How I Organize Our Summer

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You might not guess it from my posts, but the truth is I am the QUEEN of procrastination. No matter how hard I try there is always a little voice in my head whispering “Why do it now? You have tons of time. Why don’t you scroll through Instagram and look at pictures of houses you can’t afford on Pinterest?” This inevitably leads to last minute scrambling, stress and sometimes things flat out not getting done.

It’s particularly true when it comes to tacking my seasonal bucket lists. Last Fall I sat down with Nugget and Goose and we made a list of 25 things we wanted to do. I’m pretty sure we actually crossed off 8 of them – and for us that was pretty darn good! So this year I have poured my blood sweat and tears (OK, so maybe I was pouring more wine than sweat) into a fabulous – and hopefully super functional Summer Calendar. So without further ado let me show you How I Organize Our Summer!

What It Is:

Isn’t it beautiful?! I spent so much time cutting out tiny squares that I feel like I birthed this thing! While there’s probably some room to pretty it up a little more, I think that it absolutely aces the functional category.

So basically, this is a cork-board that shows us the upcoming week, with each day divided into 4 sections. Below that is a place to indicate each day’s weather and temperature and on the left you’ll see a monthly calendar, bible verse of the week, and an interchangeable space that I intend to use for inspirational quotes, pictures or notes.

Each calendar square is filled with Velcro to easily adjust your schedule from week to week. On the back of the board is where we store all of our bucket list activities (along with some more practical events like ‘errands with mommy’ and ‘quiet morning at home.’)

How It Works:

At the beginning of each week the boys and I will sit down together and fill out our schedule for the week ahead. We will begin by inserting all of our ‘must-do’ activities: swim lessons, soccer practice, nap time for Nugget etc. Then we will check the weather forecast and use our weather icons to indicate the weather and temperature that is forecast for each day. This is one area that a lot of other calendars leave out that I think will really help us. If the weathermen get it right then we should manage to plan our pool days when it’s hot and sunny and a trip to the museum when it’s rainy.

Once the weather and necessities are on the board we can tackle the fun part – filling the blank spaces with fun Summer activities! Of course this doesn’t mean that they will get to have a fun, over-the-top adventure every single day. Sometimes it might be something small like a baking project or arts and crafts with Mommy or a play date with cousins. The important thing is that the boys will be able to see exactly how we will be spending our time and get to prioritize the activities that they value most.

How to Make Your Own Summer Schedule:

Supplies:

• One 18″ x 24″ Cork Board – I found mine at Goodwill for $1, but if you’re in a hurry this one from Amazon is awesome!
• Spray Paint (if you wish to change the color of your cork board. I painted mine black)
• 1 Sheet of White Poster Board
• 1 Sheet of Colored Poster Board in the your preferred accent color
• A Laminator – I have this Purple Cows Laminator and ADORE it!!!
• Laminating Sheets
• A Ruler
• Black Markers
• Adhesive Backed VELCRO Tabs – go ahead and buy stock in Velcro you’re going to need a TON of these things!
• A Downloaded Copy of the Summer Schedule Template from my Free Digital Resource Library

Instructions:

1. (Optional) Begin by prepping your cork board. Since mine was old and ratty I gave it 3 light coats of black spray paint to  freshen it up. Be as creative as you want here!
2. Cut your white poster board into 2 rectangles. The first should measure 12″ x 15″ and the second should measure 2.5″ x 15″.
3. Use a ruler and black sharpie to add grid lines to your 12″x15″ rectangle as shown in the chart below. The days of the week header squares are 2″ x 2″, the time of day header squares are 1″ wide x 2.5″ high, and the blank squares all measure 2″ wide  x 2.5″ high.
4. Add matching vertical grid lines to your second white rectangle.
5. Open the excel spreadsheet that you downloaded from my Free Digital Resource Library, and customize any of the headers or activity / weather cards to meet your needs. You can navigate between each section by using the tabs at the bottom of your spreadsheet.
6. Once your headers and activity cards have been updated print them all out.
7. Cut out the day of the week and time of day headers and glue them into the appropriate spots on your poster board.
8. Now for the fun part – your life will be MUCH easier if you have a paper cutter like this one. However you chose to do it, get settled in for a looong afternoon of cutting.
9. Once you have finished cutting our all of your weather and activity cards, I strongly recommend laminating them. I know it’s another annoying step, but let’s be honest – do you really want to have to do these all over again?
10. **Quick Tip** Use a tape runner to apply a dab of adhesive to the back of each activity card and secure it within your laminating pouch.  This makes it much easier to laminate several small pieces all at once without worrying about them slipping around.
11. Once the pieces are laminated you get to have some more fun cutting – yay!
12. You’re finally done with the hardest parts – hurray! Now get out the 20 packs of adhesive velcro tabs and begin securing them to your poster board in a grid pattern. Use the opposite portion of your velcro tabs on the back of each activity card. I recommend letting them sit for an hour before attempting to take them on and off the board so the adhesive has time to really set.
13. If you wish to use a contrasting color of poster board to mat your calendar, now is the time to do so. I also added 2 larger rectangles (roughly 4×6) and one smaller rectangle to hold featured info. In our case this is a monthly calendar, a bible verse of the week, and an inspirational art quote. I have included a selection of bible verses and quotes of the week in your excel packet, as well as a .pdf file containing a selection of inspirational art quotes. The calendar I used comes from a Google image search – just find something that suits the style of your board.
14. I laminated the calendar and inspirational art quote and used velcro tabs so this section will be easy to swap out.
15. Finally, assemble your schedule components on your cork board and secure with push pins.It’s ready to use!

Optional: Summer Schedule Companion Notebook

This notebook is a great companion tool to the summer schedule board. It has 2 main sections: the first contains storage pages for your weather and activity cards so you don’t have to hunt through a pile of activity cards to plan your week. The second section is a series of page protectors for storing flyers and brochures about all the summer activities in your area. If you’re like me, you see a flyer for some cool even and think ‘hey that would be fun!’ but by the time the even rolls around you’ve lost the flyer and forgotten all about it. This gives you a handy place to keep those flyers as well as a reference for admission prices, opening/ closing times  and special promotions.

Notebook Supplies:

• • • 1 3-Ring Binder with a clear  view cover
  • • • 1 package of Clear Sheet Protectors
      • More VELCRO Tabs
      • Downloaded Companion Notebook Printables (available in my Free Digital Resource Library)

  Instructions:

  • • 1. Print all 4 pages of the Companion Notebook Printables . You may need additional copies of the activity cards and weather cards pages.
      2. Slide the front and back cover sheets into the notebook covers.
      3. Slide the Activity Cards page into one one page protector and the Weather Cards Page into another.
      4. Use Velcro tabs (be sure to use the opposite side from what was used on your activity cards!). Adhere in a grid pattern on your  sheet protector. This is where you will store your activity and weather cards when not in use.
      5. Fill the rest of the notebook with the remaining sheet protectors and use them to store any information you gather on summer activities.

  

  

  

  

  Did you try out my Summer Schedule Board?

  Maybe you have an idea of your own, or you took my idea and put your own spin on it. I’d love to see what you came up with and hear your suggestions! Comment below or tag me on Instagram #NuggetandGoose