Who doesn’t look forward to the summer? If you raised your hand, you are lame (I kid, I kid 🙂 ). But seriously, when I think of summer time I think of lazy weekends spent lounging around the pool. Or grilling in the backyard. Or vacations. Basically, bring on all the relaxation! But toddlers- these little humans are balls of energy and the last thing they are thinking about is relaxing this summer. Hence the need for some structure with a summer schedule for toddlers. I have been jotting down ideas and creating a schedule for my little one so I decided to just share with you guys what I have come up with so you too can incorporate a learning structure into your summer routine.
I get it. Not everyone is like me and thrives off schedules and lists. But I want to help you and your toddler have stress-free days this summer. So take my advice and implement some structure so they continue to learn, stay busy, and so you aren’t scrambling to figure out what to do with them each time they throw a tantrum because they need to kill off some energy! (totally talking about myself here)
Asher started preschool a few days a week when he was 18 months old and it has been really good for him. He gets out of school for the summer in a few weeks and potentially not returning in the Fall until he is a little older so I really want to keep the structure going that he has learned this past year. The great thing is by starting this routine now, we will be able to transition nicely into a preschool structure should I decide to homeschool for this coming preschool year.
There are a few different ways I plan to structure our summer to ensure my son is not only having fun everyday but also learning at the same time. Each day has a specific daily focus to coincide with our typical toddler daily schedule. I also focused on activities that won’t break the bank as we do not have a ton of money to spend on expensive outings every week (have to be conscious of the budget ya know 😉 )
Our toddler schedule is a basic day to day schedule that structures the day for your little. Meals, nap time (if any), outside play, free-play, reading, bedtime routine and time for the daily focus for the week are all included in our schedule! Please note, I made this schedule to be flexible during the hours of 12-5pm as somedays I will have errands or other things to do in which I will do so during this time with the kids in tow. We can have lunch and do nap time on the go in this case. Also, if our daily focus activity runs over we can use time from 12-5pm to cover it as well. I squeeze in time for blogging and real estate follow up during this time block when the kids are napping and also use time after the kids go to bed for work related activities. Basically, you can do what works for you during the afternoon hours using our daily schedule as a general guideline 🙂
Daily focuses were the easiest way I could think of to make sure my little guy is learning something new each week while we also have fun this summer. Each day of the week has a theme to make sure we get out and about! As with any schedule, we can always adjust things on the fly but this gives us a really good guideline to follow. We are sure to have our time filled with plenty to do and now I won’t have to scramble everyday trying to keep him entertained- which is especially important considering I am also caring for my newborn at the same time!
Click here for your free summer schedule for toddlers printable! And as a bonus, I have included our daily toddler schedule that I shared in this post for you here! I hope you find these schedules helpful and that they bring organization, learning and fun into your home this summer!
