Summer is officially here!
The last few months of the school year were so busy for us. We had school plays, class parties, a jog-a-thon. Then kindergarten shadow day and testing. A field trip to the Fleet Science Center, art classes, the elementary school’s award ceremony, Jack’s preschool graduation, and his 5th birthday party. Whew, I’m tired and so ready to take it easy this Summer!
I love to plan out my weeks, but during the summer, I don’t want to over commit; I want to leave plenty of time open for spontaneity and for the kids to use their imagination.
To keep some structure, each summer I create reading logs and summer bucket lists for the kids.
But this year, I decided to take my planning a few steps further. I designed summer routine charts, meal and weekly activity planning schedules, calendars, a boredom jar, and even threw in some cupcake toppers to help make summer desserts more festive!
Printable Summer Collection
All printable files are available to download at the end of this post.
Sprinkled with Paper’s summer collection includes:
- Month-at-a-glance summaer calendar (June, July, August)
- Weekly plans
- Meal plans
- Summer Bucket List
- Boredom Jar
- Reading Log
- Summer Routine
- Cupcake Toppers
Printable Summer Routine
The Summer routine printable is very similar to the back to school morning routine chart I shared last year.
My original design worked so well for the kids. So I decided to freshen it up for my summer binder.
I left a few extra blank spaces in the bottom section, so we can fill in additional tasks depending on what we have planned for the day: reading, chores or a special activity. I’ll be laminating it, so I can use dry erase markers to fill in this bottom section and change as needed.
I’m bored jar
The boredom jar is a must for kids during the summer. No matter how many toys, activities or books you have at home, kids are bound to utter the words “I’m bored”.
The boredom jar is filled with simple activity suggestions for the kids to keep themselves entertained.
Assembly is super easy.
Steps:
- Print file on bright white card stock.
- Write some activities your kids enjoy on the blank strips. A few I used for my kiddos are:
- Build a Lego set
- Nerf gun war
- Chalk art outside
- Chinese checkers
- Cut out the strips, fold in half, and place into jar.
- Tape or glue the “I’m bored” label onto the front of a jar. I’m using a small mason jar I happened to have on hand.
Easy peasy!
Reading Log
My kids love books. Madison is a bona fide bookworm, and Jack’s developing a real love for books, though he’s at the very early stages of learning to read.
The kids’ school has a contest each year to see which student from each grade reads the most books over summer. Madison has won two years in a row, and is pretty serious about keeping her title this year.
I designed a simple reading log to help her keep track of the books she’s read. This summer she plans to finish the Harry Potter series, Chronicles of Narnia and a few stacks of American Girl books, so she’s eager to fill up her list.
Jack’s going into Kindergarten, so a reading log isn’t necessary for him, but it’s a good habit to develop. He’s excited to fill up his list too!
Summer Bucket List
We’ve been making summer bucketl lists as a family for several years now. It really helps us to think ahead about all the fun things we’re looking forward to and start planning out how to get the most out of the summer break.
The first week school is out, we sit down together as a family and really think about the activities that scream “summer!” to us. Some of the kid’s ideas this summer are
- Beach and pool days
- Movies in the park
- Sea World
- Water balloon fights
- S’mores
- Visiting museums
- Old Town San Diego
- Lemonade stand (this year, Jack wants to sell water too)
Our summer bucket list will include our top nine must do’s; those “wouldn’t be summer without them” activities.
Of course we do many more than nine fun summer activities, but these are the top ones that have to be done.
Planner Printables
To help stay organized and make sure I make time for everything on our summer bucket list, I designed a few printables: a month-at-a-glance calendar covering the summer vacation, weekly schedules for more details of our plans, and a meal planning schedule to make sure we stay on track with our meal planning and grocery shopping.
These planner printables help me stay on top of things like play dates, free summer activities, birthdays, and everything in between.
I’ve tried using my phone to organize these events and activities in the past, but I’ve learned that I’m a much more visual person; I like to see everything all at once because it helps me not to over schedule.
Summer Toppers
Lastly, I made summer “cupcake” toppers just for fun!
I make a bunch of these up ahead of time and put them in a plastic container with the rest of my napkins, paper plates and plastic silverware. Sometimes it’s fun to add some summer flare to the kids breakfast muffins, summer desserts, or to stick in a sandwich when friends come over for a play date. Something so simple can make an ordinary lunch feel special!
Assembly:
- Download file and print on bright white card stock.
- Cut along lines into squares, or use a shaped punch to cut out into circles, hearts, or any other design you have.
- Using hot glue, attach topper to a cupcake stick or toothpick. Sticker dots also work well.
I hope you all LOVE my summer collection. It was so fun for me to make, and I just know it will help us all to get the most out of out summer!