For many children, transitioning to summer vacation after 9 months of school or childcare is the best part of their year! However, this transition can be a little difficult at first for parents. Juggling different forms of childcare, setting aside time for family day trips or vacations, and having to adjust your daily life can feel a little overwhelming at times. Here’s a few tips for making the transition to summer vacation as seamless as possible:
Maintain a Routine
While school or childcare might not be your daily routine anymore, there’s always the opportunity to create new routines with your child(ren)! Creating structure with bedtimes, snack times, meals, outside play, etc. can help both you and your little ones get into the flow of summer vacation more easily.
Summer Wishlist
Sometimes one of the most stressful things about summer vacation is the sheer number of things on your to-do list for you and your children! It can be helpful to create a “wish list” with the top 10 things you want to do or accomplish (vacation spots, household projects, road trips, etc.). This can help provide some structure and give yourself ideas of how to organize your summer vacation.
Create Balance
It’s important to always balance summer activities with downtime to just stay home and relax. This isn’t just beneficial to you as a parent, but also to your child! Going to countless activities all day every day can be tiring for anyone, no matter their age, and allowing for some downtime every day can give you and your child some time to recuperate.
Invest in Learning
Just because your child is out of school doesn’t mean they have to stop learning! Doing educational lessons or crafts, visiting museums, or practicing skill sets your child learned during school can help keep them engaged and excited about learning.
Arrange Playdates
While your child is likely excited for summer vacation, they might also be sad about not seeing their friends as frequently as during the school year. Arranging playdates every so often helps your child keep in touch with friends and gives them something to always look forward to!
Heaven’s Elect Christian Learning Center is a Non-denominational Christian childcare center fully licensed by the state of Michigan. Our Midland childcare center has been serving the community since 2000. Please contact us at heavenselect.com.