We are heading into summer #3 with our wonders this year and after a lot of trial and error with what worked for our family and our children, we are excited to put some different things in place this year to set us ALL up for success and restoration. My wonders feel very threatened by unpredictability…..one of the many reasons that they both feel safe and secure during structured and predictable school days. During the summer, all I want to do is NOT have a schedule so that I can repair my soul and build my energy back up before the Fall. And therein lies the dilemma we have hit in the past.
After attending a workshop hosted by my friend Elizabeth McKinley, inspiring many families to not let summer pass us by, we got to draft what our INTENTIONAL summers will look like on these great posters. The kiddos and I enjoyed drafting out 2.5 months of fun adventures on the big calendar and getting excited about all that we get to do in our time off together.
To help with our dilemma of structure vs. free-time, I decided to come up with a daily schedule for the days where we are at home for a majority of the day with nothing on the big calendar. We drafted time slots for different tasks we want done each day. This includes time for our modified home-summer school time and independent time (both wonders need practice at entertaining themselves and playing alone without adult direction). And then we leave the afternoons for getting out of the house for different activities. Free bowling, Trampoline Zone memberships, and the great parks around our county will be filling up our weeks and I know the kids will be excited no matter which option we choose!
The nice part about this schedule for ME is that I know which times of our days I will have for my own restorative needs like reading, scrapbooking, or blogging and can plan accordingly while the kids are fulfilling their scheduled duties. I can also plan meet ups with friends and family around this schedule in my beloved new planner.
If your kiddos have a hard time with unstructured days….this scheduling system might be a good experiment to try! As a small sidenote, I am a firm believer to not structure my wonders’ PLAY (what we call independent time)….we tell them often that “boredom is a choice” and I want them to problem solve and be creative on their own. But that doesn’t mean I can’t provide predictability in the times when they will get to make those free choices and the times when we will adventure out as a family unit.
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