I will be honest. Part of me loves structure because when someone else sets a standard for me to meet, I love showing off and striving for the goal. When I have to set structure for myself, I cringe a little. I am naturally scattered and a big picture person who gets more ideas than I could ever implement. The word “structure” can seem confining. I want to add to structure a thought that hopefully will empower you to embrace some structure for you and your kids this summer: flexibility. I think if shoot for a goal and yet miss the mark when it comes to our households, I think we can still make a huge difference in the lives and hearts of those we love most.
To me, flexibility allows for spontaneity, fun and relaxation. Somedays I wake up full of energy and ready for adventure so we take off to explore with friends or visit a local site. Somedays I wake up feeling barely there and in those moments, I declare something my son has named, “lazy like crazy days.” When we are “lazy like crazy,” the checklists and chores are ignored as we stay in our jammies, snuggle, consume media, and basically accomplish very little.
I honestly do need a schedule to guide me or unfortunately I confess I completely lose track of time. Today, I’m sharing the one I created for summer. I used 3 hour blocks when thinking this through because it made sense for how we function and would give me a chance to reset several times each day if I got off course. I have both the “pretty” version I created by downloading some fun fonts from this site. (pretty simple on Windows – just downloaded the font and clicked on the name and then install).
I think it’s really important that your schedule is displayed in a prominent place in your home but also can be easily changed with both the seasons of the year and life of your family. Our schedule hangs beside our mission statement in our breakfast area. I use clear wall mount sign holders and clear thumb tacks. I’ve also used transparency holders and removable double stick tape before I was ready to go permanent. (If you don’t have a family mission statement, stay tuned as this will be covered in a future post.)
I will go ahead and also admit that a posted schedule is not sufficient to keep this social mom who works from home on track. I also use the alarms on my phone set several times a day with fun songs to keep me on track for meals and remind me of my three o’clock quality time appointment with my children.
Your starting goal. After deciding your intention (what you want for your summer with your kids), create a flexible schedule and post it in your home.
Next, I’ll be sharing my chore charts, resources I’m reading, and the app I’ve found that keeps even this scattered mom on track.
Thanks for Joining Me,
Michelle
Leave a Reply