We all know that the school year can feel hectic, busy and packed with routines. When your family has practices, homework, school and work all packed into one week your week can seem like it is flying by without any quality time spent with each other. It is so important to carve out some regular, intentional, family time to stay connected and enjoy some time together. Starting a simple weekly ritual that is fun, consistent and low-stress is sure to bring some calm and hopefully fun to your week this school year!
Weekly rituals matter during the busy seasons in our lives. The school year is a big one, those with much younger children (like myself) battle other busy seasons and families without kids have busy times in life too like busier work schedules or times of year, travel and so much more. Carving out a little time to dedicate to intentionally being together will help center your family no matter what the size and type of routines you follow throughout the week. It gives you something to look forward to and calm in the storm of life.
Some ideas for simple weekly rituals:
Friday night Pizza & Movie night
After a busy week, I can’t think of anything better than winding down with an easy dinner of pizza and a new movie.
Sunday Morning Pancake Breakfast
Even though Monday feels like the start of the week, bring Sundays back as the start and begin your week with a delicious hot breakfast gathered around the table together.
Midweek Game Night
Add some laughter and friendly competition to your week and give yourself a nice break from the busy schedules and chaos.
Family Walks or Park Visits
Spend some screen-free time outdoors talking and walking together
Themed Dinner Night
Breakfast for Dinner, Taco Tuesdays and Build Your Owns are fun themes ideas to implement in your own home. Mix up the main dish each week, but enjoy the consistent and simple dinner event.
Trying to figure out how to make this work for your family and busy schedule? Simply choose a day and time that fits your family’s schedule. To get everyone on board and invested, let the kids help to plan or choose each week’s activity, or menu. Keep it simple and don’t over-complicate the plans. Add it to your calendar and treat it like any other important appointment or event. Try not to stress if plans change though. Life happens and things change, making it inevitable that this will to, on occasion. Simply roll with it and skip a week or change the night. These tips will help your entire family fit this new tradition into your routines and give everyone something to look forward to.
Weekly rituals don’t need to be fancy to be meaningful. Starting this new tradition will help build stronger family bonds and hopefully find some peace in a busy week. Do you already have weekly rituals in place? Let us know yours in the comments. As always, thank you for reading and joining us on this journey. We love learning and growing with you. Simply, Beth