Summer usually comes crashing into my family like a wave. The days first seem lazy and long, but just as soon as we wet our toes in summer’s freedom, before we wade into its deep bliss of glorious abandon, the undertow of busy-tide steals back its gifts. The memories that remain to gather always seem too few, like scattered bits of shell. Our buckets don’t fill.
I won’t have it. Not this year. I lay my claim on this summer with our family’s first ever Summer Bucket List, a collection of fun-in-the-sun things to do to lasso these long days and live them to the full. Yes, we will capture this summer and bask in its treasures. Will you join us? Grab your bucket, and let’s dig in.
How to Create Your Bucket List
Consider grouping activities by theme. www.LifeAsMom.com blogger Jessica Fisher divides her list into five categories: Things to Do, Places to Go, Books to Read, Movies to Watch, People to See. Shauna Thompson, blogger from www.MyMixofSix.Blogspot.com, takes inspiration from Dr. Seuss: Oh, the PLACES we will GO; Oh, the FOOD we will EAT; Oh, the ACTIVITIES we can DO; Oh, the CRAFTS that can be MADE, Oh, the SERVICE that can be DONE.
To simplify further, get into a routine with weekly theme days. Some ideas: Make It Monday, Try It Tuesday, Get Wet Wednesday, Thoughtful Thursday, Field Trip Friday. Or, have a family meeting on Sunday nights to fill in the calendar for the week ahead.
How to Display Your Bucket List
Crafty bucket lists are all the rage on blogs and Pinterest as school’s end approaches, and most come in two varieties. First, there’s the checklist. Whether displayed on a dry erase/chalkboard in a lovely frame, a poster in multi-colored inks and doodles or a scribbled paper taped onto your kitchen fridge, the checklist requires little explanation.
The other is the 3D variety, which lends itself to endless creativity:
- A simple jar of ideas
- Scribbled-on seashells buried in a pail of sand
- Labeled clothespins clipped to the rim of a can, ready to plunk in
- A bowl of fish-shaped papers with paperclips and a magnetic fishing pole to fetch them
The “Laundry List”
Our family’s idea of choice, a “Summer Laundry List” to hang from the mantel, was inspired by blogger, Shirley, of www.TheseMomentsofMine.com. We gathered miniature clothespins, a spool of wide ribbon, double-sided scrapbook paper and scissors to make laminated (reusable!) swimsuit cut-outs, then wrote our activities on them using dry erase markers. We hang our laundry with the written sides facing out until each is completed and turned around.
The kids have just more than 80 days of summer freedom, with vacations, VBS and summer camps dotted in between. We want our bucket list to bring joy and inspiration, not overwhelm, so we’ve landed on a list of 25 as our magic number. Some activities take only the smallest effort, others require more planning, but all will be accomplished in the same way: together. Nothing could fill my bucket more than that.
MAKE IT MONDAY
- Car paint
- Carve tree with family initials
- Face painting
- Friendship bracelets
- Froot Loops rainbow with marshmallow clouds
- Ice cream in a bag
- Make play dough
- Melt crayons on canvas with a hair dryer
- Paint rocks
- Pick berries and can jam
- Postal paper pirate map
- Sidewalk chalk
- Squirt paint
TRY IT TUESDAY
- Backyard camp out
- Backyard luau
- Bike a trail
- Black out—no electronics
- Chase fireflies
- Croquet
- Eat a watermelon wedge
- Flashlight Tag
- Fly kites
- Hula hoop
- Kitchen science lab
- Nap on the lawn
- Parade
- Read in a tree
- Roast s’mores
- Rootbeer floats
- Snow cones
- Spa Day
- Stargaze
GET WET WEDNESDAY
- Canoe
- Find seashells in the kid pool
- Freeze toys in ice
- Glowing bath paints
- Homemade bubbles
- Mud pies
- Slip-n-slide
- Sprinkler fun
- Sunset swim
- Wash the car
- Water balloons
- Water guns
THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY
- Animal shelter volunteer
- Create a birdfeeder
- Feed ducks
- Feed goats at Deanna Rose Farmstead
- Host a lemonade stand and donate proceeds
- Invite dinner guests
- Make a meal
- Pick up litter
- Plant flowers
- Retirement home visit
- Soup kitchen
FIELD TRIP FRIDAY
- Bounce house
- Crown Center fountains
- Drive-in movie
- Kaleidoscope
- Kansas City Zoo
- Kansas Speedway
- LEGOLand
- Midland Railway train ride
- Moon Marble Factory
- Nelson-Atkins, Nerman or Kemper Art Museum
- Overland Park Arboretum
- Paradise Park
- Pirate parks
- Powell Gardens
- Royals game
- Schlitterbahn
- Science City/Planetarium (Union Station)
- Sea Life Kansas City
- Sporting Kansas City game
- T-Rex Café
- Theatre in the Park, Coterie or Starlight Theatre
- Wonderscope
- Worlds/Oceans of Fun
- Zona Rosa
Bonus Tips:
Follow KC Parent's blog 100 Days of Summer in KC for inspiration and read our 100+ Ideas for Free Summer Fun in Kansas City!
Wendy Connelly, Overland Park, is a happy-at-home mom of two who’s airing a lot of summer laundry.