Printable Summer Checklist for Kids

Summer is HERE! And it is time for a break! Make summer break EASIER with these printable checklists for essential tasks that must be done.

I don’t know about you, but we are totally ready for a break from school and a more relaxed schedule after two of the weirdest school years in recent history. We’re tired!

However, if your kids are like mine, the lack of structure and increased free time during the summer can lead to bad things. Fighting, restlessness, running through the house…

It’s not that I entertain my kids all the time. I don’t, and I’m not recommending that approach. But I do need to provide some structure for my kids or the day starts to unravel really quickly.

A big part of it is expectations. If the kids expect constant fun and relaxation, then they are disappointed every day when real life hits. If they know what will be required of them each day, it goes much better.

The other thing that we are trying to accomplish is to prevent the “summer slide.” I’ve never really worried about this too much, but one of my kids lost a LOT of ground in math last summer, and it took a lot of effort to overcome once school started in the fall. So we’ll make learning time part of our summer on a couple days each week. I’ll write the assignments right on the summer checklist.

Summer Daily Essentials

I was putting some simple charts together for my kids and decided to make them available for you too! I’m calling these Summer Essentials. In other words, these are things that my kids need to get done each day that we are mainly at home. If we’re traveling or it’s VBS week or something like that, then the schedule will change. But for most days, this chart will be a good guide.

There are 6 versions of the chart to choose from. Print one with pre-filled activities, or write in your own!

Morning Routine is Separate

For our summer checklist, I decided to keep morning routine items like brushing teeth and making the bed separate. We have a morning routine that includes breakfast, kitchen chores, brushing teeth, and making beds. If you add all those items to your summer essentials, it makes it a REALLY long list even though some of those items only take a couple minutes to complete. The list appears overwhelming although the tasks really aren’t.

Use this checklist to help kids complete tasks before screen time… or not!

It’s up to you whether you want your kids to check off every item before moving on to screen time. There are checklist options that go both ways. Some say, “All boxes must be checked before screen time,” and others don’t.

Ready to print your Summer Essentials Checklists? Click the link below. The file will open, and you can print or save from there.

CLICK HERE: Summer Essentials Checklists

Need more summer ideas?

Print these 40 Writing Prompt Cards! These are perfect for summer writing.

Summer is a great time to do some fun and messy science… OUTSIDE! Check out these Awesome Summer Science Experiments.