Summer Schedule for Kids (Free Printables)

Summer is right around the corner, and with that comes feeling amazing for not rushing in the mornings, wearing pajamas for half the day, and opening the doors of your backyard for your kids to have fun all day.

But the truth is that after a couple of days, you may start losing your sanity.

Your kids might start getting bored and complain about not having anything to do.

And you know why they feel like this?

Because children fear the unknown, and that can turn summer into a stressful time for them. This will generate bad behavior, more whining, arguing, and even over-tiredness.

But there is a simple solution for that. Creating a summer schedule!

It may seem like extra work for you but will make the following months more manageable.

To make your days go smoothly during the summer, your little ones might need a structured enough weekly and daily schedule.

Setting up a routine like that is really important because it will bring security, consistency, establish expectations, develop healthy habits, and help kids better transition back to school when the holidays are over.

If you want to learn how to make your own schedule with the free printables that I also included in this post, just keep reading!

Creating a Summer Schedule for Kids

To start, you can make a summer bucket list with activity ideas from our post or your little ones.

Then, you can classify all those ideas into 7 groups, one for every day of the week.

Choosing days of the week to do certain things will help set a rhythm to your week while including a wide variety of activities to make everyone happy.

This is a weekly summer schedule you can try:

• Make it Monday is a day to make new things.

You can work on interesting arts and crafts projects, try preparing fun recipes, and create easy DIYs.

• Thinking Tuesday is a day to prevent the summer slump and make sure everything the kids learned this year is not forgotten.

You can have fun with learning printables, educational games, various experiments, and quiet books.

• Water Day Wednesday is a day to get wet.

You can try to get out of the house and go to the pool, a water park, a lake, or a pond.

Or you can stay at home and play with bubbles, water balloons, sprinklers, squirt guns, and sponges.

• Take a Trip Thursday is a day to officially head out of the house.

If you go out on Wednesday, you can try something simple like going on a walk around the town on a scavenger hunt, visiting a park, or going to a nearby playground.

But if you stay at home the day before, you can go to places like the library, the zoo, a museum, a cinema, or a bowling center.

• Fun Day Friday is a day to try all the things that didn’t fit the other categories. Also, you can leave this day to try activities that require a little extra help from an adult.

Some ideas on our list are a lemonade stand, camping in the backyard, a tea party, a movie day at home, and a family picnic.

• Selfless Saturday is a day to do something nice for someone else.

Kids can help a neighbor, walk the dog, or volunteer.

A good idea is to make your kids help clean the house and choose belongings that can be donated.

• Spontaneous Sunday is a day to let the kids decide what to do.

Most of the time, this day is dedicated to playdates or playing video games as we barely use electronics throughout the weekdays.

Sample Summer Daily Schedule

After creating your weekly schedule, it’s time to make a daily schedule that you can hang at your kitchen so that your kids know what’s coming up for the day.

Take a look at this summer schedule:

• At 8 am or sometimes a little earlier, kids would wake up and start their morning routine that includes having breakfast, getting dressed, combing their hair, and brushing their teeth.

• At 9 am, they will do their morning chores, including making their beds, cleaning the breakfast dishes, and taking out the trash.

• At 10 am, it is Reading time! It’s great to read every day to avoid the summer slide and to improve this skill. To make it fun, you can use the Summer Reading Challenge, which kids enjoy and actually look forward to every morning.

• At 11 am, it is time for Independent Play. Kids are allowed to play at home by themselves or play outdoors with chalk, ride bikes, etc.

• At 12 pm, it’s time for lunch. Sometimes the youngest ones take a nap right after, while the oldest kids help pick up the table and have some extra independent playtime.

• At 2 pm, try an activity from your bucket list based on your Weekly Summer Schedule above. Usually, there is enough time to try just one activity, but if you finish early, just let your kids have some quiet time playing by themselves.

• At 5 or 5:30 pm, right after you are done with your summer activity or quiet time, it is bath time.

• At 6 pm, you can have dinner together while talking about your day. Then, kids can help clear the plates.

• At 7 pm, it is the only time that kids are allowed to play with electronics.

• At 8 pm, it is storytime! You can read a story to everyone or let one of your kids take the lead.

Right after, it’s time for bed.

Summer Schedule Templates

Today, I’m sharing these free printable schedules with you!

Hopefully, they will make your summer easier.

But first, remember that they are just a guide and are not set in stone.

You can change your activities according to how the day goes on and how your kids adjust to the new routines.

I included a fill-in version of the daily schedule and also a fill-in weekly schedule, in case you need to plan every day of the week in a different way.

You can frame them and use a dry-erase marker to change your program every time you need it.

Keep in mind that the key for this schedule to work is including activities that match your own children’s interests.

But don’t forget to always make time for some reading and educational ideas as well.

Download the Summer Printable Schedule by clicking the link below and start making your own plans.

DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE DAILY SUMMER SCHEDULE

And by popular request, I also added a printer-friendly version on our Weekly Summer Schedule.

Just click the link below to get it.

DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE WEEKLY SUMMER SCHEDULE

Enjoy the summer and make good memories!

*Please remember that these printables are for personal use only. You may not sell or distribute the files. If you want to share them, please link to this post and not directly to the PDF files.

More Summer Fun for Kids:

• Boredom Jar
• Nature Scavenger Hunt
• Summer Bucket List for Kids

Summertime Routine for Kids