This week marks the first week of summer and as usual, I’m craving the ‘just-right summer’. Fun, plenty of downtime, relaxing, lots of outside time, a clean house and clean rooms. Can you relate? I do my best to balance the relaxed vibe I’m after and lack of a schedule with my need for a little order.

If you’re looking for a way to keep the house clean while your kids are home this summer, join me for the 30 Day Cleaning Class – it’s an email only format so you can quickly read ‘your assignment’ for the day and implement the tips. It’s also perfect for getting kids involved in the cleaning too!

30 Day Cleaning Class

After years of teaching, I know that most kids like structure and tend to thrive on the right balance of it. I make it my goal to strike that balance and make the most of their 18 summers at home. Curious how I’m going to integrate chores, planned activities, and summer fun for my three kids? I strive to create that balance between simplicity and structure – I find it really helpful all year long but in the summer it’s especially helpful. 

My kids range from the ages of 12-18 with one girl and two boys, so there’s definitely a mix of attention spans and interests to work around but I am up for the challenge. I know that every day isn’t going to be perfect, but when summer is over I hope we all feel like it was what we needed for the season.

Full disclosure: I can’t approach the summer without a plan for a couple of reasons, a.) a loose plan works best for all of us, and b.) I work full-time and even though it’s from home and for myself, this ensures that I spend time soaking up my kids but the business gets done too.

The key to a simple summer? Having a plan.

I start with a summer calendar – you can find the 2024 summer calendar here on the free guides page. I print two – one for planning to sketch out activities and see where everything lands and then one for the things I actually sign the kids up for.

Then I sign the kids up for classes or sports – 1-2 things each works well for us. The two bigger kids have more activities closer to when school starts but if we need to add something as the summer is rolling we do but I really keeping the activities to a minimum because that’s just more running around than I’m up for. I love my Homekeeping Planner for keeping myself on task during the day too!

File the school papers and mementos

You know all the papers that come home the last week of school? Have a plan for it so it doesn’t sit in a pile all summer long. We have a bin and file folder for the kids’ special papers and a large file folder for the oversized pieces. This post details both ideas.

Summer is a great time to deal with toys and toy storage with your kids. Get them involved in the sorting, tossing, and donating process and take the time to teach them how to pick up as they go and to put things away once they play with something. This post details how we deal with the toys and toy storage in our home.

Everyone has Daily Tasks and Chores

Update our daily checklists to make sure they still pertain to ability levels – our kids do chores and work around the house. We want them to know how to do laundry, cook meals, run a vacuum cleaner, clean their rooms, change sheets, and clean a toilet. Not only does this help them but it also helps us!

I like using a checklist or chore chart for the kids – this helps them know what to do each day. They can quickly glance at them during the day and check in on their progress. They have drastically cut down on nagging and reminding – I’ll take that as a win. You can find this Chore Chart free printable here or check out the Interactive Cleaning Class for Kids – it is packed with checklists and ideas for responsibilities for kids and walks them through cleaning their rooms, bathrooms, and more.

After chores come fun and activities

Once we have them completed our tasks we see what we have going on for the day. Some days we just hang out in the morning and go to the pool in the afternoon. I typically work for a couple hours in the morning – in the past I’ve utilized a babysitter a few mornings a week but as the kids are older they will do their jobs, I’ll do my Daily and Weekly Tasks and work for a bit before we do fun activities.

Encourage reading – Whether you do your library’s summer reading program or put out a basket of books from your own collection, reading is a great way to slow down summer. This quiet time is helpful for me to do a little work for 30 minutes to an hour or just to read with the kids too.  When I put a basket in our living room filled with books, the kids will independently grab books and sit on the couch and read. I find that just keeping the books available is effective in quietly encouraging them to read.

QUICK TIP: put on music that’s calming and quiet and have it in the background and it will settle the atmosphere most days 🙂

Stock up on supplies and activities that entertain the kids without cords. When the kids were younger I had activity books and art supplies out on the table or accessible in the kitchen. Yes, it’s definitely a little more messy but keeping these options open and available eliminates the electronics fight. We do have electronics but there are limits to when they can come out and for how long (it’s minimal and supervised). Come up with a plan that works for your family for the summer and do your best to stick with it.

Have an “I’m bored” checklist – have the kids help you make a checklist of things that they can do if they’re bored and then you can refer them to the list if they need something to do. Add some chores and fun activities so the list has 15-20 options and idea sparkers.

Keep meals simple and let the kids take a turn at helping with planning, prepping, and cooking. Summer is a great time to give them a lessons in the kitchen. My oldest loves baking and keeps our sweet tooth satisfied all summer long while my younger two like to come up with lunch concoctions or weird flavor combinations to try.

When we have classes and sports we keep things pretty simple at home and typically don’t do other activities. Fridays when we don’t have a class we choose a ‘Fun Friday’ activity to do. This is something that we put on a summer bucket list and can be as simple as making ice cream, having a cookie making contest, helping a neighbor, or an activity like going to the zoo or a fun park. Don’t think that you need to plan big activities to have a great summer – with just a little planning you’ll find that your summer can be fun and simple!

Tell me what you’re doing this summer – do you take the simple approach or keep the kids busy or are your trying to strike a balance too?

Here are a couple other posts that might be helpful for you!

How to Teach Kids to Clean Their Rooms
Simple Summer Lunches
How to Teach Kids to Do Laundry