activities that the family does on vacation. This can provide some great times of
collaborating as the family works together in the planning process.
5.As the summer begins, use
behavior and motivational charts to help younger children stay on task. For older children, communicate through
family meetings and times of planning together weekly. Older children need to communicate positively
with each other and parents. Family
meetings at a set time will enable this to occur.
Summer can be a tough
transition but it can settle into a wonderful time for family connection. A little bit of a strategy can make it much
better.
