It’s
here. It’s finally here. The day counted down from the very
first day of school. The day that
culminates in squealing excitement for students and teachers: summer
vacation Cut this list out. Put it on the ‘fridge and use it as a
Summer Bucket List. And tell your
kids they can’t even think about being bored until they finish everything
on it.Enjoy!
1. Make a slip ‘n’ slide
out of a big tarp and dish soap
2. Have a picnic
3. Make homemade scented
play dough: ½ c salt, 1 c flour, 1 tbs. oil, 1 pkg. Koolaid, 1 c boiling
water. Mix together salt, flour
and Koolaid. Add oil and boiling
water. Mix with spoon until cool
enough to handle and then knead with hands.
4. Perform a Random Act of
Kindness for your neighbors: You
can deliver handwritten notes or pictures, make them a cake or give them
flowers.
5. Make a Bored Jar: Decorate a jar or paint an old coffee
can and fill with activities written on colorful slips of paper for kids to
draw out when they feel they have absolutely nothing to do. A good tip: mix fun things with chores
(like ‘play in the sprinkler’ and ‘pull weeds’) so they can decide if it’s
worth it or not to have you entertain them!
6. Have a Dessert War: Have ingredients available in a central
location (for example: graham crackers, whipped cream, fruit, sprinkles or
chocolate sauce). Each child has
their own workspace and works against a timer to create a unique dessert. Have them present it and explain what
the process was. This would also
be fun with cupcake or cookie decorating.
7. Make a fort (you could
have a picnic in your fort if you remove the chairs from a table and simply
throw a sheet over the top of it and have the sides draping down for the
walls. Forts make great reading
nooks!)
8. Have a scavenger hunt:
print out a list of items and attach it to a bag (you can use pictures for
nonreaders). The list might
include: something brown, a feather, an acorn, a flower, etc.
9. Make a lemonade
stand: Give the money you make to
a special cause or charity or use it to spend on a Family Date.
10. Have a Water Olympics in
your backyard (sample stations you
might have: sponge relay, water balloon toss or bobbing for apples)
11. Hide and seek egg
hunt: You know all those plastic
eggs you don’t use all year? Bring them out and hide them for an indoor or
outdoor activity (when it gets too hot to be outside!). You can even use a special colored egg
as a prize for quality time with mom and dad or extra book at bedtime.
12. Have a water balloon
fight (make a contest at the end to see who picks up the most busted balloons.)
13. Have a cooking lesson
for a simple treat. Be okay with
the mess. Eat your creation.
14. Make a surprise party
for dad just for coming home from work.
15. Make your own
books: Take blank paper,
fold in the middle and staple.
Younger children can draw and tell you about the pictures (you could
even write in the words for them).
For the older kids, print it out and draw in the pictures or use clip
art. Read it with them at bedtime
for a fun surprise.
16. Do a family
painting: Have everyone in the
family contribute in some way.
Hang it up and enjoy your effort together. (a tip: it’s best to let the paint from the work of each
person dry before passing it to the next)
17. Make a race track or
city out of sidewalk chalk for small cars and trucks or a zoo for animals. Large and concentrated projects will
engage smaller children longer and it is fun for them to work together with
you.
18. Make Fudgsicles: Mix
chocolate pudding according to directions. Pour into paper cups and insert wooden stick or spoon. Freeze and enjoy!
19. Make bubbles: Take one cup of water and add one
tablespoon of dishwashing liquid.
Cut the top third off of a plastic water or soda bottle and you have an
instant bubble blower.
20. Box Village: Have old moving boxes? If not, use
leftover boxes from big items or a make a trip to the back of Home Depot. Cut out windows or doors, decorate, and
group together. Let your kids have
snacks inside of the boxes and it may be a while before you see them
again.
21. Grow something
22. Make new crayons out of
old crayons: Gather up all the
small broken pieces of crayons and put them in foil cup liners in a muffin pan
about one inch deep. Heat oven to
250 degrees and let melt (about 15-20 minutes). After they are cool, pop them out and they are ready!
23. Paint outside: Use butcher paper (super cheap at
Sam’s) and make your own paint in muffin tins (flour, water and food coloring
to desired consistency and color).
Hose down the mess and you’re good to go!
24. Have reading hour in the
floor: Each child can bring their
favorite books and each one is read aloud to everyone. An extra treat? Do the reading in a
tent or fort with a flashlight.
25. Have a family talent
show
Whether you are trying to find help for the summer time or perhaps have a young baby and need regular scheduled help so you can get out to run errands - finding a reliable sitter is always a quest.
