The Summer Bucket List

Memorial Day signals the unofficial start of summer. As another school year comes to an end, students across the country celebrate the start of summer vacation. Unfortunately, the novelty of summer vacation can begin to fade. Suddenly, the same students who were counting down the days till summer vacation can find themselves bored with their new found freedom.

Looking back on my own childhood, I rarely suffered from boredom. As an only child for the first seven years, I became highly skilled at entertaining myself. Armed with little more than an abundant imagination, adventure seemed to find me at every corner. In this idyllic setting, I learned firsthand about the magic of summer.

In order to help my own children discover the magic of summer, our family started the Summer Bucket List, which quickly became an annual tradition in our home. 

Each year, on the first full-day of summer vacation, I would sit down with my three children, and we would begin to compile a list of all the fun things they wanted to do over the summer. Now, this wasn’t a To Do list, so weeding the yard or organizing the games weren't listed. It also wasn’t a list of goals, so mastering math facts or improving reading comprehension weren't listed. Instead, the

Summer Bucket List was a selection of fun, tech-free activities that were quintessential to summer.  

The list of activities could include something simple like catching fire flies or something more elaborate such as paddle boating. Most of the ideas on our list were outdoor activities. However, we also had some indoor activities, for those brutally hot days of summer. The important thing was for every child to have a voice as they tapped into their own creativity to discover the magic of summer for themselves. 

Once we completed our list of activities, I would hang it in our kitchen. After all, the kitchen was one of the most frequented rooms in our house during summer vacation. The Summer Bucket List became a reference point for me, as well as my children. Long before a child got to the breaking point of boredom, they could easily refer to our bucket list for inspiration. Whether it was a solo activity or one the whole family could enjoy, the Summer Bucket List added an extra dimension to our summers. 

As the weeks of summer flew by, more check marks were added to our Summer Bucket List. As we accomplished the activities on our list, we had a physical reminder of all our adventures and hard evidence that there truly is magic to be found in summer. 

Summer Bucket List Ideas

~ playing in the creek ~ build a fort

~ fire flies ~ go on bike rides

~ skipping stones ~ make bubbles

~ making popsicles ~ fly a kite

~ indoor/outdoor movie night ~ do puzzles

~ doing a skit ~ visit nature park

~ scavenger hunt ~ create sidewalk art

~ build birdhouse ~ water balloon toss

~ paddle boats ~ game night

~ relax in a hammock ~ watch butterflies

~ roast... ~ build Legos

~ make homemade pretzels ~ beach volleyball

~ build a swing ~ go star gazing

~ go camping ~ paint rocks