A fun spin on your Summer Bucket List! Using the concepts of play, learn, make and go plan out your summer with your child this year. Download and get planning for the summer today!
Summer is just about to arrive at our house and we are so excited to begin our summer fun! To get planning I spent some time making plans with my daughters for what we want to do this summer with our kids.
Are you looking for ideas for this summer?
Summer Bucket List Ideas
Instead of creating a huge list of activities, we thought it might be fun to focus on key concepts of childhood development. We focused on these 4 four main groups for Summer Fun.
Here’s our Summer Bucket List Categories …
- Play
- Learn
- Make
- Go
PLAY – One of the most important things in childhood is time for play.
LEARN – Help you child avoid the summer gap by sneaking in learning during the summer months.
BONUS see if there is something they’d like to learn new during the break. Self-led learning can be so powerful for child. Summer reading falls into this category as well.
MAKE – Getting hands-on is crucial to your child’s development. The summer is ideal for starting projects that take a little extra time or are a little messier for your child to truly experience it. Trying out a new STEM project or recipe for kids can be a lot of fun.
GO – With a little extra time at home, summer makes for the perfect time to plan a few adventures outside of the house. We’d recommend picking an outing that ties into something you did during the week.
Play : Learn : Make : Go : Summer Bucket list!
Using these four groups of Play, Learn, Make and Go we started to brainstorm.
My 5 year old sat down with Mommy and Daddy and created our own Summer Bucket list of things we want to do together.
I’m sure little sister will enjoy her big sister’s ideas too. I can tell that after a year in Kindergarten she’s ready for some adventures with Mommy and Daddy.
Ready to brainstorm your summer bucket list? Download and Print our Summer Bucket List Planner
Here’s a look at a sample list my 6 year old made with my 2 year old. As the years pass I know this list will change which is why these 4 Summer Bucket Categories are ideal to use. Even as teenagers they work!
Summer Bucket List Planner for Kids
This summer planner is a great way to avoid hearing “Mom, I’m bored”. Your child works to come up with ideas, here’s a peek at my daughters answers when she did this.
Here are a few tips for making summer memories with your child.
- Play at the splash park
- Play with my friends
- Play with my grandparents
- Play soccer
- Play t-ball
- Play water games like Drip, Drip, Drop
- Play with my sister and brother
- Play in the backyard and explore
- Play dress up
- Play outside in the backyard
- Play games with lids
- Play with my new Bear “Cupcake” and have teddy bear picnic
- Play with all my toys and donate ones I’ve outgrown
- Play with my sister and her friends at a special playdate
- Learn to swim underwater
- Learn to tie my shoes
- Learn how to tell time
- Learn about 5 new things
- Lead to read chapter books
- Learn about the 7 continents
- Learn new sight words
- Learn about the Earth
- Learn to sew
- Learn to ride my bike
- Learn to play the piano
- Learn about other places
- Make science experiments
- Make a story about the beach
- Make art projects
- Make a mermaid
- Make cloud dough
- Make ice cream
- Make art with sidewalk chalk
- Make a fairy garden
- Make food together
- Make one special summer project
- Make a summer reading list
- Go to the library and get my own card
- Go to the $1 summer movies
- Go to the butterfly museum
- Go to the art museum
- Go to the Discovery room at the Museum
- Go to Downtown Disney
- Go get a hot fudge Sundae
- Go to the Smoky Mountains
- Go to Vacation Bible School
- Go to the Bat House
- Go to the Duck Pond
- Go to the Zoo
- Go to the Rocky Mountain National Park
- Go on an airplane
- Go on a picnic
- Go on a nature trail hike
- Go to the beach
Summer Schedule for Kids
You can break up this Play, Learn, Make Go Summer Bucket List Planner into the whole summer, monthly or even weekly to keep things fun and interesting all summer long.
Get started on your summer break by printing out our First Day of Summer Vacation Interview!
As you do special things with your child this summer?
Share with us in the comments below. It can be a resource for parents who are making summer plans with your child.
We hope you have a GREAT SUMMER!
Looking for more ideas for summer fun? Try these…
