One more week. And then school’s out for the summer for us!
I may be a momma who thrives in routine, but I’m craving a break from packing lunches, supervising homework and school projects, driving carpool, and practicing spelling words. Plus there are things we like to do in the summer: Swim. Pick berries. Lunch at the park with friends. Swim. Hang out at the lake. Play outside. Swim. Eat snow cones and ice cream. Walk and ride bikes after dinner. Swim.
Our summer calendar isn’t too packed. Right now it includes vacation to Hilton Head, S.C., with my family; two vacation Bible schools for the kids; and robotics camp for Cate and swim lessons for Ben the same mornings.
I’m not sure I want to fill the calendar with more. At least not yet. It could easily be a different story in July. But I do have friends preparing for their summer days by searching the Internet for crafts and activities. Another momma I know is planning themed days of the week to organize her kids’ activities, play dates and outings.
Whether you want structure or a break in routine or even possibly a little of both, I have a resource I want to recommend to you. My God-sized Dream Team friend Cathy Baker, who I got a chance to meet in Branson earlier this year, recently published an ebook called “A to Z Summer Fun: Ideas to Inspire Family Fun.”
It’s packed with ideas of how to spend your summer that are organized alphabetically. The introduction even offers ideas of how to use the book — perhaps you’ll want to go from Z to A while counting down the days until school starts again or you’ll choose a letter on designated days throughout the summer.
Cathy’s family has made A to Z Summer Lists in the past and based this book on her own experiences. But her book is more than a list of ideas because it also includes websites, recipes, and craft and game instructions. There are many free ideas included as well.
“A to Z Summer Fun” costs $3.99 and is available at Amazon for your Kindle {or free Kindle app that makes reading ebooks easy on your tablet, mobile phone, or computer}. This resource is worth your money now because you likely won’t get through all the ideas in one summer so you can make plans for future summers or other holiday breaks.
In honor of summer and her book release, Cathy is offering one of your a free copy of her Clean Room Game printable, which is available from her Etsy shop called Celebrating the Moment. Whose kids don’t need a little fun to help with chore motivation, especially in the summer?
Just use the Rafflecopter below for multiple ways to enter to win. A winner will be chosen randomly Friday, May 23, which happens to be my kids’ last day of school. Updated to congratulate Jennifer Cook! An email should be in your inbox, Jennifer. Thanks to everyone who shared and liked.
So, what are you doing this summer? Are you a planner?
Cathy gave me a free PDF copy of “A to Z Summer Fun” to review, but I love the inspiration and have already recommended the book to more than one friend.
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I am pretty go with the flow, but I like to have a list of possible activities for when we all get bored!
Thanks for commenting! Sounds like a list is a good idea.
Such a great post…we have one more week too until summer! Our boys are going to swim a lot, and we have a family reunion with nationwide cousins, etc in late June at the beach! In July I get to travel to ND with my parents to see a cousin get married. All A to Z fun! 🙂
Sounds so fun! We love swimming and road tripping … especially at the beach!
Cathy is a beautiful mama! I've always loved her outlook on life and raising kiddos. Cannot wait to get a copy of her book and get some fresh ideas for this summer 🙂
She's such a fun momma so I'm glad she's sharing her ideas in this ebook. Good to see you here, Lisa!
I love, LOVE her book…Maelie and I are so excited to make our A-Z list for the summer! 🙂