School is out and summer is here. Before the summer gets too far underway, make a bucket list for your kids to keep them busy and to get some really productive enjoyment out of your summer.
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty bored with standard bucket lists I’ve seen around the internet with ideas like, take a bike ride and go to the zoo. We do that stuff already and, I, for one, have had enough of the zoo to last a lifetime. Also, it’s too hot in my neck of the woods for daytime bike riding.
My bucket list suggestions are for getting out and really getting to know your town. This is how I’m organizing my bucket list for my daughter this summer because there are always those things you mean to do, but never do. Well, this summer, we’re doing them!
Make a Personalized Hometown Bucket List for the Summer!
1. Make a list of local museums and then go to at least two of them over the summer. I know that some museums can be boring for kids, but there are plenty that are interesting to children. Find those and hit them up for some culture and meaning over your summer. In our city, we have some cool kid-centered art museums, a Mexican-American cultural center, and a neon art gallery. I plan to take my daughter to all of them this summer.
2. Take a field trip. My daughter has been wanting to tour a police station for about a year now. I tried to set it up for a field trip at her school. But it didn’t work out. This summer I plan to call our local precinct and ask if we can have a short tour. I am planning on taking some of her friends with us so it feels like a real field trip. Other ideas include touring a bakery and heading downtown to see the capitol building. (We live in our state’s capital.) We’ve been there many times, but it’s always fun to go and you really can’t get too much of it, since it’s so huge. There are always more things to see.
3. Check out city pools. Ok, so I might be rubbing this in the face of some folks, but we are lucky enough to have a large quantity of local city pools in our city. There are some newly remodeled and a couple of new ones opening this year. So we plan to hit up several new pools around town this summer. Just one of the joys of living in one of the hottest states in the country!
4. Go to an estate sale. If your kids are old enough to be in school, they are old enough to appreciate the joys of thrifting it up! I love estate sale shopping and summertime is one of the best seasons for hitting up estate sales (and garage sales, too). You can get some amazing deals at estate sales. Often you can find old children’s books and clothing for pennies on the dollar. You can also find crafty items for your kids and perhaps one of them will find a new hobby.
5. Open a bank account for your children. I know the idea of going to the bank with your kids may not sound like an appealing summer activity. But this one is on my bucket list for the summer and I thought I’d share. Teaching my daughter how to handle money is an important lesson that I want to start early. Taking some time over the summer to discuss important money matters with your kids is a useful and productive activity that you can add to your bucket list. Here’s a great Pinterest board on teaching kids about handling money.
6. Start a new hobby with your kids! Summer time is a great time to get started on a new hobby with your kids. Hobbies are great for kids. They get stressed out too! Good hobbies to start with your children include: sewing, knitting, crocheting, learning a new language, drawing, painting, gardening, model airplanes, stamp collecting, coin collecting, wildlife observing, astronomy, meteorology, rock collecting, insect collecting, and cooking.
Have Fun and Be Productive Over the Summer
My summer plans include a little bit of all of this. I want to get to know our city a little better. There are lots of hidden gems around town that we’ve never visited. My daughter is also the perfect age to start a fun hobby together. Summer time should be fun, but I also see it as a good time to be productive and work on strengthening our mother/daughter bond. Planning these activities together and working on new, exciting hobbies together is a great way to spend your summer!