Surprisingly Effective Strategies To Working From Home With Kids On Summer Break

School’s out for summer. Cue the music! Are you getting a tad nervous about working from home with kids out for summer?

If Covid taught us anything, it’s that working from home with kids running around can definitely be a challenge.

Working from home with kids during the summer months has some of the same unique challenges doesn’t it!? You have things to work on, and they just want to party, eat Otterpops and stay up all night am I right?

Ok, maybe not exactly, but there is something amazing about being on summer break…. Maybe it’s a sense of freedom.

BUT it definitely takes creative time management to carve out time to serve my clients. I know a thing or two about working with kids home… it’s not impossible. 

My kids have been homeschooled for the past 7 years so this isn’t usually too big of a shocker (going from school structure to no structure). But I haven’t been the best at creating structure lately… and I’m feeling it. We all are a bit frazzled and I knew it was time to practice what I preach. In this post I share a few tips I go back to time and time again to make it work!

Tips for creating a schedule to work from home with kids in the summer:

• Create schedules for you AND your kids
• Have realistic expectations
• Utilize time blocking
• Make sure your structure is age appropriate 
• Have a plan… and WORK THE PLAN.
• Block out time to be WITH your kids.
• Consider delegating some things.

The game changer here is having realistic expectations. You just may not have undivided time to dedicate to your business and that’s ok! It’s amazing what God can make happen with resources we feel are limited.

Yielding to your season is sometimes the wisest thing you can do. Sometimes God redirects you…. Like spending time with those babies and not so much babies (or in my case both) I shared a little about this in my post Easy Tweaks to Prioritize God in Business (and Family!)

Carving out intentional time to spend WITH your kids when working from home is a game changer. Often times, they just want your attention, so intentionally laying aside time for cooking with them, playing basketball, video games, watching a movie, whatever it is, will let them know they hold priority in your day…. They’ll be less apt to interrupt your focused work time.

Easily work from home with kids by implementing structure

Your kids are likely used to having structure at school and you’re used to your own structure at home. The problem comes when they have no structure and our two worlds collide. This is what happens when they come home for the summer. There is no sense in throwing the structure they’re used to out the window!

It’s up to you to implement some form of structure that will work as your worlds combine for a season! 

Currently, I have a block schedule for me and a more list oriented schedule for the kids for the summer months that I’ll share at the end of this post.

Don’t try to fight getting them done during the busy chaos of the day… trust me you’ll just be frustrated. How do I keep my child entertained while working from home? Scheduling!

You can easily create time blocked schedules specific to this season for you and lists for them. 

Block schedules work really well for me since I have so many different dynamics to tend to (finances, meals, content creation, housekeeping, one on one time with kids, PT appointments, OT appointments… etc.)

I find the kids don’t really need a full block schedule because they aren’t doing as much as I am!

>>>Take Action: Download my free time-management roadmap and create a time blocked schedule.

^^^ This is the exact system I use week to week to create my weekly schedule.

I use time blocking because I’m visual and like to see the different categories and areas I’m to focus on during different times.

I’m more flexible in the summer with scheduling however and have a printed list for them to follow. That list has more simplified blocks which I’ll share below.

Creating a summer schedule for kids when you’re working from home

Start by printing out the Free Time Management Roadmap I mentioned above and work within the steps for your day. You can do this for your children too to start out if you’d like! I started with a block schedule for each of my children and have modified down to the list we use now. That list is based on the blocks they used to follow.

• My number 1 tip for this is that DONE is better than perfect. 

You can loosen up the schedule as much as you would like. Be flexible and find what works for your family and for your unique personalities. If the first schedule you create doesn’t immediately work, don’t quit.

Evaluate what worked, modify what needs to be modified and try again. Our schedules have evolved hundreds of times over the years and as the kids have gotten older.

• I work my business during a 9-11 am block and a 3-4 pm block (while they have media time). These are times while my baby is sleeping and/or the kids can hang out with him.

• TIP: Leave time in your kids’ day for boredom. 

Creativity comes when they’re bored. It may not happen immediately, but it WILL happen. Have a list of a few things they can do when they say “I’m bored”.  

Ideas: Write a story, reading time, create art, outdoor play, play with siblings, play a board game, do a puzzle, build a tower, create a card house, write a letter, create a card for a family member… etc…

• TIP: Brainstorm a list of activities you can “schedule”.

Ideas: fun outside of the house, activities you do with them like tennis, camps, VBS, time at friends houses, lunch with friends, library etc.

For example, morning routines getting ready and eating and your evening routines getting ready for bed. The times can shift later, but use the same routines!

Creative TIPS for making space and avoiding overwhelm working from home with kids:

• Invite their friends over. My kids are more entertained while their friends are over!
• Schedule independent play for your kids.
• Carve out an extra hour in the morning or evening (ideally while others are sleeping) for you to get focused work done. Focus your needle moving priorities during these times. Getting up 30 minutes (or an hour) earlier helps me get a lot done.
• Keep similar routines from when they were in school to make it easier on everyone!

Delegate!

• Kid swap. Ask a friend to watch your kids one day and you’ll take hers the next.
• Hire a mother’s  helper a day or two per week for dedicated blocks of work time.
• Utilize older children.
  • Have a baby? Ask older siblings to play with them in 15 minute blocks. 
• Delegate housework and meal planning/prep. My kids have designated responsibilities and they each help with one dinner a week.

My Kids summer schedule while i work from home

As I said, our summer schedule is a bit more flexible. I’ve included our daily summer schedule so you can have an idea of what is working for us right now. We occasionally school in the summer so you’ll see that here too.

The blocks for the kids in the summer read something more like, “Before 9am” vs. “9:00-10:00 am” for example.

My kids summer schedule while working from home.

Below you’ll find the exact summer schedule for kids that we’re currently using. This is everything they are to be doing. 

This is a daily summer schedule for tweens and my 8 year old. My boys are 13 and 11. 

This will go back to more concrete “blocks” once school starts again. I like to give them a little wiggle room during the summer so they can get all of their responsibilities done right away if they so choose, and then they have a little more free time.

I’d love to know what tips you have for working from home during the summer months!

Don’t forget to download my free time-management roadmap and start creating a block schedule that works for you!

Be Blessed!

Misty