If school isn't out for your kids yet, it will be soon. I'm looking forward to the lazy days of Summer and all that that entails like: sleeping in, less busy schedules (I hope), playing in the sun and the water and all the good stuff!
But I'm not going to lie- I'm a little nervous. Summer also means my kids eating and making messes ALL DAY long, plus they'll need chauffeuring, entertaining and refereeing.
In my experience, I've found that most things turn out better if I have a plan. So I came up with The Best Ways to Finish the School Year and start Summer Break!
End of the School Year
Teacher Gifts: Don't forget to give your kids' teachers gifts, thanking them for all of their hard work!
End of School Clean up: Go through the daunting task of cleaning out backpacks. Trust me, just do it right when school ends. It only takes a sec and then it's done!
How to clean out kids backpacks
- Pull out all of the papers, books, binders and everything else
- Have kids go through and save anything that's important to them
- Take pictures of bulky items
- Recycle the unwanted papers and binders
- File kept items - each of my kids has a tote to store and organize school papers and photographs. Each school year has a folder, so I can just stick their papers in the right year and be done!
Backpacks and Lunchboxes: Wash backpacks and lunch boxes- I throw ours in the laundry and wash them on cold, then hang them to dry. Store backpacks and lunch boxes for next year
After the school year stuff is cleaned up, then we can move to Summer.
Start Summer Break
Evaluate Summer Clothing: First thing is to evaluate summer clothes and shoes. Make sure everyone has shorts, T's, tanks, sandals and bathing suits.
Make Summer Bucket List: Use these Summer Bucket List ideas to come up with lots of fun ideas and activities to look forward to!
Make a Chore List: Even though it's summer, we still have to keep up with housework and everyone needs to pitch in to make it happen. Developing a Chore List makes that run sooooo much smoother. When it's all written down and posted, I don't have to nag on my kids about doing their work because they can just check the list to see what they need to do.
Make a Summer Food List: Since kids are home all day every day, they are going to want to eat all day every day. Something that can really helps with the eating all day thing is to have a Summer Food List. With a list already made, I know what to grocery shop for to have available for my kids, and they know what is available to make for themselves.
We have a limited amount of school years and summers to spend with our children. Use these Ways to Finish School and start Summer Break with a little bit of preparation and planning to make everything run smoother!
