Family Summer Goals, Anyone?
Tackling Parenting in the In-Between Times
Hey everyone! Hope your summer has been lovely so far! Did you know that here in Northern Hemisphere, July 15th is the midpoint of summer (when defined as Memorial Day to Labor Day)?
This means that there’s STILL TIME to get a jump on any intentions or goals you’ve set for this summer. Which is great news if you’re like me and a few of those intentions have been… neglected. (I’m looking at you, TBR pile!)
If you’re interested in a mid-summer reset to tackle those goals you still want to reach this summer, consider joining me for a virtual Wonder✨shop on July 15th at 12 pm PT. Find out more and register HERE. Attendees will also get a fun Summer In-Between Times Goal Planner.
Here’s how the Summer Goals are going in my house…
I consume quite a bit of parenting content. And when summer (a.k.a. May) rolls around, many of the accounts I follow start shifting their focus to Summer Parenting.
10 Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy This Summer!
Run Your Own Camp Mommy in Your Backyard!
Create a Summer Bucket List and Cross Everything Off or You’re a Failure as a Mom!
Just kidding on the last one. But scroll the mom-fluencer web for any amount of time and the implicit messages start creeping up on you: Summer’s here, and the PRESSURE is on.
There’s extra time now! Time to learn stuff! Catch up! Organize! MAKE MEMORIES.
Look, I love learning and organizing and memories. But pressure? Perfectionistic star charts and challenges? That’s where I’ve gone awry in the past, often starting out strong and excited, then tumbling down a slippery slope to Shame-land when I don’t “meet my goal” or perform perfectly.
Luckily, I’ve spent quite a bit of time this year coaching clients who were working toward big goals, helping them reframe how to approach them without feeling a bunch of perfectionistic pressure. And I developed something I call my Chill AF Goal-Getting Plan.
The thing is, I don’t want to abandon the idea of goals altogether. Stretching myself further than I thought I could reach, and dreaming up new ways to be in the world are two of the deepest pleasures I experience in life!
However, I am interested in ditching the shitty thinking I’ve historically had about goals that’s left me feeling bad or unworthy.
We’re working on a couple of goals in my house this summer. Sign-up for to the Wonder✨shop next Monday to hear how we’re getting them done with less shitty “should”ing and a lot more chill, and how you can try it, too, whether your “goals” are clean out that closet, read more books, make some progress on a creative project, or to finally figure out a family chore chart that WORKS!
Goal #1 Summer Homework Society. Yes, my kids have summer homework, and it’s more than just “read this book.” I have mixed feelings about this, for sure. But I’ve decided overall I’m fine with it because I know:
1. It’s good for their brains.
2. It’s good to maintain a bit of structure in the summer.
3. It’s great for experimenting with new systems and routines to get it done that we can potentially lean on in the next school year. (I’m particularly excited about a new spreadsheet system I found that helps me break down and spread out the work so we’re not tearing out our hair come the last week of August!)
Goal #2 Duolingo Dimanches. My family LOVES their screens. My husband works in tech and I’m pretty sure my son thinks he’d die of boredom without video games. We’re traveling to France in the fall, so my son set up a “classroom” for the four of us to learn French and by competing on a weekly leaderboard against each other. (If you want to do this too, ask your kid how to set it up. I have no idea.)
The leaderboard closes on Sundays, so this summer we’re instituting Duolingo Dimanches (Duolingo Sundays). (Or sometimes we call it Duolingo Domingo, which means Sunday in Spanish and has the extra fun advantage of rhyming!)
Come Sunday the house is full of dings and giggles as we all try to learn more French and imitate the goofy voices on the app teaching us the correct pronunciation for “croissant” and “travaille” and “orange” (this is a particularly tricky word to say if you aren’t skilled in French pronunciation!).
Goal #3 Lastly, I’d also love to get us all outside and moving more. During the pandemic, we started a Family Hiking Club but it kind of died off once school and activities resumed. I’d consider it a big win if we did 3 hikes together between now and the end of summer. Haven’t started on this goal yet, but it turns out I’ve got 6 more weeks to try come July 15th!
I’d love to hear about any goals or intentions or projects you’re working on over at your house! Is summer a time for “relaxing” or for “reaching for new goals”? Can it be both??
