Summertime is quickly approaching! I would like to offer a few tips that I have implemented throughout the years that have made my life easier. With 5 children, it is extremely important that we mentally prepare for the summer. My husband and I sit down months before the summer to discuss our vacation schedule to make sure that we have quality time with our children. We discuss what we want them to experience during the summer and do the research to determine the locations that will work best for them to have the maximum amount of fun on our vacations. We also determine, in advance, which weeks we will have them participate in a summer camp. We already know which camp they will attend and exactly how much it will cost. We notify the camp, in advance, of the weeks that they will not be attending the camp. By notifying the camp of our children’s vacancy, it may allow the camp to open up their slots to other children instead of saying that they are booked for those weeks. I really like taking my children on a summer tour with mommy and daddy as well. That makes our children feel like they are able to really be involved in mommy and daddy’s world. That enables us to still do our work and then spend some quality time with our children without placing them in babysitting the entire summer. Also, that gives the babysitter a much needed break over the summer. Whenever we travel during the summer months, I have individual book bags packed for each of my children with activities, DVD player, games, cards, and academic lessons. We have structured time throughout the day for each activity. I make sure that my children don’t get too far away from the academic side of things by including a lesson plan daily into our routine. They get rewards when they complete a set amount of chapters. I also limit sports during the summer, because I have 4 children that play sports and they would miss so many games that it wouldn’t be fair to the teams. Summer can be fun if you really plan everything out and have a very detailed and organized schedule. Pull out a plain notebook so that you can start writing your thoughts down about the summer and start planning right away. Most importantly,value the time you have to spend with your family and make every minute count!
