Friday Thoughts
1) Summer Schedule Thoughts: With my kids getting out of school for the summer a week from today (!!), summer (and staying sane and scheduled) is on my mind. In fact, I have so many thoughts swirling around my head about summer that this might be the only “Friday Thought” I share today.
Over the last 10 summers, we’ve done various systems/schedules to keep us organized. Those of you who know me well already know that I’m super scheduled – schedules keep me sane. I’m kind of in love with schedules, actually.
So while there are some parents who approach the summer 100% free range style, I’m not one of them (although I admire greatly parents with this style, and my kids, I’m sure, often wish they had been born to a mother with a little more free range in her).
However, let me be very clear, I do not keep my kids scheduled 100% of the day. And they aren’t involved in a lot of outside activities/summer camps in the summer. Maybe summer “system” is the better word for what we have going on here.
I believe in summer chores (work before play is our motto).
And I believe it’s ok for my kids to be bored once in a while.
Every year, given the changing ages of my kids, we sit down one-on-one and evaluate what goals they would like to accomplish during the summer (learn Photoshop, build a wood project in garage, etc). And of course, I throw in a few of my own.
Our “system” has changed from year to year. In the past, I’ve done an official, super cute job chart (I made the cards from Susan Fitch’s amazing job chart clipart on Etsy). I would fill in the slots each night before I went to bed so when the kids woke up, they’d have an outline of their jobs:
It worked great for many summers, but my older kids have kind of graduated from a cutesie system like this. So we’ve also muddled through a few summers where I would do the ol’ pen and paper system for them and the cute job chart for the littles.
Now I’m at the point that I want one system for all. Simplicity! So this summer, my plan is to print out a one-page chart (I’ve linked it below) on cardstock, laminate, and use a dry erase marker for the kids to mark off their jobs.
And I’m changing up our “every day chore” system and moving toward a life skills method.
I’m realizing that my kids can do bits and pieces of a job pretty well – but clean the bathroom top to bottom thoroughly? Uh, yeah. Scary.
This summer they’ll have a daily list of tasks to complete by noon (Fridays are a free day for all the *’d jobs):
-Pick up room/make bed
-Reading (30 mins)
-Typing* (1-2 lessons per day; goal to get to 40 wpm by end of summer for age 10 and older)
-Practice piano/cello* (30 mins)
-Math facts* (10 mins)
-Dad’s outside job list (Brian writes this out every morning)
Quick note: for typing, in the past, we’ve used Typing Instructor for Kids (actual software you buy) but it didn’t play nicely with our mac, so now we just use typing.com. It’s a little boring (no frills and games) but it gets the job done and every time they finish a level, they can play a game (tons of free ones online). If anyone has great typing program suggestions, I’d love to hear them!
And then they’ll have a weekly job assignment. The cleaning jobs have to be finished and checked off by me by Thursday at noon with the caveat that if we have company or something else happening, I can ask them (nicely) to complete the job sooner.
We’ll rotate through these weekly job assignments (and I’ll help the 6- and 8-year old, but I’m expecting that my 10-, 12-, and 14-year olds should be able to do an adequate job themselves with a little training).
Weekly tasks:
-Vacuum whole house, including stairs
-Dust entire house room-by-room and help plan and prepare one dinner this week
-Clean bathrooms top to bottom (we have 2.5 bathrooms)
-Clean up breakfast every day this week and prepare one hot breakfast this week
-Clean up lunch every day this week and prepare one lunch (hot or cold) this week
Five kids. Five weekly assignments. (Here’s a PDF of the chart I threw together in Pages for a visual.)
We also have a “room job” chart that we’ve used for years that includes things like cleaning up dinner, picking up various rooms in the house, wiping down the guest bathroom, feeding animals, etc.
It works wonders for our family, and is the longest running job system I’ve ever used (we use this year long, not just in the summer). I really love this little wheel. It saves my sanity on a daily basis.
I redo it every once in a while when we need to add job or change things up. Every single day of our lives around dinnertime or right after, I call out “room jobs!” and everyone knows exactly what I’m talking about – and they (hopefully) get moving on their room job. And trust me, if one of them is still fat dogging it on the couch, one of their siblings will quickly call them out to get moving on their room job. #siblingaccountability
Anyway, I’m not sure how our summer system will work this year. It’s the first time I’ve done the “weekly” job thing – but Brian and I talk all the time how we want to raise functional, responsible kids who know how to work, how to finish a job, and how to…well…clean a toilet.
So, that’s the goal this summer. I’m still working on delegating laundry. I’m worried for my life, our septic tank, and all the clothes in our house if I offload this responsibility. They DO fold all the clothes (see room job chart), but I still do the washing.
Lest you think that my kids are the most disadvantaged kids in the history of ever to have their summer focused around jobs and chores, I always start the summer asking them to write down the three things they’d be sad if they didn’t do during the summer. The answers are enlightening. And we try to make many of them happen (assuming the list isn’t focused on international travel and anything that would require me to sell a child to afford).
So far, this summer’s list is looking doable: lemonade stand, sno cones, take walks, bowling, camping, each week a kid cooks, fishing, etc.
Since jobs are always done by noon (and usually much earlier since we are still up by 7:15 a.m. during the summer to read scriptures as a family during the week, much to my teenager’s dismay), they have the rest of the day to play basketball in the front yard, put the sprinkler under the tramp, work on their individual summer goals (woodworking, photoshop, etc), do their fave drawing tutorials on ArtHub, and, you know…get bored. 🙂
Enter my boredom busters chart.
I have this thing laminated and hanging permanently on the fridge during the summer (not during the school year). They’ve learned not to even come to me and say “I’m bored” because they’ll most likely get another job to do or I’ll rope them into whatever project I’m doing (this summer it is going to be a lot of indoor painting of rooms).
So they often consult this chart, and usually manage to find something to do to entertain them (some of the ideas require mom approval).
And guess what? If they STILL end up writhing in boredom on the couch moaning that all of their friends are at Disneyland all summer long, I console myself knowing they actually do have lots of opportunities for creativity and fun, whether they can see that right now or not.
