From days spent at the pool and playing with friends to going on road trips and summer vacations, enjoying the warmer weather, and not having to do any homework, children love summer. Summer provides plenty of time where kids can focus on just being kids.

But for parents, especially working parents, summer might be filled with uncertainties. Did you arrange childcare or an in-home nanny? How are you going to keep your kids engaged — or from destroying your house while you’re at work? Have you planned out any trips you have to take? How long is summer exactly? Can you send them back to school sooner?

While school might be out of session for the next few months, that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to structure your children’s day with enriching activities and academic stimulation. In fact, creating a structured summer makes each day easier for parents while giving children a set of daily expectations.

If you’re still looking for ways to fill your children’s summer, sign them up for summer camp! At Just For Kids in Chicago, our summer camp will keep your children engaged while providing the perfect balance of fun outside activities balanced with enriching academic curriculum. Contact us to get started or learn more about our summer camps availability.

Structuring an Enriching Summer Vacation

You don’t have to be a parent who dreads the summer months and the lack of structure or school schedule. Instead, plan ahead by setting summer expectations and help your children get the most out of summer.

Create Your Daily/Weekly Structure

The first step is to start by structuring your summer early. What activities or sports do you have planned for your children? Do they have any other possible commitments? Start with planning your schedule around those commitments. From there, you can look at what kind of flexibility you need versus what expectations next to be set day-to-day.

Some children do better with some flexibility in their schedule while other children thrive best when they have each hour of their day prescheduled. Customize your summer structure to allow for what kind of expectations your children need this summer.

Set Goals

Setting goals gives your children something to work towards while they’re out of school for the summer. But instead of creating those goals for your children, have them create their own goals. This makes your children put a certain level of thought and involvement into how they’re going to spend their summer. In addition, goals give children a sense purpose as they’re working towards these goals and a sense of accomplishment when they achieve them.

To help guide your children a they develop their goals, have them set S.M.A.R.T. goals:

• Specific — Make the goals simple, but also have them think about the “w” questions (who, what, when, where, why, and how).
• Measureable — How will you and your children determine if the goal was accomplished? Have them outline a way to measure that success.
• Achievable — Is this goal specific but still achievable? Make sure this goal is something your children are able to accomplish on their own.
• Relevant — The point of these goals is to have your children feel motivated, build their self-confidence, and make better decisions. Have your children consider if their goals will help them accomplish that.
• Time Bound — Set a target date for having this goal accomplished. This encourages them to work towards completing their goals along with choosing goals that won’t take the whole summer or involve too many different aspects.

Regulate Screen Time

While it might be tempting to allow your kids more screen time during the summer, don’t leave them sitting in front of a television all day! Summer brings warmer weather, so get your kids outside to play. Structure their summer with a delicate balance of screen time and time spent outside or in other active/challenging activities.

Chores

While chores might not be fun for your children, give them a set schedule of daily or weekly chores. This keeps them busy and gives them a certain level of responsibility since they no longer have homework and school time. Additionally, teaching these responsibilities at a young age will help your children learn to manage their time and responsibilities later in school and well into adulthood.

Find a Summer Camp

Have your children attended summer camp before? Whether summer camp is a family tradition or something new and exciting, fill up their weekdays with a great summer camp.

At Just for Kids, we might be biased, but we think summer camp provides an enriching space for your child to be a kid, interact with their peers, and work through enriching activities. Through our summer camp, we:

• Encourage ongoing learning
• Expand your children’s social circle beyond their peers from school
• Promote teamwork
• Foster independence
• And much more!

Prepare for the School Year

The summer is a good time to either catch up or get ahead with your child’s school curriculum. Were there certain subjects — like math or reading — that your child struggled with in school? Use the summer as a time to work on those subjects and prepare them to start next year.

If your child often excels in school, then use the summer to continue challenging them. Then they can start school in the fall familiar with new concepts and ready to tackle the year.

Summer Camp at Just for Kids

Do you have the summer structured to help your children thrive? Is summer camp part of that schedule? If not, make sure you get your child’s summer camp spot reserved at Just For Kids in Chicago!

Want to learn more about the benefits of summer camp or how to keep your kids active and motivated during the summer? Read through some of our previous posts:

• How to Ease the Transition Between Summer Vacation and Back to School
• Don’t Let Them Lose Everything They Learned This Year: Keep Your Kids Learning All Summer
• Six Ways Your Child Can Benefit From Summer Camp
• How Summer Camp Has Changed Over The Years
• How to Keep Your Kids Active This Summer