Life-Saving Summer Schedule for Kids Printable Templates

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Do you need some help with your summer schedule? Here are printables you can use for a daily schedule, theme days, monthly calendars, activity lists, labels – everything you need for a summer command center to make the most of your time together with your kids while keeping your sanity! Come read how I’m doing it!

Routine is Key for Kids, Even in Summer

My twin boys just finished kindergarten, our first official school year in Tennessee. They were done before Memorial Day, which is a big switch from New York, where we came from (kids didn’t get out until end of June!). 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t twitching a bit thinking about how I’m going to be camp counselor, full of fun activities, instead of having hours to myself like I did when they’re in school. 

I learned last year that having some kind of routine definitely helped, but now that we aren’t in survival mode, we have a lot more options.

And to be honest, I’m excited about the time with my sons – places to explore, fun things to do together. They are at a great age with so many more possibilities than when they were toddlers. 

Still, I didn’t want to roll into this summer without some kind of plan.

 

How I’m Negotiating the Summer Schedule

I have a few loose goals for the summer, and I don’t want this summer to feel rigid and hyper-scheduled. Basically, they are: 

I want down time for relaxing.

I want time for to explore and experience fun things in our areas.

I don’t want my kids to be in front of the TV for hours.

I don’t want to wake up every day trying to figure out what we are going to do every. single. day.

That’s pretty much it. I don’t have a lot of educational goals for them. Kindergarten was 7 hours a day, and they learned a ton. I don’t feel the need for ‘summer school’ beside reading at bedtime. (They do watch PBS Kids, so I think that counts as education, too).

To that end, on Memorial Day morning, I started to created both a daily routine (not schedule) as well as a weekly schedule. Let me emphasize: The “schedules” are LOOSE. Subject to change. Not a hard, fast rule.

I built in margins of time. I built in down time. And of course, on any given day, we can flip-flop activities, do something different, or just not do them at all.

I’ll say this loud for the people in the back: the important thing to remember is that mom rules the schedule, the schedule doesn’t rule mom.

I have some printables I’d like to share with you to make your life a little easier. Included in this bundle are daily schedules, weekly theme schedules, activity list sheets, labels for jars, and blank calendars. Blank templates of the schedules are included as well.

Daily Schedule (Routine) for Summer for Kids

I have my schedule that you are welcome to use, and I also included blank templates where you can create your own daily schedule.

The idea is that you figure out your lifestyle, your priorities and plan accordingly. 

For example, I want my kids to have time out of the house every day, even if it’s just in our yard. Because we live in Tennessee, it gets HOT as the day goes on.

So, I planned our outside time in the morning. The afternoons are for crafts, baking, downtime – inside activities.

You might have naptimes you’re working around or certain errands or other scheduled activities. Totally fine. Just work them in.

In addition to meal time, I scheduled in quiet play, TV time, screen time, outdoor play, indoor activities.  The variations are mostly for what we do outdoors and what we do indoors. Some days we’ll be out all day, and that’s fine.

Daily Theme Schedule for Summer

To try to keep things varied, I gave each day a ‘theme.’ It helps so we aren’t doing the same thing every day as well as running all over every single day.

Of course, this is weather dependent, and we can skip a theme any time we want for a playdate or other activity. We can switch up days. No need to stick with the catchy title (totally find to have Make it Monday – craft day- on Wednesday) if that works better for us.

The themes I chose for us:

Make it Monday (crafts)

Take a Trip Tuesday (day trips)

Water Fun Wednesday (home or local splashpads, etc)

Foodie Fun Thursday (make or bake food in the kitchen)

Local Fun Friday (explore fun places in our town)

Other themes you can include are learning days (this is a great post for summer camp at home ideas!), acts of kindness, playdates – anything you want that works for your family.

Lists and Options Templates for Summer Activities

In this set, I included some sheets to brainstorm your activities as well as labels you can cut and tape on jars. 

For activities we do at home (crafts, food, indoor activities, outdoor activities), I’ll likely be adding to my lists as I find new ideas.

For those options, I wrote the activity on a popsicle stick and placed it in the jar with the corresponding label. That way, it’s an easy pick.  

 

For the activities where we leave the house (trips, waterfun, local fun), I listed those options on the sheet instead of placing them in the jars.

 

First, I don’t want the kids randomly picking from there; those are activities I want to schedule myself.  Second, I won’t be adding to that list too much, so that set space for a list worked fine. 

I included labels for all categories as well as blanks so you can do what’s best for you.

How to Work the Schedule Best

Once you’ve set your daily schedule and picked your themes for the week, you can start brainstorming ideas in each category.

The hope is that this makes your life easier  – that it will flow more smoothly, not add extra complicated work. I find it easier to pick a craft and food activity on Sunday for the week (kids can pick), so that way I  can make sure I have the supplies ahead of time. 

You can work with your child and the weather and all other varying factors to plan in your local fun, water fun and day trips for that week.

Once you’re all set with activities, just plug them into the calendar – blank monthly templates are included too!

 

And this is my summer command center, where it all the magic begins. 🙂

Kid- Friendly Resources for Your Summer Schedule

For your day trips, local town trips and water fun, all of that will depend on where you live. If you need ideas, I’d suggest definitely checking out some of your local Facebook groups. They are usually filled with helpful ideas.

For Craft Ideas

There is no shortage of craft ideas online. Of course, there’s Pinterest. Here are a few other sources that can get your started for craft ideas:

10 Crafts from Materials You Have at Home

Summer Surival Calendar with Crafts

Michaels Crafts & Activities

Low Prep Stem Activities for Kids

PBS Kids Crafts and Games (Perfect if your child loves a particular show! You can sort by age and show!)

 

For Day Trip or Local Ideas

50 Amazing Staycation Ideas

75 Summer Bucket List Ideas

7 Easy Scavenger Hunts for Kids

Creative Camping Photo {& Selfie!} Challenge + 18 More Free Printables!

 

For Home Activity Ideas

70 Activities You Can Do From Home with Kids

10 Service Project Ideas for Kids

14 Acts of Kindness for Kids

22 Indoor Activities to Do With Kids (both quiet ones and ones that get energy out!)

87 Energy Busting Activities for Kids

35 Activities for Kids at Home (and You’re Out of Ideas)

Low Key Activities for Kids

100 TV Free Activities for Kids

 

Get Your Free Summer Schedule and Activity Printables Here!

To grab these printables, just fill out the box below and you’ll be redirected to the download page! Grab what you need or all of them! They are divided up into labels, monthly calendars, and daily/theme schedules and blank templates.

 

 

I’d love to hear how these work out for you! Please comment here or on Pinterest or tag me on Instagram @100affections!

If a planner is more your style, be sure to check out this summer family planner – a 15 page PDF with everything you need – for free! You can also grab a full year free printable planner with calendars galore & a ton more! You can also grab this schedule planner if you homeschool!

And if you really love printables to help you organize, be sure to check out 21 Free Printables to Help You Organize Your Life and Home!

Thoughts? I’d love to hear them! Leave a comment below!