The Live The Adventure Letter 
By the time summer vacation rolls around, everyone is ready for a break – including mom! But after several weeks of unstructured fun, most people start to turn their thoughts toward the upcoming school year. While you have all the freedom of the summer, consider doing a few things now that can make for a much smoother school year.
Take a Mental Break
If you haven’t taken a true mental break, make sure you do. Check out with a fun book, catch up on a funny television series, or spend time journaling each day. If you like spending time in the outdoors, take a regular walk, go kayaking, or discover a new campsite.
Whatever it is that refreshes you, take the time to do it. Don’t underestimate the mental wear and tear you experience during the school year. Taking care of yourself is not optional. Do something totally different and give your mind new ways to think and process for a while.
Clean It Out
That room that you never get on top of? That pile of unsorted junk in the basement? The mounds of homeschooling paperwork that you say over and over again you are going to organize and file? The boxes of things you keep meaning to donate? It all zaps your energy you every time you look at it and realize you still haven’t dealt with it.
Go after it once and for all. Don’t start another school year with unfinished business. Be ruthless. Plan to take a full day and just get it done. If you can, swap with another mom to get the kids out of the house the entire day so you can focus on this one thing. Then return the favor so she can knock something off her to do list.
Plan Ahead
The back to school time is a big adjustment for everyone. It’s easy to forget how tired everyone is a few weeks back into the routine of learning, activities, lessons and more. During these long days of summer, take the time to plan ahead.
Now would be a great time to add a pile of meals to the freezer that are marked specifically for back to school. Start stocking up the pantry and deep freeze with staples now so by the time school starts up again, you’ve got a full pantry and will only need to do smaller, less frequent shopping trips for a few weeks.
Enjoy your summer vacation, but consider taking the time to do a few things now that will pay back huge dividends this fall when back to school time takes over again!
