Well, this post has been sitting in drafts for a month now. Sorry – it has gotten crazy around here. We’ve gone on a trip, big kids went to resident camp, we got a puppy, and started a 1/2 bath remodel. Wowza!

It’s here again – Summer Vacation Orientation! My kids groan when I start talking about it at the beginning of June. It’s just a wee little tradition I started a couple of years ago to help save my sanity.

When everyone is home for the summer (hubby included), my daily routine gets totally messed up (Baby E’s too). I needed something to help keep some sort of normal around the house. The first part of the “orientation” is going over the general rules/expectations. Working with my hubby, we came up with some expectations that we think allow some fun. We also set Responsibilities for each child. The children are part of the family and should be expected to do some things on their own and help out.

Here’s our sheet for this year:

The Hubby and I also came up with a chore list. Each child (well the older 2), are assigned chores to complete on Chore Day and get paid their age as their pay. The list gets printed out on Chore Day and after each chore is completed Mom or Dad does an inspection and initials off the item. When the sheet is complete, they get their money. We let the kids vote on which day is Chore Day – Wednesday.

To keep every one from getting bored, we also decided on different activities for each day of the week. Everyone helped make this list.

Do you have any traditions that help you survive the summer with everyone home? What works for you?

You can check out previous years here:

2011
2010