After years of stress that included breast cancer and ongoing health issues, a college-writing teacher says she’s finally committing to a low-key summer for her four kids—prioritizing low-cost routines, simple joys at home, and fewer structured commitments.
I’m about to experience my 17th summer as a mom, and I think I’ve finally learned my lesson.
With four kids. “summer” can turn into something loud and chaotic—different abilities. different personalities. different ages. and different preferred extracurriculars all competing for space on the calendar. Even without a day-care schedule or constant out-of-home childcare. the rhythm still gets hard to control because someone has to plan it all.
This year, the plan is a reset. The author. who teaches college writing classes in fall and spring and has summers off. says she isn’t packing her schedule with family activities. Her kids don’t go to day care or camp, and they don’t stay home alone while she works. That freedom is real. she writes—but it also puts her in charge of planning their summer activities. all of them.
The need for a quieter season isn’t theoretical. She describes a very challenging past five or so years as a family: she fought breast cancer, three of her kids became teenagers, and they’ve faced multiple other health issues. “We are tired, to say the least,” she writes.
She also says she’s learned how easily good intentions get crowded out. Despite vowing that “less is more,” summer after summer she found herself roped into a jam-packed calendar. The reason is familiar to many parents: the newness of summer fades during the first few weeks. and then the constant question arrives—when kids are bored. the whining can push parents right back into scheduling.
Her answer is to build a low-key structure that still meets the needs of four children.
Three of her four kids have already signed up for some type of activity: summer school classes and sports trainings. She says these are primarily during the day and aren’t every day, keeping the commitment “low.”
For the rest of their time. she’s aiming for weekly library visits—“a safe space for browsing and borrowing free items.” She plans to swim at home daily and. sometimes. invite friends over. She wants it casual enough that it doesn’t feel like another organized job: “Bring your own towel. and you can grab snacks from the kitchen if you need one. ” she writes.
Their four rescue dogs also shape the rhythm. She calls them “fabulous companions,” while acknowledging they still require attention—brushing, feeding, and walking. She says they’re still working on getting them to actually enjoy the pool versus dip in and run out. Over the summer, her kids will spend extra time caring for the dogs.
Creativity has a place too. She scored a free, solid dining table from a social media page and later four free dining chairs. In her home. the setup becomes a Lego or game table for her kids and their friends. making casual hosting easier. She points to a Perler bead party she held last fall for a group of girlfriends—complete with snacks—as an example of something that was inexpensive. fun. and memorable.
And then there are chores—daily, as always. She says she believes chores build teamwork, life skills, and respect for the home. Yes, her children complain about chores, but she argues the benefits outweigh the sighs. Over the summer. they’ll have extra time for laundry and dish duty. and she intends to take full advantage of it.
In place of heavily structured schedules. she wants simpler joys—the kind she remembers from growing up in the country. when “there were no cell phones or laptops” and boredom became an opportunity to play. create. and read. She writes that too many structured activities deprive kids of the freedom to be bored. She also points to the cost pressure: traveling to and from activities. buying gear. and paying activity fees can be “incredibly expensive.”.
She offers a snapshot of what she means by “easy” and “low-key,” using spring break as a test case. On the first day. she says they spent an hour at the YMCA. with each kid working out in whatever way made them happy. Then they went to the library and loaded up books and other items. Back home, they watched a movie while it poured outside. For lunch, the kids ate frozen meals they had pre-chosen as favorites. She calls it “the perfect day and it was easy.”.
She doesn’t pretend the summer plan is guaranteed. “TBD if my low-key summer plan will be a success,” she writes. Still, she says she’s hopeful that her intentionality will create opportunities for relaxation, creativity, joy, and “beautiful memories.”
summer parenting low-key summer four kids family planning library visits YMCA rescue dogs chores summer school sports training cost of activities