The boredom buster chart saves me too, because despite being at home full-time (something I’m intensely grateful for), I still have to fit in 3-5 blog working hours every day, since this crazy blog of mine requires a crazy amount of work.
While I do most of that late at night, especially in the summer, I also tell my kids several days during the week that I have work hours from 1-3 (or whatever we decide that day), and they need to self-entertain and only come to me if it involves the three B’s: blood, broken bones, barf.
In addition to weekly trips to the community library, a trip to the local waterpark once in the summer, swim lessons, community pool now and then, and several family reunions, I also try to incorporate one or two NEW things each summer to keep everyone excited at home (at least for the first two weeks – ha!).
Last summer it was a slack line (similar to this one) aff. link that my parents gave to them for Christmas the year before but we hadn’t pulled out before. It stayed up all summer and was the hit of all hits.
This year, I added a few new games to our Osmo system aff. link (we love this thing – anyone else have it??). This is a learning-while-playing system – they don’t get unlimited access to it, but I’ll let them dig it out in the afternoons for 30-45 minutes (or until someone starts arguing, whichever comes first).
We just got the Awbie coding game aff. link (super excited about this one). We also have words, numbers, Newton and a few others.
And the other surprise for this summer is this impressive shaved ice machine (aff. link) A bit excessive, I know. It’s not for the faint of heart, but I have several friends with the blue model (aff. link) of this popular machine, and they can’t stop talking about it. The jury’s still out on whether or not we’ll actually use it enough to justify it; I’ll keep you posted (I’ll probably sell it if we decide it’s too much machine for us – haha).
If I had a neighbor with kids, I would have pressured them into splitting the cost with us, but I’m sure we’ll get a ton of use out of this summer, even if I haven’t figured out where to store it (my house is sadly lacking in storage – it might have to take my side of the bed and I’ll sleep on the couch).
A few other things that save us in the summer. Some of these have been birthday/Christmas gifts that continue to prove their awesomeness:
–bunch o’ ballooons aff. links
-free ArtHub drawing video tutorials
-ThinkFun games (these games are so fun; we love the roller coaster one and the tilt one) aff. links
–Snap Circuits aff. link and Legos
-Origami tutorials (we search free ones on YouTube and we also have this easy origami book) aff. link
-Lots of markers/crayons/colored pencils
-Latch hook kits (buy them with 40% off coupons at Hobby Lobby)
Phew! This is long! And I am really, really interested and excited to hear YOUR thoughts and YOUR summer systems.
But one last quick note.
Brian and I have really tried to encourage the entrepreneurial/work side of life to our kids. My 10-year old is planning on opening up a donut shop this summer and selling homemade donuts (his trial run a month or so ago produced the best donuts ever, thanks to the recipe book a frequent commenter here, Liz, sent him!). And cupcakes too, I think!
We’ve told our kids that when they turn 13, they need to be working 6-8 hours a week. Last summer, my then 13-year old made fliers for lawn mowing, helped his friend with a trash bin cleaning business, and got several odd jobs doing yard work for people in our small community.
It was a little painful, I’m not going to lie.
Most of his friends were playing video games and going on vacations all summer (at least according to him), and “working” was the last thing he wanted to do as a 13-year old, but even he admitted at the end of the summer that he was excited about the money he had earned (and even more excited about the money he had put in savings).
And I was excited he wasn’t pestering his younger siblings all summer long. We really try to foster this “work” element by sitting down and making a plan early with him (and we’ll try and do the same as the other boys reach the same age), encouraging him to find work that he really enjoys, and fronting the money for businesses or projects where he can pay us back as he earns a profit.
This year, at 14, our requirement is that he’s working 10-12 hours a week (with the idea that by the time he’s 16, working a 40-hour week job in the summer won’t kill him off). He already has a job lined up to sand down and paint a swingset, and he’s also starting a flag-selling business (Boise State and BYU flags).
Even though all the details written out like this makes me tired, I know it will be much easier to implement than it looks on paper because we’ll tackle it one day at a time, have Fridays off (yay! free day!), and ultimately, we are used to schedules so we all kind of thrive with the structure.
My goal by the end of this summer is that we’ll all still feel like this: 
Haha. In reality, I know there will be ups and downs this summer and some days where it all falls apart, but hopefully our new-ish summer system will work well.
Please share what your summer system looks like if you have one!
I welcome any and all comments (please just keep it respectful and open to all differing opinions!).
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THANK YOU! I’m about 6 years behind you (5 kids, 4 boys followed by a girl). My mind has been trying to rework our summer jobs after our forced homeschool excitement. I love some of these ideas!
I see below that the shaved ice machine was a success this past summer. Since you also have a Vitamix (and I think at one point a Blentec?), could you comment on how the ice from the shaved ice machine compares to the “crushed” or “shaved” ice you can make in the Vitamix by either dropping in ice cubes with it running or turning it on with ice cubes in it? Are they at all similar, or do the shaved ice machines really make a product that can’t be duplicated by anything else?
Also, while on the topic of cold treats, what do you think of your Whynter ice cream maker by now? Is it still working ok? Does it get used frequently or, like the shaved ice machine, is it a pain to pull out each time you want to use it? How long does it take on average to make a batch of ice cream in it?
Thanks so much for the info! I’m brainstorming what our big family Christmas present should be this year and you seem to always find some of the most fun looking kitchen stuff!
Hey Jane, great questions. I’ve never blended up ice in my vitamix so I can’t comment on the texture differences. And actually, that shaved ice machine, while awesome, found a new home with my parents. I gave it to them earlier this year for my dad to use for some scouting things and I ended up getting a much smaller shaved ice machine (my friend owned one and told me about it and how much she loved it) – we actually ended up leaving it on our counter most of the summer because it is so much smaller and I think the ice was great quality (probably not QUITE as finely shaved as the ice machine in this post…but good enough no one noticed). I highly recommend it. It is pricey, but we’ll use it for years to come. Also, yes, we still use the Whynter ice cream maker almost weekly. I keep it on the bottom floor of my pantry so it’s not a super huge pain to pull out. It’s one of those things that if it broke, I’d immediately buy a new one. I am bad about refrigerating my ice cream base ingredients before using so it probably takes a little longer to make…but I’d say once we pour in the ingredients, the ice cream is soft churned within about 40 minutes.
