Our Family Summer Bucket List

We’ve had a few pretty consistent warm days so I hope it’s safe to assume summer is right around the corner! There are two more weeks of school remaining and then it’s mommy camp for a few weeks! After a year of transactional morning and evening interactions with the girls - “finish your breakfast”, “hurry up, we are getting late”, “10 more minutes and it’s bath time” - I’m so done with having a set schedule. I don’t want to be totally loosey goosey, as I’m obviously not taking the entire summer off, but I want to play it by ear and enjoy some downtime with the girls. I may change my mind by mid-July (ha!) but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. 

We have no grand plans this summer, but if we can manage to keep ourselves safe and sane, I’ll consider it a job well done. : )

Last summer, I had my *then* almost 6-year-old make a list of 10 things she wanted to do in the summer. We were still working on spellings at the time but she, without any guidance, came up with the list below. I managed to find this cell phone picture of her summer bucket list.

So sweet and simple! In case you are wondering “nachere” is “nature”, and no, we don’t have a pool. She is referring to a plastic kiddie pool that we used a total of one time last summer when baby cousin was visiting. We managed to cross almost everything off the list and were feeling satisfied with our adventures by the end of the summer.

This year again, I asked the girls to come up with a list of things they want to do this summer. Instead of having them write it, I sat with them and typed it myself. This quickly became a family affair and we created a bucket list together. I’m hoping this list will help us appreciate the weather and embrace simplicity! 

1. Go camping

2. Enjoy picnicking

3. Fly a kite

4. Spend time at the park

5. Go Sailing

6. Grill outside

7. Go strawberry and peach picking

8. Shop at a farmers market

9. Read books

10. Grow Flowers

Last year’s morning glory planted by the girls.

11. Enjoy long walks in Boston

12. Have a beach day (or two)

13. Go to Canobie Lake Park

14. Go on a mini hike

15. Eat ice cream from an ice cream truck

16. Play hopscotch/backyard games

17. Go family golfing/driving range

18. Make a lemonade stand

19. Go on a mini road trip

20. Go canoeing

The list could go on and on but we’re capping it at 20. These activities will act as a general guideline to fill our days mindfully. Do you believe in seasonal bucket lists? What are some of your favorite summer activities?