Keeping Structure Over the Summer
PlayGroup’s Tip: Stability and Mobility
For many of us, summer brings schedule changes. School work often pauses. Travel tends to increase. We might spend more time outside, etc. This shift in routine can bring a sense of freedom, followed by feelings of chaotic overwhelm. Using routines can help us anchor ourselves and our families to feel more stable. At the same time, staying open and responsive to change can help us be mobile and experience the playfulness summer offers.
How we do it:
At PlayGroup, we use routines to provide security, which allows us to make room for all ideas. Having a set structure for our time together gives us a common framework, so we can build choices and incorporate feedback from a place of shared understanding.
As you think about the summer ahead, what elements are already stable? Is there a swimming lesson that will continue weekly? A trip already planned? Any camp time booked? Is breakfast the same as during the rest of the year?
Talk with your kid(s) about what is coming up. What is the same as the school year? What is different? What is the same/different as prior summers? Ask them to share ideas about their own goals and interests for the summer. Do they want more rest? More activities? Try to set aside your own priorities for their time and really listen to what they want to do. What can you prioritize together?
Try some structures, then adjust. After talking about the larger picture and getting a sense of everyone’s wishes, make a short-term plan. Choose a day or a week as your basic framework and build a schedule together. This doesn’t have to be mapped to the minute and can include a lot of break time! The goal is just to have a visual representation of the shape of your summer day/week that you can use to share context. Build a regular check-in time into your routine to make adjustments together.
Remember, routines are intended to create security, not rigidity. Things can change, and you can use the routine framework to assist in facilitating that change. For example, “Usually, on Mondays, you have playtime after lunch, but this week on Monday, we are going to the dentist and getting ice cream after!”