This is your organizing conscience with a quick, short reminder today. Summer camp is right around the corner. If you haven’t started planning for summer camps, you might already be shut out of some of your first choices. The same goes for your favorite vacation spots. I’ve got a simple tool to help you plan your summer camp schedules now.
Like many working families, we patch together a number of different camps and activities to keep our girls busy and happy in the summer. This year I started out with a really big sheet of paper, because I’m coordinating two completely different camp schedules for my kids this year. If you have more than 2 kids, I wish you luck. The kids and I went through all the camp brochures that I had been collecting, and they made their choices.
Once our choices were made, and we scratched out the second and third place camps, I needed a way to post the camps, both for my own sanity, and to let the little people know what is up next for their schedules.
To help you, I’ve modified a blank summer schedule from Calendarpedia, which you can fill in using Word or good old pen or pencil. Just click here to get the free printable 2016 summer calendar template.
Be sure to fill out at these things on your calendar to help you plan:
- Last day of school for each child
- Summer camp choices for each child
- Family vacations
- Lessons, teams, or meets for each kid’s activities
- Trips that parents are scheduled to take for work
- First day of school for each child
Once you’ve filled this out, be sure to print and post it for the family to see.
Speaking of…why wouldn’t you just use a wall calendar for this? You absolutely could, but so many families have gone digital, that the humble wall calendar might not be visible for the kiddos to see. By seeing the kid’s activities all in one place, you’ll be helping them learn to manage their time, and they’ll be excited to check what’s coming up just for them.
Darla DeMorrow owns HeartWork Organizing near Philadelphia, with hands-on help for families to reclaim space and sanity. Her book, The Pregnant Entrepreneur, helps women deliver strong babies and profits.
