HOME TOUR

It’s that glorious time of year…long days, bright nights and no early morning runs to school–Summertime. As much as I love the freedom it brings, there’s also something about the inconsistency of the day that makes parenting a bit harder. During the school year we run a lot smoother because we have clear expectations in place. So I’m trying to bring that into our summer routine without summer losing some of that marvelous ease we all look forward to. I created a Summertime Schedule and Expectations Chart for the kids that will hopefully help us maneuver through the days a bit smoother.

Clearly these are oriented towards my kiddos but I wanted to share them (or at least the idea of them) because you can easily adjust these to suit your own children. They’re centrally located in our kitchen and streamlined to reduce clutter.

ANALYZE AGE-APPROPRIATE EXPECTATIONS FOR YOUR KIDS

I started by analyzing our current expectations for our kiddos. Cade is 7 and Kai 5.5 years old. We do not have a current “chores chart” or allowance earning plan in place for them. We do have expectations by which they earn all their screen time.  Things like putting away their shoes in the drawer, their dirty clothes in the hamper after bathtime and being kind to one another earn them screen time minutes. Only when they have enough (30 minutes for a standard show) do they get to decide together on a show, movie or PBS game to play.

STOP THE INCESSANT SCREEN TIME ASKS

If your kiddos are anything like mine, they do a whole lot of asking for tv, movies and possibly video games depending on their ages. We do not have any game systems but they do play computer games on PBS. As a result, knowing that they’re going to be asking all. summer. long. I’ve set up an “Expectation Chart” for each of them that they need to check off before they can use any “earned screen time”. I think this will help set the expectation and limit the asking because they can visually see on their chart if they are even able to use earned time. There’s also select times of day when we will even consider screen time, also clearly labeled for them on the schedule. Now Kai isn’t a reader yet but Cade is. Between me helping, Cade reading it to him or Kai just memorizing it, I think he’ll pick up quickly on his summertime schedule and expectations chart.

EARNED FUN

For the summer I want to expand our standard “earned screen time” practice to “earned fun.” This allows for trips to an ice cream shop, nature hikes, outings to a museum or the zoo–things they can earn by completing their daily expectations chart and treating each other kindly. It’s always a good parenting move to look for your kids being kind and reward that. I plan on writing their earned minutes or points (10 points = 1 outing with mom, for example) on popsicle sticks that they can put in their “earned fun” bag underneath their chart.

MAKE IT PRETTY

I like things organized and lovely. Subsequently, I created these charts and schedule on PicMonkey which is an online site that is SO easy to use and free. Select an 8 x 10 print size which gives you room to trim the edges off the paper so you can see the pretty indigo scrapbook paper (from Hobby Lobby) underneath. I found these gold wall clips at World Market and they hold the laminated sheets perfectly. I don’t have a lamination machine but they sell self-laminating sheets which do exactly the same thing. Laminating the schedule and expectation sheets allows them to use a dry erase marker to check off their accomplishments.

So we’ll see. I’ll let you know how it’s working and what we change as the summer progresses. Now I’m considering the schedule “temporary” until we’ve given it a try for a few days. I may want more flexibility or find that different time slots work better for different activities like art or homework.

SUPPLIES

Self-Laminating Pages (I used single sided ones because we aren’t writing on the back)

Copy Paper

Three sheets of pretty scrapbook paper

Popsicle Sticks

Dry Erase Marker

Gold Wall Clips

Kraft Paper Bags, (Mine are from Hobby Lobby and are 3.5 x 7″)

Card Stock & Twine (To make “Earned Fun” labels)

INSTRUCTIONS

Using PicMonkey, I selected the 8×10 print size. The Cursive Font is “Belmont” size 278 (size 137 at the bottom). The rest of the font is LATO Light font size 65, some in all capital letters. Make the squares next to each “expectation” by clicking on “graphics” and searching for a square.  Select the outlined square and resize it by grabbing the corner to shrink it. Move it into place next to each expectation. Now that you’ve got your “Expectations” laid out, print your paper and start trimming the edges. I used a ruler and pencil to get straight lines and did this so that I could see an outline of the pretty scrapbook paper below. The bottom decorative paper is an 8.5 x 11″ so you want your top sheet to be just a bit smaller all the way around. I used a few pieces of tape to keep them attached and slipped them under the self-laminating sheet. Once the laminating sheet was over the top, I trimmed the edge and hung it up on the clip. Easy Peasy.

The “Earned Fun” labels were made using PicMonkey again, same Belmont font in size 278. I printed it out on cardstock and used a label I already had to trace the shape. Center the words in the middle (I eyeballed it) and cut out the outline with scissors. After that, a small hole punch in both the tag and the kraft paper bag lets you tie on the twine. It looks cute and I think will help our days move much more smoothly. Here’s a closeup of their “Expectations” and the “Summer Schedule”.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this summertime schedule and expectation chart captured beautifully by Ruth Eileen Photography! What are some ways you help keep the routine going over the summer in your own home?