Money Saving Mom®

Summer is here. School is out. Schedules are often more laid back. And some days it can feel like there are a lot of hours in the day and you’re running out ideas to keep your children occupied.

If this is something you struggle with at your house, here are some ideas that we’ve implemented at our house:

1. Create & Follow a Routine

One of the things I love about a creating and following a routine is not only that it gives us order and structure in our day, but also that it keeps me from having to constantly be figuring out what everyone is going to do next. When there are set parameters for our day, we can just follow these and it nips a lot of possible boredom right in the bud.

In addition, a routine helps us to limit screen time. Our kids know movie time is from 5 p.m. until dinner time and only if you’ve done your chores, assignments, and had a good attitude during the day. Everyone knows these are the rules so people aren’t asking to turn on a movie earlier in the day since they know it’s not even an option.

Mom I’m Bored Jar (plus free printable!) from Somewhat Simple

2. Have Pre-Planned Options Available

We have a few hours of free time in the afternoons, but I don’t expect my children to automatically have ideas for filling this time. I want them to be creative, play make believe, do art projects, read, and build things. But if they are having trouble coming up with ideas on given afternoon, I always have a few suggestions and options available — books and audiobooks from the library, art projects, a game, an idea for something to play in the back yard, etc.

I don’t want my children to feel like they need to constantly be entertained, but I also have no problem with giving them a gentle nudge in a direction if they are lacking inspiration. I might say something like, “Why don’t you build a LEGO castle and listen to that new audiobook I got from the library?” Or, “Oh! I’ve got a great idea! Why don’t you pretend you have a restaurant and see what things from nature you can use for food in your restaurant kitchen in the back yard?”

Usually just a few ideas will get the wheels in their brain turning and pretty soon they are engaged in some project in their room or the back yard.

If you need some ideas and inspiration, check out my Fun & Frugal Summer Activities Pinterest Board. You can also look through my 4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun series.

Making Homemade Flubber

3. Replace Discontentment With Gratitude

I want to raise children that understand how blessed they are. When they complain about being bored, I try to listen to their heart. Are they just communicating that I need to do a better job of investing in them or are the communicating to me that they are struggling with discontentment?

I don’t always hit the nail on the head, but I do try to ask some questions to probe a little deeper and see where their “I’m bored” statement is coming from. If your child is moping around regularly about how life is boring, it might be time to have a heart-to-heart discussion on contentment and to put forth some effort to teach and nurture them to develop more of a grateful spirit.

Maybe to have them think of three things they are thankful for every time they say they are bored… or to find a way a to bless someone else? You’re their parent so you know what’s best for your child and where their heart is, but it’s something to consider.

What are your best tips for busting summer boredom?

You’ve set your priorities and cleared the calendar clutter. You’ve set up a realistic summer routine.

You’re pumped, excited, and ready to have an amazing summer. There’s only one problem: your family doesn’t have a clue that you’ve got their summer all lined out for them! And if you approach them in the wrong way, it could completely ruin your plans for a summer success.

Tonight, we’re going to be talking about the Do’s and Don’ts for getting your family on board this summer. Let’s dive right in…

1. Don’t Become a Drill Sergeant

The worst thing you can do is take your summer mission statement and routine and start barking orders at everyone. I promise that’s only going to make your troops want to rebel.

Chore Charts by Stephanie from Totally Together

2. Do Be Enthusiastic

Instead, call a family meeting — or whatever it is that you do at your house when breaking big news — and enthusiastically let them know that you’ve got some great ideas for summer you want to talk to them about. You set the tone for how they are going to receive things and your excitement will invariably be contagious.

3. Don’t Forget to Listen

Share some of your ideas and then ask for their input. Listen to them and take their suggestions to heart.

Your plan is a great starting place, but it’s by no means set in stone. In fact, I encourage you to make some adjustments to it based upon the input of your family. They probably have some great ideas you wouldn’t have thought of on your own.

