10 Ways to Prepare for Summer

10 Ways to Prepare for Summer

by Cheryl Allen & Lorna McGrath

1. Maintain a routine–getting up at a similar time each day, eating at regular times, keeping enough routine to keep your child comfortable. This is important for all ages. It gives them a sense of stability. It is especially important in early childhood, as these children are especially sensitive to order and consistency.

2. Keep up your family meeting schedule. Remember that family meetings provide opportunities for everyone to have a voice, be a leader, and take part in shaping the summer. If you have visitors, invite them to join your meeting.

3. Create and discuss family expectations for behavior at home, out on the town, and when traveling. These are great topics for family meetings as you prepare for summer.

4. Find out what each family member is hoping for from the summer and see if you can meet each family member’s goal. This is another topic for a family meeting. Remember to break down preparation topics into manageable pieces so that you don’t feel as if everything has to be covered in one meeting.

5. If possible, schedule only one or two activities or camps in the summer to provide consistency. Also, if these activities or camps can be chosen with your family values about respectful interactions among participants and adults in mind, the experience will probably be more enjoyable and productive for your child.

6. Let your child know about plans for the day and what may be required ahead of time so your child can plan. Even though you will share with each other at your family meetings what’s up for the week, it is important to look at each day in more detail as the day begins.

7. Allow for relaxation time each day, especially if you are traveling or have visitors. As always, we suggest that consciously planning for downtime is as important as planning for activities.

8. Encourage time for practical life activities–gardening, cooking, and cleaning. Practical life activities bring us back to our family community, interacting together, doing meaningful work, and learning to use math and science in our everyday lives.

9. If you don’t already have this, develop a quieting space for each family member. Creating “quieting spaces” for each family member involves multiple family meetings, so start planning them now. As school comes to an end, consider quieting spaces for summer travels.

10. Plan your schedule so that you’re home in time to prepare for the new school year. We always think that summer will last forever, but before we know it, it’s time to go back to school. It’s helpful to the whole family to get back into a home routine at least a week before school starts. •

Cheryl Allen is the Associate Coordinator of the MontessoriFamily Alliance and is also a parenting educator and a Montessori consultant with the MontessoriFoundation. Cheryl attended Montessori school as a child. After some time as a traditional Secondary teacher, she worked in Montessori classrooms, 3-6, 6-9, and 9-12, earning certifications from both AMS (3-6and 6-9) and IMC (6-12). She is a teacher educator, workshop presenter, and member of IMC accreditation teams. Cheryl’s two children attended Montessori from age two through high school graduation.

Lorna McGrath, MEd, is Director of IMC School Accreditation, Program Director of the MontessoriFamily Alliance, and Senior Consultant of The Montessori Foundation. Lorna has 41 years of experience in the field of education, teaching children from 18 months through 6 years old and from 12 through 18 years old in both public schools and independent Montessori schools. Lorna is a Montessori teacher educator, conference presenter, and school consultant. She can be reached at lornamcgrath@montessori.org.