Thanks so much for the super fast response, esp. on this old of a post! Sounds like your original ice shaver has found a great new home! If you don’t mind me asking, what type did you end up getting? We’ve been looking at the Little Snowie 2 if we get one because it looked like it might be a little easier to store.
Based on your response, I think the Whynter ice cream machine may be quickly making it to the top of my gift options list! I have 2 more quick questions about it – Is your ice cream base room temperature when you put it in, or have you tried it with it still a little warm (for example, if you make a custard based recipe)? Also, have you noticed it having any issues making the full 2 qts it advertises it can make with each batch?
Ok, now I promise I will leave you alone! Thanks again for the super fast response and the wonderful blog!
Sorry, I meant to include a link! It’s this one: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Snowie-Ice-Shaver-Premium/dp/B01MU08Z9C/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=little+snowy+2&qid=1572621393&sr=8-1
The Little Snowie 2.
I’ve never used an ice cream base while still warm in the Whynter maker. Usually it’s just ingredients from the fridge and by the time we pour it in, it’s probably close to room temperature. I haven’t actually exactly measured the output – it makes more than my old ice cream maker that I had to freeze the base first. And it makes more than what fits in my ice cream containers (they are 1.5 quart) so I’m guessing it’s pretty much right around the 2 quart mark. However, if I’m making an ice cream with add-ins, I don’t make 2 quarts of ice cream (does that make sense)? My recipe makes 1 quart – so if I’m using add-ins like Oreos or fruit, I make a 1 1/2 batch of the ice cream mixture which leaves room for add-ins.
Thanks again for the super fast reply! Glad to know we’re not crazy to be considering the Little Frostie 2 – I thought based on your description that it was likely what you had. Thanks as well for the further info about the Whynter. I had read some reviews of a different brand saying it struggled to cool a full batch, so I’m glad to hear that’s not the case with this one. It sounds like it would be a perfect fit for my family. Now we just have to figure out which of the two we want the most! Thanks again for the info and helping all of us random strangers out on our quests to be kitchen rock stars!
Just thought I’d let you know that we used your chore system last summer and we liked it so much that I decided to come back again so I can set it up for this summer. Thanks for your awesome ideas and delicious recipes! You are a lifesaver in our home.
What did you think of your shaved ice machine this summer?
We loved it! My only complaint is that it is so big and so heavy it’s hard to keep out 100% of the time (I don’t have space in my kitchen), but it’s not convenient to store either, really…so I don’t think we used it quite as much as we would have if I had a place to keep it out all the time. Even still, it was the hit of the summer.
Hello! I did up a daily/weekly chore list for my kids after reading this post. And we are 2 days into it and it is working AWESOME. Especially the daily chore list. It was already stuff they were expected to do for the most part (take compost bag out, take recycle out, empty dishwasher ..etc) but I was constantly having to tell/ask them to do it. Now it is on their daily list…they are both getting up in the morning and going through their list. Without me having to ask!!! So lovely. I had already decided to incorporate the daily list into the school year and this just reaffirmed that decision. So THANK YOU for posting this and giving people inspiration.
So happy to hear this, Melissa! I hope the rest of the summer is as awesome as the first couple days!
We have five boys and a girl at our house–our family looks very similar to yours! but we are a few years ahead of you. Our older boys are twins and will be home from missions in August! Our third just graduated from high school.
The only system that has consistently worked for us is similar to your rooms system. I’m not organized enough to have multiple lists so everything is included in each room! So for example whoever has the front room/entry has to keep it picked up, vacuumed and dusted at least once a week. They also have breakfast and chickens. Kitchen has to keep the dishwasher unloaded/loaded and sweep as needed and mop once a week and they also have garbages and lunch. Etc. Each ‘room’ job has a meal. They help prep and make sure its cleaned up. When I had to give five jobs I put other things in place of a meal like–read with Jackson (the youngest) for 20 minutes each day. They also have to practice piano and clean up their bedrooms.
The benefit I’ve seen from this is that the kids have learned to completely clean one room. I had to help them when they were younger though. But as they got older it was awesome to be able to just quickly assign out who had which areas if we needed to ’emergency’ clean the house! Now I only have my youngest three and I miss having the house full!!
I do like the weekly job idea too–for the extra things. I was trying to come up with catchy names like ‘wash-it Wednesday’ and ‘too much stuff Tuesday’ and one of the kids asked if we can have ‘saturated fat Saturday.’ Ha!
This is awesome!! Thank you Mel! My kids get out next week and I need to make a plan! I have 4 boys also! My boys for past couple years have gone and picked cherries at a cherry orchard and sold them. I made them take their own money to pay upfront for the cherries. It was almost painful for one of my boys to part with his money. Haha . But they made a great profit! Last year we offered the option of pitting the cherries for a fee. They pitted over 100 pounds of cherries! It was a mess! But it taught them a lot about money and work.
Thanks for the ideas. I have used a lot of them in my family (i.e. lots of WORK!) for years and everyone survives! One thing…might you be willing to put together a menu of easy meals that your kids can prepare through out the summer? We are going to be focusing on kitchen skills this summer and I’m pretty intimidated about it. Just an idea. Thanks for all you do already!
Great idea! I would love a list of Mel’s easy recipes!
