“I’m bored.”

“There’s nothing to do!”

Moms dread to hear these refrains, especially in the weeks after the school year ends. Between keeping the house running smoothly, and ensuring a good balance of entertainment, education and relaxation, it can be overwhelming. But with preparation and the right tools, you can save your sanity and make it a summer to remember. Here are a few proven summer-ready tools to keep in your parent toolbox.

The Job Jar

You know those tasks that always fall to the bottom of the list? Summer can be a great time to complete them—with help from the kids. Make the chores feel less like work by breaking them into 15-minute jobs and setting up a lottery system for assignments (where everyone has a chance of drawing a “day off”).

Create your own job jar by filling an empty container with slips of paper—each one containing a different chore to be done (along with some free day slips). Include tasks such as: wiping down kitchen cabinet fronts, dusting slats on blinds, and cleaning out the silverware drawer. Make the jobs simpler for younger children or plan on assisting should they draw a more difficult job. Also, keep duties brief enough to be easily completed in 15 minutes

You can put an entire summer’s worth of jobs in the jar and have children draw slips daily until the jar is empty. Or you can fill it weekly with enough chores for children to draw one a piece each day. Then make note of small tasks around the house as you notice them, to be added to the job jar later.

Job Jar Ideas

• wipe down fronts of kitchen cabinets
• wash out insides of all household wastebaskets
• wipe down baseboards (in one or two given rooms)
• clean fingerprints from door jams (in one room)
• vacuum off couches and chairs and under cushions
• wipe down chair rungs in dining room
• pull weeds in one flower bed
• dust off fan blades of all ceiling fans

The Reading Ratchet

Whether you live with kids who have an unending appetite for books, or have to bribe your child to crack one open, it helps to have a list to work from. Add this tool to your belt now and you’ll be able to reach for it all summer long.

Don’t feel like you have to create a list all on your own. There are plenty of reading lists available for kids of all ages. If your school hands out a summer reading list, start with that.

Some kids enjoy the challenge of reading all the recent award-winners. And occasionally, schools offer rewards for those who complete a list. Book awards include the Caldecott Medal (for picture books), Geisel medal (beginning reader), Newbery (most distinguished children’s book), and Coretta Scott King (African American authors and illustrators). Many states also have their own young readers’ book awards, in which students can participate by reading a minimum number of books from the list of nominees before voting for their favorites.

As a parent, you can also create your own reading list to target specific goals you have for your children.

The Fun Friday Blueprint

Every mom should have a master plan for fun. Decide when you’ll make local excursions and where you’ll go. Some moms make the outings a weekly event and invite friends to join them.

Involve your children in brainstorming destinations. You could include nearby water parks, new-to-you playgrounds, ice cream shops, museums, zoos, and gardens. Don’t forget to have both indoor and outdoor options so you can flex with the weather. Even a trip to the party store to buy zany masks for at-home fun can make a difference.

Having a plan for fun ensures that you won’t be stuck at home wondering what to do. And you won’t finish the summer regretting not visiting places you’d hoped to see and enjoy.

The Life Skills Drill

School is for learning the three R’s. Home is where our children should be mastering life skills that enable them to navigate the everyday world. Start with the basics such as cleaning a bathroom and then progress in the tween and teen years to such skills as balancing a checkbook and changing the oil on a car.

Choose one or two new skills you’d like to see your child master. Then create a plan. How often will they practice the new skill—once a week, once a month, or repetitively for a short time during the course of a single longer project? Who will teach them the skill and how will the child demonstrate he has mastered it?

Using these tools you’ll be keeping your children active mentally and socially. And they’ll be helping you out and developing abilities that will last long after the summer is over.

Life Skills Options

• Making an emergency phone call
• Cleaning pet cages and food bowls
• Cooking a simple meal
• Laundry, including folding and ironing
• Basic bicycle repair and maintenance
• Lawn mowing
• Replacing a fuse on circuit breaker
• Balancing a checkbook
• Painting walls and trim
• Basic vegetable and fruit canning

Lara Krupicka is a freelance writer and mom to three girls. She loves using a Job Jar and is always amazed at how her daughters can read their way through entire lists of award-winning books over the course of a summer.