Sometimes I think that you may as well attend school in the summer term yourself when you have small children. Having thought that a degree of independence would come with children in school, what no-one told you about was the number of summer events that require at the very least your attendance, or in addition cakes, picnics and/or fancy dress.
And with the double Jubilympics theme this year, things have surely extended over too long a season with a few weeks still to go? I have just been noting down what days each school has asked for parent input in order to carve a little working space around them, but I am struggling in the quagmire of the life side of work-life balance, all in support of our local educational establishments.
And all this is just a precursor to the ongoing challenge of how to work with holiday children, and make sure that while they enjoy their time off, you also manage to maintain momentum through the holidays and come out fighting on their return in September.
I would love to know how you achieve this balance; I don’t think there is a right answer but am intrigued as to how you manage it all when you work for yourself. This is my second summer coming up and I feel very unprepared to cope with it all!
I only go to the school events that shouldn’t be missed, part of the flexibility of working at home meaning that I can fit some of them into the calendar. I don’t rely on paid childcare through the summer as I believe the children should have some time off to relax and enjoy their days in an unstructured way, and there are only so many play dates you can swap with like-minded friends.
Like everything else, with a little advanced planning and expectation that not all will go to plan, we will get through this holiday time, but I would love to know what your tips and tricks are, and how you keep the momentum going in your business while at the same time enjoying the summer.
Feeding the penguins on our pre-school day trip
Whilst I work part-time and am fortunate to have secured a term-time contract, I too experience the balancing quandary and ponder on how the holidays will pan out.
I’ve found pulling together a simple diary chart detailing plans is helpful. With desire and requests to meet up with pals lost during term-time it’s all too easy to be too busy and loose the family time and unstructured spells that you mention and are so important. By having a chart its easy to see at a glance where spaces are for respite or impromptu gatherings! I have been known to schedule in ‘down-days’ to ensure they are protected and we can return to school and work refreshed and revitalised.
Thanks Helen – sounds like a good start, I use a Microsoft Outlook calendar in the same way – at least them we will see what time we have as a start!