Summer Planning Tips for Moms (Free Printable Calendar)

Summer is here. School schedules are in the dust. And your days may have a little more elbow room than they do during the school year. Consider these summer planning tips to make the most of your summer schedule.

Ready for a great time this summer? It’s possible that you’ve got your summer plans sewn up. Or maybe you’re trying to sift your way through the bounty of summer activities that you could do with your kids.

One thing is sure: a little planning goes a long way. A great summer doesn’t just happen. There are things you can do now to ensure great family time as well as not biting off more than you can chew. 

There are plenty of other ways to run yourself ragged. Save those for back to school. Ha!

You, Mom, deserve to enjoy a restful summer as much as your kids!

How to Plan a Summer You All Enjoy

No matter how you spend the school year, there are some commonalities about the summer days.

1. There’s more time in the schedule for us all to relax.
2. There’s more time in the schedule to work on long-waiting projects without sacrificing something else.
3. There’s more time in the schedule to readjust your household systems so that when things get busy again, you’re ready for them.

But, there are still only 24 hours in a day. And you could spend those 24 hours ten times over. How do you coordinate the family’s different plans in a simple way that allows you to enjoy the summer?

You don’t need to jam pack the days, but you do want them to be lively, enriching, and for the most part, fun. If you want that to happen though, you have to have a plan. Whether you have 1 kid or 6, a plan is always helpful.

This is my 28th summer as a mom, and I’ve learned a thing or two about planning enough routine to keep us all sane while also including fun things that are now cherished memories.

Follow these simple summer planning tips for moms.

1. Plan simple meals.

Meal planning is a great place to start your summer planning. You gotta eat, right?!

And I’m talking about simple meal planning, such as planning a month of meals at a time or creating a weekly meal plan template. Make your time in the kitchen count so that you can really make the most of a relaxed schedule.

This summer our family will be enjoying the following loose meal plan — on repeat. Yep, we’ll be having the same things each week but with enough freedom to mix things up based on grocery sales and what needs using:

Sunday – aka Family Dinner aka Salad Sundays – I make up a variety of salads (at least 3 different ones) with plenty of protein here and there. It’s easy and make-ahead and perfect for hot summer days.

Monday – Burger night – Bryan loves to grill so why not let him — all summer long! Burgers are easy, everyone loves them, and I can switch things up with different meat, buns, or sides in case we get bored.

Tuesday – We are diehard fans of Taco Tuesday. This is usually a Mexican food buffet that the fam can mix and match however they like.

Wednesday – Grilled chicken (he likes to grill, right?), potatoes, and salad. This week I loaded up on the good chicken Ralphs has on BOGO sale and will whip up many, many bags of marinated chicken for the freezer since I hate prepping chicken to grill almost as much as Bryan likes to grill it. lol

Thursday – This is when we parents have a date night and the kids enjoy Breakfast for Dinner.

Friday – Without fail, we have grilled sourdough pizza every.single.week. Here’s how to grill it. Here’s how to make it sourdough. So good.

Saturday – Snacky Dinner – My new time budget has me doing meal prep on Saturdays, so snacky dinner is a very good fit.

Need more simple meal plan inspiration? Be sure to check out these easy 40+ Summer Lunch Ideas for more inspiration. And most definitely, don’t forget Mom Food as Self-Care or these Lazy Summer Dinner Ideas.

2. Plan a weekly routine.

You know how much I lean on my ideal week or weekly time budget. It keeps me centered and gives my life the routine that I crave. It’s all that more important for your kids to have a weekly routine during their summer break, too.

Obviously, summer camp or other paid activities will dictate part of your summer, but on home days, a loose structure can keep things moving and prevent I’m-bored-whining.

My teen girls work at a local church day camp for four weeks each summer, but the rest of the time we enjoy our weeks dotted with regular activities such as lazy days at the beach or afternoons playing video games or watching anime.

Planning a loose summer schedule for kids of all ages is a great way to make sure the important things get done (like household chores and summer projects) while also allowing for rest and unstructured play time. 

Include older kids in the planning process, as this gives them by in and increases the chances of participation by middle school and high school students, but remember that you’re the parent, so you can absolutely define the basic routine for your week.

3. Plan for fun.

Creating a summer bucket list for the family is a fun way to plan quality time with your kids. Be sure to grab our free printable summer bucket list for kids so that everyone in the family can generate a list of activities they want to enjoy this summer. 

Here are some of the things to consider planning into your regular summer routine:

• bonfires at the beach
• canning jam and pickles
• swim lessons and/or regular pool days
• a family camping trip or a staycation at a local resort
• participating in the summer programs at church or the local library
• working through the Summer Survival Guide activities 
• lots of homemade ice cream, ice cream sundaes, and chocolate frozen bananas
• summer reading hour at home
• picnics at the park and beach

In all honesty, you may only do half of the things you dream up, but, if you don’t brainstorm now, you’re even less likely to do a small fraction of the things that you could do to make this a fun summer.

You don’t need to fill your days and make them busy. Rather, be intentional about how you spend your free time so that by the end of the summer, you have summer memories full of favorite activities.

4. Don’t neglect self-care.

The best way to enter the busy fall season is to spend some time during the summer months to refresh yourself and repair your tired body. Now is the perfect time to include some summer self-care in your daily schedule.

Have you made a self-care checklist?

Add a few Mom Days into the mix of your kid-focused days. Include a screen time plan for yourself so you have a chance to unplug as much as your kids.

Summer Self-Care can be as simple as planning a daily power nap or more intentional like working through the Summer Self-Care Planner, designed to help you incorporate best practices for your own healthy living. 

5. Track the daze.

It’s a good idea to get a bird’s eye view of the summer months. Map out upcoming events on a summer calendar — you can grab our free printable when you subscribe to the Life as Mom newsletter — and include summer goals and bucket list items.

The summer vacation will go by quickly, so think about which big projects you want to include in the upcoming weeks so that by the end of summer, you feel like you used the time well.

6. Record the wins.

Don’t you wish you remembered the finer details of last summer so that you could recreate the good things and skip the ho-hum ones? When you record your wins, you have an opportunity to make next summer even better!

Included in our free summer calendar printable is a Summer Wins worksheet for you to record the great things that happen this summer. Post it somewhere everyone can see and encourage them to mark down their favorite things that happen.

By Labor Day, you’ll have a great list of sweet memories.

Pro tip: We win or we learn. If you experience an epic fail, record what you learned from it. This models a growth mindset to your kids and helps you reframe a not-so-amazing experience.

Get the Free Printable Summer Planning Calendar

We have a HUGE resource library here at Life as Mom that is FREE to email subscribers. New downloadable resources are regularly added, including this Summer Planning Printable Set.

Drop your email address below to get instant access. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Take your summer planning to the next level this year, including important life admin as well as plenty of summer fun with your kids.

More Summer Fun Ideas

This post was originally published on June 3, 2012. It has been updated for content and clarity.