4 Components of Summer Mode

When school ends in your home, how do you switch into summer mode?  What is different in your daily routines?  What do you look forward to when school ends? I’m going to share 4 components of summer mode in our home. I hope these can encourage you to look for ways to enjoy a different pace at your home in the summer.

Since we do virtual school we have a definite starting and ending date to our regular school.  There is no way for us to continue doing the curriculum over the summer.  The school closes up shop and we all get a vacation.  I love it!

I cherish this switch to summer mode in our home every year.  Supervising virtual schooling is a daily job that takes up a lot of time throughout my week, and I really enjoy the break.

What does summer mode look like in our home?  I’m going to share 4 components of summer mode that work for our family.  I hope these can inspire you to make the most of the last few weeks of summer, and enjoy the break!

1.  Relaxed Pace

One of the biggest components of summer mode in our home is a much more relaxed pace.  After a busy school year, we are all ready for a break!

We enjoy a much slower pace in the home during the summer months. The kids sleep in, and are allowed to stay up a bit later on the weekends.  We don’t participate in as many structured activities in the summer, so we have more freedom during the day.  

I would say the general speed of our lives is slowed in the summer.  And that is a welcome change for our usually busy family.

When it gets hot, we might enjoy an afternoon movie and a popsicle.  Maybe we go to the association pool. Sometimes we will play a game together.  It is a time to do things slower and enjoy the moments more. 

How can you relax the pace in your home this summer?  Can you find ways to slow down and enjoy the long lazy days?

2.  Home Projects

A second component of summer mode involves projects around the house.  Summer is a great time for me to embark on home improvement.  I have so much more time that I can focus on sorting through the closets or drawers because I am not supervising the schooling.  I also have much more freedom to go out shopping for fun organizational solutions.  I love picking up beautifully patterned storage boxes (like these at Michael’s) to hold things in our home.  When school is out, I can spend that time walking the aisles and looking for new ways to help us be organized.

I also have a habit of planning my decorating and improvement projects for the summer.  It is so much easier to have chaos in the home during the summer.  I have found that any disruption in the home makes it difficult for the boys to stay focused on school.  Any project that I am doing is much more interesting than their schoolwork.

What projects do you have that you put off for later this school year?  What could you do to improve the ambiance and organization in your home?  Can I encourage you to plan just a few things this summer to improve your home?  It will make such a difference to you as you begin the school year again.

3.  Summer Learning

I always make sure that learning is a component during our summers.  Through the years, this has taken the form of educational camps for the kids, learning apps on their iPad, and online learning classes.  This is a time for them to have more freedom to pick what they learn.  My eldest son is taking a computer programming class this summer, and my younger son has chosen to take an online psychology class.  

I’ve also tried to encourage them to keep up with their musical instrument practice, and to keep reading fun books in the summer.  When they were younger, we would keep the read aloud portion of our day going on throughout the summer.

Summer learning is largely independent.  I want the boys to learn things that get them excited, and also, I need the break.  I know families that continue schooling through the curriculum throughout the summer, but for us and our virtual education through k12, it wasn’t a choice.  Also, I need the break, and I’ll bet your kids do too.  So, please try to have this component be independent.

What do your kids get excited about learning?  Can you incorporate that excitement into a summer learning plan?  It doesn’t need to be as in depth as you might do during the school year, but it is still valuable.

4.  Summer Travel

This component is by far my favorite!  I love to travel.  When we are allowed to…

Most summers (when there isn’t a virus outbreak) we take a few trips to see the world, and to visit family who live far away.  My kids would frequently spend nights at their aunt and uncle’s home in the summer and enjoy time with their cousins.  Also, they would spend nights at their grandparents’ home.  We would also schedule family trips, and couples trips during this time.

For us, traveling in the summer is much easier than traveling during the school year because we don’t have to worry about missing lessons and assignments in the virtual school.  As the kids got older, we found that planning trips during the school year, while school was in session, was very stressful.  So, we have made it a practice to plan a trip or two during our summer break.

Do you have any time away planned?  Have you planned any time away with your husband?  This is extremely critical and will benefit your marriage!  Dave and I try to schedule at least one trip away just the two of us each year.  This year, with Covid, it has been impossible.  But, we hope that we will be able to travel again soon!

I hope you can be encouraged to discover some ideas for summer mode that work well in your home!  These four components of summer mode work well for our family, but I would love to hear from you.  What do you and your family do to embrace and enjoy the summer?

Thanks for reading, and now I think I shall go and read a good book.  It is summer, after all!