YES
Hey ladies! Sorry for the delay in responding. Here are a few of the meals my kids are making (in addition to a few new ones I haven’t posted yet like Instant Pot spaghetti):
–Creamy alfredo sauce with noodles
–Glazed Mini Meatloaves
–Mini Taco Cups
–Pasta al Forno
–Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
–Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies
–Crispy SW Chicken Wraps
–Skillet Fajita Nachos
–Skillet Taco Pasta Shells
That’s a pretty good start! 🙂
This is a wonderful posting! Thank you. My son is almost 28 now and long gone from the house, but you’ve offered great ideas for others! I’ve passed on your posting to my niece who has a young son and could benefit from your ideas and advice. I particularly like the ideas for work and responsibilities as well as for play and fun. All are important and essential to character development. Again, thank you! I think that, by posting your “Summer System,” you’ve really offered a service for many, many readers. Plus, your recipes are really, really good!
Love this! Thank you!
Wow, Mel! This post was just what I needed to read as I think about our summer starting in a few short days! I could have written every word you did about teaching kids responsibility, the value of work, and still making time for fun! And I think what you’ve got planned will not only serve them well, but will also make them appreciate all the fun activities and free time! I think they’re so lucky to have a mom who is not only preparing them for their lives ahead, but also showing them how to have SO MUCH FUN!!
Here’s my million dollar question, so I hope you’re still responding to comments on this post:
HOW DO YOU LET KIDS USE DEVICES FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES?! I love the idea of the kids using the iPad for art videos or piano tutorials or coding, but I know few of my children could resist sneaking onto other apps or just other videos. How do you prevent that or deal with it if they do??
Mel, long time reader, first time commenter here. You’ve inspired me in so many ways! You made me not afraid to bake from scratch, which is a skill I’m so proud of and love to share with my kids, I’ve referred many to your website for some of our go-to meals and always referenced your game and toys lists around the holidays! I’m also a homebody and think we share many similar values from what I’ve learned from your “Friday thought” posts. Loved the one recently about phone usage as my kids are now just 6, 3.5 and 10months so I have a bit of time, but I’ve struggled with how to cross that bridge that is inevitable in today’s society. And this post- Gold! I too need structure for my sanity and I believe kids need/thrive with it, I’ve been pondering our chore plan for weeks and love these ideas! I have a question and I hope you’ll have time to respond, at what age did you begin allowing screen time? My kids (6, 3, infant) have never had access to phones/ipads. We have a rare family movie night so they’ve seen a couple classic Disney movies (literally maybe 4). My older two do get to listen to podcasts (highly recommend sparkle stories) occasionally such as on long car rides. I think I’d like my oldest to start to learn some skills such as typing etc and she loves learning and would love math and spelling games I’m just worried about the addiction to/always begging for it factor. Ignorance is bliss now, she is an advanced reader and loves to read, plays creatively etc. . . So I certainly don’t “need” it to entertain her but thinking perhaps it’s “time.” Also, she attends a mixed age (3-6) Montessori school and therefore has no exposure to technology at school. Next year (first grade) will be her last year there and then she will begin a more traditional school environment, I know she will pick it up quick, but I also don’t want her to be behind in that element. I’d appreciate your insight. Thanks for everything, you are truly and inspiration and an awesome momma!
THANK YOU so much for this. I am planning on making a daily job/weekly job chart for my 2 children. I have been wanting them to be more independent of me telling them what to do all the time and this is it! It should help me during the summer a lot!
What do you use for Math Facts? A certain site? Thank you!
I make summer charts for my kids that have small prizes for every few things they complete. It includes the boring stuff like math facts, cleaning their rooms top to bottom, practice handwriting, as well as fun stuff like going to the spray park, growing crystal gardens, etc. I always include something new to learn as well. This is in addition to their regular chores, and the job list I give them most days to do. They love it! I have not finished making it yet for this year, but as we have another month before school lets out for the summer, I’m ok :). Thanks for all the ideas… gives me more variety for the summer charts!
Love those ideas, Kristi!
These are some of my fav posts of yours! Its like you totally get who I am and want to be. Thank you for sharing your tips, tricks and goals with us! Do your kids get to watch shows? If so how much? I have one kid who all her rewards are centered on wanting to watch food network.
Aw, thanks, Britney! That’s awesome and super cute that your daughter loves Food Network! We don’t do a ton of screen time (we never really have, so my kids don’t rely on it or expect it), but they definitely do love it when it happens. Usually in the afternoons in the summer, they end up with about 45 mins to an hour of electronics/screen time. They all choose different things (Wii, netflix, iPad games, etc). They have to have their jobs done before it’s allowed and it’s only for a set amount of time (I set a timer to keep us all accountable). We do watch movies on the weekend together quite a bit as a family.
You are inspiring, thank you!! I really hate to take more of your time but this question is for you and everyone that reads this blog, how do you manage screen time in the summer? I want to chuck it all out the window but am not sure that is the answer. Any feedback from anyone on what works would be greatly appreciated. Also made the giant cookie and it was fabulous!
Hey Tiffany – it’s a great question. Someone down below in the comment thread said she takes the “fight” out of it by establishing 11-12 every day as screen time. That’s the only timeframe it’s allowed so if chores aren’t done by then, the privilege is lost. I kind of like that idea because it takes the endless screen time requests out of the equation (or at least I think it would??). We’ve always been so limited with screen time since my kids were little, little that they just assume/know that our day isn’t going to center around it. We generally do about an hour in the afternoons after all the chores are done. They can choose to play the Wii (it’s super old, but they still love to play mario kart and super smash bros) or watch a show or play on the iPad. We set a timer, and if they haven’t shut things down when the timer goes off, they lose the screen time privilege for the next day. This isn’t really related, but I usually choose one day at random during the summer where they get unlimited screen time. They about lose their minds. They’re so excited. I just announce it that morning at breakfast. The funny thing is that usually after a couple hours, they’re all kind of done and they turn off all the electronics anyway. But they sure get excited about it!
The unexpected free screens day is an awesome idea! I’ll have to add that to the random fun things list!
Hey Mel,
I’ve been getting recipes from your site for 8+ years now, and I don’t know what I’d do without your site as a go to for all things food. I’ve never commented before, but this post made me want to be a better mom and I just couldn’t resist. Thank you for all the recipes and for your example of awesome motherhood. You and your husband are raising the type of boys I’d want my girls to marry. It gives me hope for the future. haha. So thanks for all you do, keep it up!
Oh, thank you so much, Julie! Your comment made my day (and made me smile!). Thank you!
I’ve never commented before, but thank you Mel for motivating me to kick things into gear! We had very unstructured summers growing up and although it was fun when I was young, as I got older, I wasted a LOT of time. I felt bored being stuck at home. I had no confidence because I had no skills and didn’t really know how to change things. I wish my mom had done a system like you, Mel. I would’ve felt much more prepared for living on my own and raising a family. I think being able to run a clean, efficient household when no training in your youth is the exception, not the rule. So I am similar to you. I want my kids to have the skills I never learned. Plus I’ve notice they really enjoy their free play time when they don’t have 12 hours of it every day 🙂
Thanks so much for your comment, Ashley! I feel so similar to how you do – I think my kids value their free time because it isn’t unlimited. Good luck with your summer plan!
Mel, you’re amazing!! I love these ideas so much!!! Thank you for the inspiration!
Thank you, Jessica!
I love this post! You’ve probably answered this somewhere along the way but do you do allowance? And is it for completion of these chores or is it a separate thing? And does it stay the same during the summer?
Hey Emilie – I don’t know that I’ve talked about that “officially” but yes, we do allowance. We do $1 for each year they are old per month. So, my 14-year old gets $14 and so on. They pay 10% to church tithing, 30% to savings and the rest is their own spending money. We don’t tie allowance to chores or jobs, and it stays the same during summer. For every week we are late paying, they get an additional 50 cents (so they hope and pray we are late all the time! haha).
Thanks for the post, you inspired me to do more for this summer. So this past Sunday, I sat down with my older kids 9,7,5 and we scheduled one thing per day: baking (it’s time I let go of control and let them enjoy baking/cooking), cleaning ( some jobs will be team work, others individual), math review (just 15 minutes), I work two weekdays during the day, so no scheduled thing for those. And of course lots of reading, yard work, walks/bikes to the park or mountains, pool, splash pads, family movies, etc.
Thanks again for sharing what works for your family, you are an awesome friend!
Thanks, Jocy! Sounds like you have a great summer plan ahead – good luck managing it all as a working momma, too!
Mel! I loved this post! And it got my wheels turning for how I can handle summer this year. One question though, how did you make the picture chore chart with the little cards? Is it fabric that’s sewn or poster board that makes the little pockets to put the chore cards into? I want to do something similar and simplified for my 6 and 4 year old, but I’m not super crafty and wondering where to start!
It’s just cardstock that’s folded into pockets and glued onto one of those large foam boards. Does that help?
Hi Mel, thanks for a fantastic post. My kids are 8 and 10 and I have gleaned a lot of great ideas from you and your commenters. My older child started doing her own laundry this year and it has worked great. I still do towels and bedding but she is in charge of her cloths. I put a list of instructions tapped near the washer for settings etc. She ran out of underwear once and learned not to do that again, life lessons are awesome! When I was growing up my mom did everything around the house and I didn’t learn how to cook or do laundry until I moved away to grad school at 22(I lived at home and went to local college for undergrad and my mom still did my laundry!!). I learned how to clean bathrooms at my first job when I was 19. It does take a lot more time and effort to teach kids household responsibilities and hold them accountable (rather than just plugging them into a movie and doing it yourself) but it is so worth raising people ready to face real life. As a kid I had lots of free time in the summers, and although I did have to take care of my own horse I wish I had been more prepared for other aspects of adult life. Summers are great for adding new skills without the stresses of the school year and I love your ideas for kid friendly summer jobs. My 10 year old just bought her own hampster including cage and supplies and she is in charge of buying its ongoing supplies so I have a list of jobs she can do to earn money. My younger son is more motivated by iPad games so he has to earn his time. Thanks for your thoughts, we are all just trying to do our best at parenting and it is so easy to second guess our choices.
Isn’t it interesting how each kid is motivated by different things? I love your take on responsibility and I do need to offload the laundry task! Baby steps. I’ll get there! Loved your thoughts; thanks for sharing!
Hi Mel!
I’ve enjoyed reading all the ideas the moms have put out there. I saw a lot of neat summer job ideas for boys. But how about girls? It seems like in a farming community there are always lots of opportunities for boys to find summer work. Not so much for girls besides babysitting. I would love to hear suggestions from readers on this.
This is a great question, Nadia! In our family, at least for now, my daughter helps out with the outside jobs, too. I’d love feedback from others on additional ideas for girls, as well! 🙂
As a “girl” with one brother, when I was growing up there were no “boy” jobs/”girl” jobs. We did all chores together … list from my father during the summer and we both learned to cook, clean, grocery shop.
I wasn’t a “girlie” girl but I’ve never liked the dirty jobs, but did them and learned and I’m grateful. I know how to use tools and do home maintenance, even though at this point in my life, I often hire those things done.
And, over the years there have been plenty of brother-sister, husband-wife teams that have done things for me: washed windows, pressure washed house and deck, yard work, woods work.
If a child (boy or girl) is not interested in “dirty” manual kind of work for summer jobs, I’m guessing that in this day, there are plenty of households that might be interested in baked goods, freezer meals, meal prep, light gardening vs mucking the stables :), dog walking or just playing with a dog that needs some kid time, sewing/mending, other pet sitting/caretaking, tutoring younger kids …
My 2 cents.
Can you give a few examples of the “goals” that your kids have accomplished? Especially at younger ages like 4 -6 ? I like that idea and am having trouble coming up with ideas to share with my son for inspiration! Thanks!
Hi Erica – a few of the goals my 4-6 year olds have set over the years: read two Magic Treehouse books start to finish (the book could vary depending on age/reading ability), learn all their subtraction (or multiplication) facts, read a simplified scripture story every morning (my older kids have had personal goals of reading a certain number of pages in the scriptures each morning), learn how to make a simple presentation on google slides and share it with the family, learn how to use a knitting loom or latch hook, draw a family portrait and color it (sometimes it has taken several variations, but this has been fun – and I help them frame it for their dresser)
PS – your picture reminded me that my husband cleaned windows with a friend all through high school. It was a super cheap company to start. Some good ladders, good squeegees and rags, a little Dawn and water. They actually made pretty good money (for a teen it was great)! Power washing driveways or fences is another good one.
Super great ideas!
You are amazing and your kids are lucky to have you. My mind is swirling with summer ideas too. My kids really 7, 4, and 1. Honestly my kids don’t have to be entertained all of the time, but they aren’t ones to pretend and play on their own much either. I’m thinking it will be exercise (some) mornings – it’s hot and humid here! Followed by chores. Then an outing (library story time, grocery store, community pool, play date with friend, or another activity). Followed by lunch and quiet time. Then maybe a family craft/game/activity, cleanup, get ready for dinner, then a bit of family free time and fun before bedtime routine.
As for chores…love your charts. Truthfully I think what I need done changes each day based on the condition of the house. 🙂 so what seems to work best right now is a list of chores for each child, taped to the counter. They wake up to the lost on counter, check it off as they go, then turn it in to me when it’s complete. Then they get paid a teensy bit when they turn it in (the immediate reward works better for my kids verses waiting until Saturday to be paid or whatever).
You are a rockstar cook and a rockstar mom!!
Love your plan and your thoughts, Trisha! Thanks for sharing!
I get all excited about this kind of schedule. My kids are still young-ish 7, 4, and 2. But I’d like to implement something similar for the older two. But my hang up is what do you to do make them accountable – I always get excited about them helping….but what do you do for consequences or accountability? That’s where I need help!
Yeah, that’s been a huge question in this thread. Bedtime is our biggest incentive. If they don’t get their jobs done by noon, they have to go to bed early (for every minute it takes them longer than that to finish). Also, they know they will miss out on fun afternoon activities (sno cones, swimming, sprinkler under the tramp, etc) if their jobs aren’t done. When my kids were little, I found positive rewards really helped them. Like, an M&M for every job they completed, or a sticker chart.
This is an awesome post!! I have 8 kids and summers can be so painful (for both me and the kids!) when we don’t have a schedule in place! I love your ideas you share and that they don’t involve video games!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Thanks, Malinda! Good luck (8 kids! you are amazing!)
I love this post!! Can I send my kids to live with you this summer???! 🙂 ha!
I printed your boredom busters for some new ideas! Thanks!! I love chore charts too.. ours are different but have worked for us for years and I couldn’t do without them!
Sounds like you have a good mix of fun and work!! (just like real life!) 🙂
Hope you have a great summer!!
Tanya
Ps. We also have a septic tank– and we have our kids do all their laundry… no problems! 🙂 They usually do it all at random times during the week so it is all spread out… that’s what the septic guy said to do (ie: avoid all laundry on Saturday) It a huge thing to take off my list! Try it! You’ll never go back! 🙂
Haha, yeah, you would probably regret that when they learn all sorts of inappropriate behavior from my kids! 🙂 Thanks for the vote of confidence on laundry. I need to just let go of the control and let them do it!
Check out Read, Write, Type – especially for younger kids. It’s not just a typing program!
http://www.talkingfingers.com/read-write-type/
Thank you!
I love all of your ideas! My question is how do you keep them accountable for their responsibilities? Are there rewards if they do their jobs or consequences if they don’t do them? What does that look like? Thanks!
Our biggest incentive has been that their jobs have to be done by noon and for the time it takes them to complete AFTER 12:00 p.m., they go to bed that many minutes early (so if they don’t finish until 1:00 p.m., they go to bed an hour early). This rarely happens, because they are motivated to get their jobs done first thing. They really don’t get any friend/fun/play privileges until jobs are done.
I want to hear more about the trash can cleaning job! That is a great idea! Especially for my boys who aren’t quite old enough to mow lawns – especially the hilly yards of western PA…. what did they wear?? Did they use the owner’s hoses? How much did they charge? Did they just do the big outside garbage cans or kitchen garbage cans too? Those are definitely things i would pay a kid to do!
Hey Claire, I can’t take credit for it – my friend Beth helped her son start it a few years ago and my son helped him last summer (and then my two other younger kids did it on their own in a few separate neighborhoods including our own). They wore shorts, t-shirts and their muck boots (rubber work boots) and work gloves. I think they charged between $8-10 a trash can. They typed up fliers and put them on peoples’ doors or knocked and explained the system a few days before the garbage truck came around and the plan was that they would come by and clean out the newly emptied trash bins on trash day. In each neighborhood, we either had a good friend or family member that allowed the boys to use their house as the “base station” (and they used our house for our neighborhood and my friends’ house who started the whole thing for another neighborhood). The boys payed that person to use their hose/water (I think $5-10 a day) and we have a pressure washer they used and took to the “base station” house. They only cleaned the larger outside trash cans. So they would pick up the trash cans (2-4 at a time depending on how many kids were helping – they just wheeled them by hand), wheel them down to the house with the hose/pressure washer, clean them out, and then return them to the owner and go to the next house.
Expected to have a 40 hour a week job when they’re 16? Wow, intense. I’m certainly not one who thinks children should be pampered and waited on. But man, we have our whoooole lives to work hard and be responsible for all the things; I love watching my children play, read, swim, and generally decompress after all the hard work that is expected of them in the school year. There are no video games (at all) or much screen time at our house, so they’re definitely not being couch potatoes, but they’re being children, not adults in training. This is because I so appreciate the fact that I was allowed to do the same as a child. As long as I kept my room clean and did my part around helping with meals (set the table, load the dishwasher) and whatever occasional other chores I was asked to help with (which honestly were few and far between like weeding the big garden a couple times per summer) I spent the vast majority of my summer hours floating in our pool and playing pretend in our wooded area. Between three or four family vacations. And I still got an academic scholarship to BYU, graduated from there at 21, and have worked really hard ever since (after 10 years as a stay at home mom, I’m now a school administrator. . .and I make dinner from scratch every night and my home is nearly always somewhere between tidy and immaculate. . .not to brag, haha, just to paint a picture). Point being, unscheduled summers filled with play and being a kid did not make me a lazy bones with no work ethic. 🙂 Just a different perspective to think about. I’d be so sad if my kids missed out on that very rare (specific to childhood) experience of unstructured , carefree time. Most of us will never get another chance for that in our lives, so I protect it like crazy for my children!
Hey Kara – what’s so fascinating to me is how many of us are a product of how we were raised. I had very scheduled summers (haha, no surprise based on how I’m raising my kids), and I was also required to have a job every summer after I turned 15-16. The expectation was that I would pay my own way to college, and I knew I would have to save money before graduating to do so. So for me, I look back and even though it wasn’t always “fun” I am so grateful to parents who structured my life and summers that way – I attribute my work ethic to them. The cool part is that you are on the flip side grateful for parents who let you enjoy summer without a lot of responsibility. I really do feel like there is space in this world for all kinds of parents and all levels of responsibility for kids. At the end of the day, most of us are just trying to do our best even if that looks completely different from each other. My kids have quite a bit of carefree unstructured time during the day, but I’ve found with them (maybe it’s just my kids??) that TOO much unstructured time and everything kind of falls apart. I’m glad you’ve had so much success! I would never be able to claim my house is anywhere close to tidy or immaculate, so I DEFINITELY applaud you for that. That’s awesome! 🙂
I love this. I have been really bad about keeping on my girls and their chores. They help out when I ask them, but I think a more consistent system is something we all need. I have been thinking about our summer lately. My girls still have about 3 weeks left of school. We had a fantastic summer last year. While we did take our big yearly vacation, most of the fun was just here at home. I tried to devote one day per week to something in particular (library, swimming, etc.), so most things cost very little, if anything at all. With that in mind, though, we always made sure to spend a large amount of time outside. Being outside almost all the time, paired with our daily activity, made for a fun summer!
Love this, Christie – we also spend a ton of time outside, and I agree, it just makes for a fun summer, even if there are a lot of jobs, too. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I’m inspired Mel! Thank you
Thanks, Cheri. 🙂
Mel,
I think your plans and aspirations/expectations for your kids and summer vacation are fantastic! As an educator, I wish more parents would focus less on all the summer camps and instead develop a schedule with expectations for reading, typing skills (love this especially! – no time to teach in schools anymore), regular chores, extra responsibilities, work, etc. You are doing the right thing and your kids will be better for these experiences. My youngest son started working part-time in a pizza shop in our town near the end of his 8th-grade year. (His older sister worked there and she was his “in”). When he was 16 and got his driver’s license, he had enough money saved to buy his own pickup truck that he paid for in cash, and he is still driving that truck today as a 22-year-old. He learned so much about the value of money, a good work ethic, etc. Matt always says it was the best thing for him, and he still managed to be active in school sports and other things that he chose to do. Good luck with your summer. I’m sure it will be hectic, but fantastic! Deb
Thanks for sharing that about your son, Deb! That really inspired me! All your thoughts were timely and what I needed to read!
You. Are. My. Hero.
Thanks for breaking it down. Don’t hate me for saying I’m still overwhelmed 🙂 This is something for me to work towards because I love a good schedule and you’re awesome for raising productive kids!!
Also I love your dress in the last pic…can you share where you got it? I love a soft, long dress 🙂
Haha, I would never hate you, Heidi – especially because I am still overwhelmed! Seriously, I think maybe I gave the wrong impression in this post that our summers go super smoothly, no one gets stressed, and everything runs like a well-oiled machine. That’s hardly the case, but I guess I kind of like a plan. So for better or for worse, it felt therapeutic to type out my plan. As for the dress, I’m pretty sure it came from either Lucy Avenue boutique or Mindy Maes. 🙂
I love your method of requiring a certain number of hours of work for kids! We too have talked about wanting out kids to work/start businesses. Could you do a post talking about that more? Specifically idea for jobs that young people can do?
Hey Meredith – I’ll definitely keep that on my radar for future posts, but until then I can share any details if you have other specific questions. First and foremost, we don’t really know what we are doing. Haha. We are just trying to inspire our kids to find something they love to do and create business-wise. As for specific jobs young kids can do, last summer we found that my 9- to 13-year olds could all do the trash bin cleaning business. That worked great. They made their own fliers, took them around, and stayed in our neighborhood or close by so I could monitor where they were going and who they were talking to (I don’t let them go inside any house to talk to adults). Another great business for younger kids is making and selling cookie dough. My kids have done that several times. They include instructions for baking on the container (they portion out the cookie dough into cookie dough balls) and presell using a simple flier.
LOVE your ideas here Mel (and all the great ones from your readers too!). My kids are already loving the art for kids hub youtube channel!
We too had “zones” for jobs for MANY years. Then last year I spent a week with my 18 year old daughter in a hotel room in NYC and discovered that this child (who is incredibly smart, responsible, and my very best cleaner) was NOT good at picking up after herself! As soon as I got home from that trip I decided I needed to teach my kids to become great at cleaning up after THEMSELVES! Rather than just being great at cleaning up a room. So we implemented “Leave No Trace”. It’s been a year now and they are definately doing better than they used to (but still need reminders).
In March we decided to tie in allowance with their effort around the house. AND we wanted them to receive and spend money consistently. So now my kids pay for their own cold cereal, treats for lunch, hot lunches, ice cream, clothing, sports, and whatever other “non-needs” they have. It has helped them be more accountable for keeping their rooms clean, “leave no trace”, and their daily kitchen job. They’ve also been more selective about what they want to buy and consume.
It’s actually been working great for our kids and I’m excited about what they are learning! I shared all the details here:
https://fabulesslyfrugal.com/kids-allowance-teaching-money-management-chores-and-responsibility/ (feel free to delete this part if you feel it’s an inappropriate share). I’ve just been loving this system for me and for my kids too and I get excited to share it!
