When my kids were in elementary school, I looked forward to summer vacation and the fun times we would share. I also looked forward to sleeping in a little later and having some freedom from a rigid schedule. But freedom can quickly turn into chaos if kids suddenly go from structure to no structure. So my strategy was to implement a summer routine—not nearly as rigid as the school day schedule, but still having a sense of order to the day.

When the kids woke up, we ate breakfast, brushed our teeth, got dressed, and made the beds. Then we had a half hour of Bible time. My oldest son read from his own Bible storybook, while my younger two kids used books and tapes to have their devotions together. The reason I did not read to them at that time is because I wanted to have my own devotions while they were having theirs. I read Bible stories to them at mealtime and bedtime—so Bible time in the morning was my time with God.

After Bible time we had a half hour of math time. I used worksheets that I purchased from a teachers’ supply store. I chose math activities that were fun and not too challenging since I didn’t want them to think of this as hard work, but fun work. Then we had a half hour of reading time. They could read anything they wanted from The Chronicles of Narnia to Calvin and Hobbs to The Pokey Little Puppy. I didn’t care what they read as long as they were reading something that was Mom approved.

When our reading time was over, it was play time—indoors or outdoors depending on the day.  Sometimes my kids had friends over to play. Sometimes we went for a walk or a bike ride. Sometimes we did art projects or made play dough. Not every day was the same, and my kids had plenty of free time. But when we started our day with some “order” the rest of the day seemed to fall into place.

Of course there were days when we had appointments or birthday parties or errands to run, so I had to be flexible. But on the days that we were going to be home, I loved our summer morning routine. We had order in the house.

Here’s to summer fun and morning routines!

Crystal