Transition to Summertime: My Favorite Summer Traditions

On the last day of school, I have a tradition with my daughter. I take her to get a pedicure to transition into summer mode. I didn’t intentionally mean to start the tradition, but this past June marked the third year in a row we’ve done it. While my kids are always excited to end the school year, I think I might be the most excited. I love our summer schedule and traditions!

Our Family’s Summer “Schedule”

In our family, summertime is for:

Reading for pleasure. During the school year, the kids have to read certain books or read for specific amounts of time. In the summer, I love that they can choose what they want to read and for how long. We also like to pick one giant book to read as a family. This summer my daughter wants to tackle The Wizard of Oz while I’m thinking we might start reading the Harry Potter series, like Amy’s family did. Any other suggestions?

No homework. I really don’t hate homework that much until the kids don’t have it. Only then do I realize how nice it is to have one less “to-do” in a day and one less thing to fight about. Yeah for homework-free summers!

No lunch-making. During the school year, after the kids are tucked in, I typically have another 30-45 minutes worth of work ahead of me. I’m cleaning the kitchen, getting breakfast ready, making and prepping lunches…but not in the summer! My kids will go to a couple different camps this summer but the ones they’re going to provide lunch. I LOVE not having to make lunch at night. Summer provides me the much needed break.

A more flexible schedule. We still try to stick to a routine during the week with camp and work to juggle, but if we stay out a little late (like tonight when we went out for “Kids for Bowl free”), we’re not stressed about it. It’s summer! Schedules are meant to be broken in the summer.

Longer days. I love that it’s light outside longer. When I tuck my kids in at night the sun hasn’t fully gone down. It’s a clear sign that summer is here and the natural powers of the sun are doing their job of lifting spirits, energy levels and giving us more reasons to smile

Education By experience. With more time, more flexibility and less obligation, summer is a time to educate my kids through experiences. Whether it’s by spending July 4th in Provincetown, MA, encouraging their creativity for Camouflage Day at camp, stopping by the Cape Cod National Seashore Visitor Center or identifying some of our favorite sea creatures, it’s all about education through fun experiences.

Physical activity. I wish my kids were this physically active all year long. They certainly fall into bad habits during the cold fall and winter days. I’m so thankful we have summer that encourages them to unplug, get out and move. If I could figure out how to bottle that up year-long, it would benefit us all.

There are so many things I love about the transition into summer. What do you appreciate most about summer days? What are your favorite summer traditions?

RELATED RESOURCES:

• E-family news: Summertime and the Living is Easy — We Hope
• E-family news: Family Summer Activities
• Bright Horizons Online Community: Summer Activities for Children of a Wide Age Span
• Read more posts about summer and posts about family traditions from the Family Room bloggers

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