Mommy Monday: summer schedules with preschoolers

With summer slowly approaching (yes, I have over 2 weeks left of teaching.... the end is near though!), I've started thinking about my plans for summer break. It's easy with a long vacation like this to just sit around and do, well, nothing sometimes. And while there is definitely a time and place for that, I also have a lot of things that I want to do some fun things that I can't do with my kids during the school year! With preschoolers (and especially one of my two), it's helpful to have some semblance of routine and predictability. So this summer, I'm making a very loose schedule for my family to help everyone stay relaxed but kick my butt into gear to go have some fun too!

I say loose because, while I do want to create some predictability and routine for my girls, I also want to allow for unexpected whims and opportunities. Summer is ideal for that! The beauty of having a schedule is it gives us a starting place- something to look forward to, something to expect, something to help keep our lives balanced (not too hectic but not too lazy)- and know that the rules are there for the breaking! Our schedule is somewhat constrained by the fact that the girls will spend Tuesdays and Thursdays (and some weekend time) with their dad, so I picked things that we could still do together on those days without taking up a lot of time. Here's what I've come up with for this year:

Sundays are already a bit crowded with some dad time and church time already, but the girls and I love to eat out and there are so many restaurants I have been wanting to try, so that is our goal for Sunday. I tried to build in some low-key days- Mondays I'm hoping we can run errands around town, especially going to the library and the grocery store (my girls' favorite places to visit!). On Tuesday they are gone most of the day so I'm thinking we will make a special breakfast together- the girls love cooking and they love meals like pancakes, french toast, and breakfast burritos where they can "build their own" food on their plates :) One of the main things I look forward to in the summer time is spending time with friends that we don't get to see much during the school year because our schedule is so busy. I'm going to start talking to my friends this week and try to plan some outings and play dates for Wednesdays (and Saturdays when the girls are around)! Thursdays the girls will be gone again but I am hoping to do some kind of low-key craft or musical activity with them in the evening before bed. I'm going to try to plan some sort of outing on Fridays- the beach, the zoo, a special park, museum, fruit picking, and farms are all places on my bucket list this year. We'll see how much we can fit in!

That gives us some structure for the week as a whole, but what about the daily routine? Well, for one thing, you can check out my post about the visual calendar I have for the girls here, but for more on the specifics for this summer, tune in next week for part 2!! :)

If you were one of my first 300 followers on TeachersPayTeachers, make sure you have checked your TpT inbox and downloaded your freebie- it will only be available this week and then it's gone! If you missed it this time, make sure you go follow me so you don't miss any more freebies, and you can get the file for just $1 right here (I'm using it already- I'm kindof in love with the summer colors!): 

I'm linked up: