Ideas for Routines with Kids During The Summer or the School Year

It's Summer time and living's easy right? Not if you have kids it's not. I love the Summer and I love being with my kids more, but on the days when we don't have a routine, I really struggle. I have days during the school year where I have this problem as well. There are days when I don't go into work and I mentioned the other day on Instagram that I need to find some different routine's for those days. So many moms asked me to share what responses I got that I decided to put them in a blog post. Today's post is a list of activities that you could add to your daily, weekly or monthly routine with kids. Some of the things on this list would work well for babies and toddlers and others work for all ages. 

IDEAS FOR CREATING ROUTINES WITH KIDS AT HOME DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR OR SUMMER

• Story time at the library. They have different toys than those at home. 
• The library usually has activities planned throughout the summer. And it's free!
• Summer reading program/day to check out books. 
• Season passes to Worlds of Fun.
• Visit the animals at a local farm.
• Find new and different playgrounds to visit.
• Open gym at your local community center.
• Go to the zoo.
• Picnic at the park.
• Splash Pad.
• Pool.
• Matinee movies at the movie theater.
• Chick-fil-a play dates.
• Sidewalk chalk and water play.
• Setting up a tent in the front or backyard for play.
• Nature walks with a list of things to find (scavenger hunt style).
• Child centered exhibit like a children's musem.
• Play-doh with cookie cutters.
• Diggers out in the dirt or mulch.
• Finger paint.
• Go on a walk.
• Implement chore charts.
• Membership at the trampoline park.
• Join kids skate free and kids bowl free times at your local bowling alley and roller rink.
• Take them out to breakfast.
• "Fun" Summer workbooks.
• Local gym where I can workout alone and the children love playing at the child watch.
• Mandatory outside playtime before lunch everyday.
• Spend time in the kitchen with kid friendly recipes. Go to the grocery store and purchase the ingredients for the recipe.
• Have a toy car wash. Get two big plastic tubs and fill one with dirt and their cars/trucks/etc then fill another tub with soapy water and scrub brushes. Get the cars dirty then clean them and repeat! 
• Rotate toys out every 2 weeks (not all but some of the bigger ticket items so they feel fresh and exciting when they come back).
• Practice eating out at a nice restaurant during non-busy times.
• Park hopping.
• Walks after dinner.
• Choose 5 toys to donate to charity.
• Wash the car.
• Random acts of kindness.

If you have other ideas, feel free to leave them in the comments! I hope these ideas help you add one or two new routines to your week! Just a few can make all of the difference!