Oh summer break, do I always want you near and then far away once you’re here. It’s an everyday struggle to tell you the truth. I love summer vacation and love the fact that my kids are home with me the whole day. I always have a lot of fun filled ideas for when my kids are off from school. I picture them being happy, eating all of their food, enjoying the summer, having endless games and creativity. But then summer break is finally here and it’s a whole different story.

I’m sure you can relate to this, doesn’t summer break make your want to pull your hair off or better yet, don’t you notice little gray hairs on your head and it’s only the first week of summer break? Even though summer vacation is amazing and an opportunity to bond and enjoy it with your kids. It can also make you feel overwhelmed and tired, it can sometimes make you loose your mind and scream.

But, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. You can definitely enjoy summer break with your kids and family. It can be fun, full of opportunities to bond and create happy loving moments. You just need a few tricks and tips to achieve that. hey I’m here with you, I’m learning with you and these are the 10 simple tricks to not loose your mind during summer break that is helping me enjoy it!

 10 simple tricks to not loose your mind during summer break

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1.Have a schedule

Even though it’s summer vacation and practically you don’t need to follow a strict routine or schedule. It’s still nice to have one, for your sanity and well being. You can have one of these super cute daily schedule pocket chart. You can easily mount it on any door and it comes with 13 colored and 13 blank reusable cards. I already ordered one and I’m sure it will make summer break so much easier.

Having a summer routine or schedule is also helpful to your children. They will know what is expected each day, for example Mondays are chore days, or Tuesdays are park days, etc. I have homework or learning time everyday at a specific time, so my children already know that they have to do “homework” each day. It gives me a sense of organization and it also helps me not loose my mind during summer break.

2. Quiet time

 Summer break is to have fun and go wild, right? You can still implement quiet time in your household. During quiet time, you can give your school aged kids homework. All three of my kids have a summer packet that their school sends out to get them ready for the new school year. So, I have them work on it for an hour each day or every other day. This is quiet time.

If you have toddlers, you can provide them with coloring books and crayons, or have them take their nap if they still take one. Remember that quiet time is for you to relax and take a breather. Or, take this time to do some house work or work in general (I sometimes work on my blog!).

3. Homework/learning/reading 

Remember that just because it’s your children’s summer break, it doesn’t mean they can’t learn. Make it a point to have your kids work on their summer homework, read a new book or even draw to release their creativity. Have them work on their numbers, letters and math. Like I said before, all three of my kids have a homework packet that was given by their school to prepare them for the new school year. So I take advantage of it and have them work on it for an hour each day or every other day.

It prepares them for the new school year and it also helps them keep learning. Cultivate a love for learning at an early age!

4. House chores

Summer break is the perfect time to teach your kids about house chores. You can purchase this awesome and perfect for young kids chores chart, full of color and comes with 49 responsibility and behavior chores. Have your children help you with putting away the groceries, teach them how to make their bed every morning and to clean up their toys after they are done playing. Summer break will become that much easier, stress free and helps you not loose your mind.

If you have a toddler, you can also have him help you too, start with this chores list!

5. Parks,zoo,museums

Summer breaks is all about enjoying the outdoors and nature. Take fun family trips to the zoo, museums and aquariums, they are all super fun and educational as well. Your kids are going to love it, my kids always do. You do not need to get out of the country to have an amazing family summer vacation. Look around you, there’s a lot of different family friendly places to go visit in your city. Public parks and pools are also a great way for your kids to enjoy their summer break, for you to take a breather and watch them have fun.

Bonus! They usually fall asleep faster right after a day filled with sun, water and play 🙂

6. Let them be kids

Let your kids be kids, after all it’s summer break! Let loose a bit and bend some of your rules. This will help you stress less and actually enjoy your summer break with your kids.

7. Water play

What child doesn’t love playing with water? My kids are playing with water in our backyard as I write this post. They are having a blast and it’s also a great way to beat the heat. You can have your kids play with water and if you have a pool, I’m sure your kids will love to play in the pool as well. Hey, while they are at it, why don’t you join them? Simple tricks to not loose your mind during summer break makes all the difference.

If you have toddlers, you can check this list of fun water toys for toddlers.

8. Know there will be meltdowns

Let’s not picture summer break with unicorns and rainbows, let’s be honest here mama, meltdowns will happen. Who am I kidding? I think my kids have more meltdowns than I do. So, just to be on the safe side remember that meltdowns will happen, your toddler teenage attitude will happen, the whining will happen, the “I’m bored” card every child pulls off will happen. Keep an open mind  and try to not loose your mind by this.

9. Be patient

I think every child shows us how patient we can really be. We don’t know where it comes from, but boy do our kids take out the patience where we didn’t know we had. Try to be patient, understanding and loving to your children. Try your best not to loose your cool or mind because your patience will be tested 100 times a day. We must not fall, we must rise! Here’s a helpful post on how to be more patient, it helps specially during summer break.

If you’re looking for a new summer read, I recommend reading “How to talk so kids will listen and listen so kids will talk” book. It’s full of effective communication tips you can implement with your child. This book is referred to as “the parenting bible”, so it’s worth the read.

10. Enjoy these summer days

Last but not least, enjoy the summer with your kids. It only comes once a year right? Let’s practice on being more patient, on being more fun and on appreciating the summer days. Your kids will only be kids for a period of time, let’s not let it slip away. Plan fun family activities, have movie nights, go the park and visit family. Most importantly, enjoy these summer days because it’s a great and effective way not to loose your mind during summer break.

Quick recap:

Summer break is here and we need to embrace it! Find smart little ways to enjoy the summer with your kids and you might find a lot of things that makes your bond even stronger. These tricks will help you not loose your mind but actually enjoy summer break with your kids.

Tips and tricks to keep in mind:

1. Have a schedule
2. Quiet time
3. Homework/learning/reading time
4. House chores
5. parks/zoo/museums
6. Let them be kids
7. Water play
8. Meltdowns happen
9. Be patient
10. Enjoy these summer days

I hope you found these tips helpful in helping you survive summer break with your kids. If you enjoyed this post please share it with your friends by clicking the social media buttons down below!