Chore Chart from ThermoWeb

4. Do Communicate Your Expectations

Once you’ve all signed off on your summer plan of action, make sure that everyone clearly knows how it’s going to work and what is expected of them. If a routine is something new to your kids, review and practice how it’s supposed to go. Don’t expect that they’ll know how to follow a list or complete a project if you haven’t shown them how.

And don’t be discouraged if it takes awhile for the new routine to stick — or if you end up needing to tweak it after a few days. That’s totally okay!

5. Don’t Get Hung Up on the Details

Don’t become obsessed with following your routine or plans to a tee at the expense of your relationships with your children or husband. Some days, you just need to throw the routine and to-do list out the window so you can care for a sick child or do something spontaneous. That’s real life, not something to be frustrated by!

6. Do Remember What It’s All About

Remember your summer mission statement? Don’t lose sight of that this summer.

And at the end of the day, if you made memories as a family, invested in things that matter, and haven’t completely exhausted yourself, you should be encouraged and happy. Your kids are going to remember the memories made much more than they are going to remember how well you stuck with your plan.

The plan is only there to help facilitate more intentionality. If it starts to get in the way and becomes a burden rather than a blessing, it’s probably time to tweak it or toss it altogether and go back to the drawing board!

photo credit;

Want to slow down and savor this summer? Here are five tips:

1. Stay Home More

A few weeks ago, our second car was in the shop. I was amazed at how much quieter and calmer our life was that week because we had no choice but to stay home all day for most of the week!

Some families find it helpful to get out and go somewhere every day, but don’t feel like you have to just because that’s what other people do. I love staying home and we aim to stay home all day at least 2-3 days per week. When we are running, running, running, and going, going, going, it makes us all feel tired and cranky.

Try staying home more and see if it allows you to have calmer, more organized days. You can’t say it won’t work if you haven’t tried. 🙂

2. Allow Two Hours of Margin

A lot of our feelings of busyness come from trying to pack 32 hours’ worth of projects and to-do’s into a 24-hour day. No wonder we feel so overwhelmed and worn out!

Two things that have really helped me feel less schedule overload the past year are to plan out the time blocks of my day each night before I go to bed (watch the video where I talk more about this here) and also to allow at least two hours of margin in my day. These are buffer hours where I don’t have any projects planned.

Most days, there will be interruptions and unexpected things that come up and these two hours of margin time allow you to be able to deal with the interruptions without your whole day being thrown off course. And hey, if you have a rare day without many interruptions, you can use the two hours to catch up on other projects, to do something spontaneous, or even to catch up on sleep!

3. Take One Day Off

Setting aside Sundays as our “off” day has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. In fact, I would say it is almost the number one key to my productivity and efficiency. I look forward to Sundays as the weekly 24-hour period to rest, refresh, and recharge.

Not only is taking one day off good for your physical health, I believe it is imperative for your mental health and well-being long-term. You’ll quickly wear out of you just charge through life and never take time to refuel. Sundays are the day when my spirit breathes and my creativity tank is refilled for the week ahead.

I dare you to try taking one day off from work, media, and your normal life and see what you think. You might find you quickly realize you can’t imagine life without it!

4. Focus on the Best Return on Investment

There are many good things in life that you can invest your life in, but you can’t come close to trying to do them all. Figure out what the best things are for YOU and wrap your life, time, and energy around those things.

For me, that’s my marriage, my kids, my health, and the blog. I say “no” to a lot of other things because they are the best things for me to invest my time in at this season of life.

5. Choose Quality Over Quantity

When considering the multitude of opportunities that constantly present themselves for activities, ministries, service projects, and more, I try to first ask myself, “Will this matter in 25 years from now?” This helps me weed through a lot of things that just aren’t the best things for me to be devoting time and energy to right now.

After paring down my list based upon that question, I then try to focus on quality versus quantity. I’d rather do a few things really well, than a hundred things pretty poorly.

What things help you to slow down and savor life? I’d love to hear your suggestions and input!

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