Crafting a Summer Rhythm

Summer Solstice is coming up! Have you thought about a summertime rhythm for your family yet? For me, summer is an out-breath time that balances out the longer in-breath of the school months, and it needs to have its own rhythm.

The first thing I considered in crafting our rhythm is, “How do I want this summer to feel for our family?” And for me, I want this summer to feel spacious.

So as I’m making decisions about rhythm and schedule I’m going to see how they measure up to that overarching goal. Will this plan feel spacious?

Here are some of the things I thought about as I sketched out a plan for our summer:

What are our favorite summertime activities?
Are there any goals I have for my children for this summer?
What are the anchor routines from our daily rhythm that will stay the same in the summer months?
What school-year routines and activities will we let go of to make plenty of space for summer fun?
What would I like to do with the girls every day in the summer?
What would I like to do with the girls every week in the summer?
What would I like to do with the girls occasionally in the summer?
What does the calendar look like (special events, camp, swim classes…)?
How will I balance out the things I need to do (work, homeschool planning, self-care, home projects) with plenty of time to be with my kids?
How will our rhythm look different during camp weeks vs. home weeks?

When I look at our rhythm each season, some things stay the same because they’re part of what we do as a family - how we connect, how we run our household, how we are, who we are. Other things change to reflect the new season and who my children are this particular year.

In the summer as my girls get older there’s more variation because we have have weeks with camp, swim classes weeks, and weeks with nothing scheduled. At ages 6 and 9, and having been always homeschooled, I love summer as a chance for them to do more out-of-the-house activities, learn from other teachers, and meet friends outside our normal homeschool and neighborhood circles. So there’s more accommodating other people’s schedules than we’re used to. :)

I like to put pen to paper and sketch out a few ideas for how our days and weeks could flow. I usually write out a few options and then do a gut check. If it doesn’t feel good on paper, it won’t feel good in real life. Again, this summer I’ll be returning to my key question: Does this feel spacious?