Summer is more than half way over and it is time to think about the dreaded Back to School routine.
Don’t let school sneak up on you! All the sudden at the end of the summer, you will find yourself thinking.. who is this kid and how will I get them motivated for school? I have learned the hard way about dragging my kids out of bed for school, after a long summer of sleeping in.
You know how this story goes …summer comes, and schedules are relaxed and all the sudden your motivated sons and daughters turn into zombies. These children who used to be up at the crack of dawn and do their chores, were motivated and excited about the day, well, they are not very motivated right now. It’s hot.
With summer the schedule is more relaxed (if there even is a schedule) and now they sleep until lunch, whine about any type of chores and by the end of the summer, they have forgotten what 1+1 is.
Don’t wait until the week before school. Start now. Today. Yes, right now. (for those of you unlucky folks who start school in early August.. sorry and good luck with the dragging out of bed routine)
8 Simple Ideas to Keep Your Kids Motivated This Summer
1. Projects – You know that long “to-do” list you have. Tackle a project and get your kids involved. This week I had a wall of pictures to hang and I had them help me do it. It inspired them to start working on things in their own rooms.
2. Summer Bucket List – Kids need something to look forward to. Have a family meeting and plan out some activities and day trips that you could do before school starts back. Some of the items on our list were; water balloon fights, outdoor movies and a trip to a local waterfall. You can find lots of fun day trip ideas here.
3. Summer Reading – If you give kids a good book, they will get lost in it. Whether it is a book in hand or an audio book. There are lots of great summer reading programs that will reward them for the books they read this summer.
4. Chore Chart – This has been invaluable to us this summer. Put an incentive system in place where they earn money or even a toy if they are younger. Motivation is key with kids. We just grab free chore chart printables and put them up in the kitchen.
5. Wake Up Time – Just like they need a scheduled bedtime, having a wake up time is important too. Just because it’s summer don’t let them sleep the day away.
6. School Work – Starting school back can be really rough. We homeschool and take the summers off, but one thing that has saved us come August is to have them do one or two educational activities a day. It can be a quick math sheet, flash cards or writing a fun story. Try to make it fun and we try to do it first thing or during the hottest part of the day.
7. Movies that Matter – Kids love an excuse to watch tv. Depending on your kids ages, we pick a few good movies or shows that the kids can watch the also have a lot of educational value. My kids are under 10, so two of our favorites are Wild Kratz (this is wonderful for science/animal studies) and Liberties Kids series. Hit the library and see what documentaries, or National Geographic movies are available that interest them. I find my kids like anything about the ocean. Going to the library also serves three purposes, getting out of the house, grabbing a movie AND you can get books.
8. A Set Bedtime – maybe it’s later, but having a set bedtime will help keep the peace. Kids need consistency. They need a schedule. Even if they say they don’t!
