My Secret Weapon for Surviving Summer with Five Boys
Maybe surviving isn’t the best choice of words. Recently I’ve had a few people ask if I enjoy having my kids home during the summer. Of course I don’t want to say no. I really do believe it would be great if they didn’t spend quite so much time at school. I love my kids to pieces and want the very best for them. But let’s be honest.
Five boys ages 11 years to 11 weeks home all day every day is no walk in the park.
We were not one hour into our summer break last week before my patience was running thin and I was getting snappy. The constant stream of questions can make your brain start to feel like spaghetti:
Hey mom, when can we go to the library?
Hey mom, can I have a snack?
Hey mom, can I get on the computer?
Hey mom, can you get my little brother away from my stuff?
Hey mom, when can we go to the park?
Hey, Mom! Hey, Mom! Hey, Mom! and it goes on and on. It was hard last summer, but now with a baby who has yet to mature into a really predictable nap schedule it’s only gotten harder.
I always try to have a plan in place to prevent the decision fatigue that comes with so many questions. Deciding how much freedom to give my kids (and how to deal with younger kids who want as much freedom as their older brothers), how much screen time, etc. is something that needs regular reevaluation. But sometimes life gets ahead of me and I feel like I can hardly catch my breath.
I am doing my best this year to create systems and expectations to avoid the decision fatigue that comes with so many questions. We have a library day, a park day, a set time and to-do list for computer time. Structure and routine keep me sane, so I try to create some predictability when the school no longer does it for me.
The real thing that saves me during the summer is quiet time. A break from all of those questions. And a chance to just get done whatever I need to get done. The more I learn about productivity, parenting, you name it, the more I believe in the power of doing what it takes to block out some time to do whatever is most important. And whether I decide to relax or get some things done, having a chance to do so without interruptions leaves me refreshed and happy to see my kids.
When my kids outgrow naps I have done my best to transition them to quiet time, but finally I established that quiet time is as much for me as it is for them. And so I created this:
Now they know that even if they’ve finished their responsibilities, they need to find something to do until the appointed hour. And it helps me to be deliberate about how much time I want to take and how I spend it.
We were only home from school for about 3 hours before I broke it out and took some time to make a plan, reviewing the great summer ideas at Power of Families, looking at educational workbooks
I’d love to share a little quiet time with you, so grab your free printable! I printed mine on cardstock and slipped it in a sheet protector, then used a rubber band to hang it on the door knob of whatever room I choose to be in. I used a dry erase marker to note the time, but you could just print a few with various times and recycle them. This is super simple to make work. And even though my kids were sure it was the longest time ever, those few minutes made a huge difference for me!
So grab yourself a little quiet time (and a lot of sanity) too!
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