Eight weeks, not twelve
The actual US K-12 summer recess is roughly eight weeks long: from late May or early June through mid-August. Calling it "summer" overstates its length — it is shorter than a winter quarter at most universities and barely long enough for a meaningful family rhythm. Planning it well is the difference between a memorable summer and a disorganized one.
Print the two months side by side
Print the June and July monthly calendars at the same time. The federal holidays during this window are Juneteenth (June 19) and Independence Day (July 4); both are amber-shaded on the printout. Around them, sketch the major commitments: family vacation, summer camp weeks, sports tournaments, summer-school sessions for students who need them, and the back-to-school registration window in late July or early August.
The unstructured weeks matter
The single most important planning rule for summer is to leave at least two unstructured weeks. Children who are scheduled into camps and activities for every week of the eight-week summer return to school more tired than they left. Mark the unstructured weeks on the printed calendar with the same prominence as the structured weeks; protected boredom is a feature of summer, not a bug.
The August transition
The last two weeks of summer recess almost always feel rushed. Print the August calendar in late July and mark the back-to-school night, the supply-pickup day, the bus-route confirmation, and the first day of school. The early August window is the right time to push bedtimes back to school-night times — start two weeks before the first day, not the night before.
What summer is for
Summer is when school-year skills consolidate. The unstructured time is what allows the brain to do the slow background work of integrating what was learned during the year. The printed calendar is the lowest-friction way to keep summer protected from the over-scheduling that destroys this consolidation. A messy, written-on summer calendar is a sign of a good summer.