Much love to you and thank you for your amazing work!
Thanks for your thoughts, Cathy – always love hearing them and gaining from your advice and expertise!
Thanks you for all your great ideas!! I love them all! Can we get the name of the cookbook the donut recipe comes in? Laura
Hi Laura, it’s called “Baking School” but it’s really focused on artisan bread recipes and much fancier baking than my kids ever do…however the donut recipe is the best one we’ve ever tried!
Laura, the donut recipe can be found online. Search “bread ahead bakery donut recipe”. The donut guy is Justin Gellatly.
I have a slightly different take on the cookbook “Baking School: The Bread Ahead Cookbook”. The bakery and school are very well known in the UK. The book has recipes from classic and artisanal baked goods from around the world, so while not focused on US only, most recipes are approachable and the book could be used as an educational tool if there was interest in world food history baking wise.
It is a big book and not inexpensive but a lot of fun if you’ve ever wondered about other country’s baked goods. I read a LOT and am always coming across some food item that I haven’t heard of …
I don’t have littles at home anymore, but I agree with having a plan. When I had kids home for the summer they were expected to do jobs as well. Every child in my home had a room in the house they were in charge of. They also had a part of the yard they were responsible for weeding. I have eight children so this worked really well. One would have the island one might have the front flowerbeds several of them might have a couple of rows in the garden. Besides their assigned chores they needed to draw two from the chore bowl. This is just strips of paper with odd jobs on it. Things that take under ten minutes. It may be a drawer in the kitchen or one shelf in the fridge. I know this sounds like a lot, but because they knew the routine, this all took less than an hour.
Lest you think I am a task master, we also had a lot of fun.
Monday’s we called “dig out day”, You know the day after Sunday’s day of rest. This was the day that we vacuumed and dusted, change sheets, etc.
Tuesday we called “Tightwad Tuesday” because in our area we could go to movies for a dollar.
Wednesday was “Water Wednesday”. We would go to a water park once out twice a month. The other Wednesdays were water balloons or floating the river or going to the lake.
Thursday was our errand day. I hate shopping, but it is a necessary evil. This day we ran all our errands, did the shopping, and went to the library. Ironically my kids loved it.
Friday was “Field Trip Friday”. It is pretty self explanatory. We do a lot of camping in the summer, usually just one night so we could be home for Sunda. But most times this was a picnic up the canyon, a bike ride somewhere, hiking. Rarely did it cost money.
My kids still had tons of time to play with friends. In fact most of the timer the growers came with.
Sorry for the long post. I loved summers and was always sad when my kids went back to school.
On a side note, we have the blue shaved ice machine, best purchase I have made in a long time. We have had it several years and in the summer it is used several times a week. We will have neighborhood kids come over and ask if we are doing shaved ice that day.
Thanks so much for your comment, Jill! I LOVE your summer plan – and your grown kids are so lucky to have had such a productive and fun system! I’m going to incorporate parts of it in our summer schedule, I think. Also, glad to have a vote of confidence on the shaved ice machine. We’ve used it the last two days, and I think we are hooked. 🙂
Wow! That is an impressive summer plan. I haven’t even thought about a plan but I like schedules. I have a 3 and 5 year old and my 5 year old was just in school 3 half days this past year so we are used to just playing at home a lot anyways. But I want to enjoy this last summer before kindergarten starts. However I like the idea of chores. What are good chores for 3 and 5 year olds?
Hi Mary – when my kids were right around 5-years old, I started having them help with the jobs I was doing…great jobs for that age in our house have been emptying bathroom trash cans and putting in a new liner, wiping down mirrors (yes, sometimes I have to redo), dusting, etc.
one word – WOW!
I admire how you aim to get your kids to work! Still working on that over here… Ha! My 11- (almost 12-) year-old just learned how to use the lawnmower, so I’m hoping he’ll want to try earning some money by selling his services to the neighbors.
Lawnmowing is such a great job for younger tweens and teens to do!
I always love to read your Friday thoughts. This particular one had some things I have been thinking about, but haven’t taken the time/had the energy to compile. So thank you! I am probably more like the mom you talked about that flies by the seat of my pants. I TRY to have a schedule/system. I am great with making the plans and not so great about following through. Don’t get me wrong, our lives aren’t chaos, but I would love more order. So thanks for sharing! My thoughts, particularly on teenagers working, are on the same line. My oldest thinks I’m taking away his free time and life, but he doesn’t realize that real life demands it, especially once he graduates. I know that he wants to serve a mission, but as much as we tell him how much work that’s going to be, unless he starts applying himself now, it will be too much then. Anyway. I got carried away. We all love you in our house. You have brought excitement back to my cooking life and praises from all of my children and husband. And all your advice is definitely noted and referred to. You are a rock star to me!
I agree with you, Jennifer – I’m not trying to make my teenagers’ lives hard…I’m just trying to help prep them for the life skills they need in a world that demands work. And we try to do it gradually instead of telling them at 13 they need to be working 40 hours a week. But it has had some painful moments as they think they have it harder than their friends (and maybe they do?? I don’t know). I had so many parents last summer tell me we were being too hard on our then 13-year old making him work 6-ish hours a week – several grandma-age women that I admire SO much told me even 16-17 year olds they know couldn’t or wouldn’t do that and I shouldn’t expect it of my 13-year old. I wish I could say it didn’t bother me, but I definitely had moments of feeling insecure about it and wondering if I was stealing his childhood. Ultimately, though, looking back, it almost makes me cry thinking of the skills he learned last summer, how much free time he STILL had, and how he’s mentioned at least 4-5 times since last summer ended that someone has told him he’s one of the hardest workers they know OR he’ll comment that he’s glad we’ve been willing to help him start a business and believe in him. I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers – we’re just muddling through like so many other parents, but I guess every parent has their thing they get fixated on, and teaching work ethic is one of ours. Phew! I got carried away, too. Sorry! 🙂