Creating a Summer Break Routine
A blog for families
Summer is just around the corner! Have you thought about moving from a school routine to a summer break routine?
During the summer months, many children continue to do well with structure, routine, and predictability.
Planning and organizing your child’s summer opportunities and activities ahead of time can be helpful.
Also, having your child participate in summer sports, camps, interest groups or frequently going to the public library or park may help with social skill development.
Here are some strategies and supports you may consider when creating a summer break routine for your child:
Create a daily routine—this allows for predictability for at least one part of your child’s day. Routines happen throughout the day that occur on a regular basis. An example could be working with your child to create a morning routine for starting their day.
Make a visual schedule—this allows for structure and predictability throughout the day. Every minute of the day doesn’t need to be scheduled. Rather, think about chunking, or sectioning the day, into different categories such as already established family routines (i.e., morning, dinner, bedtime, etc.), scheduled appointments or activities, and free choice time are some examples.
Preview the day— this allows for structure and predictability throughout the day. This could be as simple as letting your child know what to expect for the day by giving a verbal overview.
Make a checklist—this allows for structure and routine. A structured checklist could include things such as a list of chores to complete for the day or week.
Social stories—these allow for predictability. Social stories are words and pictures presented in a story-like format that talk about a new social situation and how to respond to challenges that might happen in a particular social situation. These can be helpful when your child navigates a new experience.
Make time for free/choice time—this helps to build creativity, independence, and leisure skills. If your child has difficulty selecting an activity on their own, give them a few options to choose from that they enjoy doing. If your child needs support transitioning out of a fun activity, try using a visual timer and/or providing transition warnings.
Consider reaching out to your child’s school team about creating a summer routine as they may be able to assist with the creation of some visual supports (i.e., visual schedules, checklist templates, social stories, etc.), if needed.
Blog Photo Credit: Hillary
Photo Location: Bora Bora, French Polynesia
