18 Summers: Planning for an Intentional Summer {Plus a Free Bucket List Printable}
Planning for an intentional summer is a great investment into your family. Use this summer bucket list printable to brainstorm and create a list of activities your family would like to complete together over the summer months.
I’m kind of glad it’s almost summer time, not because I particularly like hot weather (I don’t) but because it will give us a chance to have some intentional family time.
The last few summers I have either been pregnant or in the newborn baby phase, so I’m excited to make the most of this summer with my 3 kids… even more so since my oldest is now in school so his summer days are a real treat for him as well.
Recently I was reminded we only have 18 summers to invest in our children before they head off to college. While that seems so far off with my own little ones, I know it will be here before I know it.
[clickToTweet tweet=”We only get 18 summers with our children before they head off into the world so we have to be intentional TODAY with our time. ” quote=”We only get 18 summers with our children before they head off into the world so we have to be intentional TODAY with our time. “]
I feel like it was just yesterday (June of 2010) when I found out I was pregnant for the very first time. ย I blinked and here I am six years later with three little children.
The days are long but the years are short… oh my, how true is that!
I don’t want to take for granted the time we have together during these precious years of babies and young children. Soon my kid’s days will be filled with friends, sports, camps, or other activities competing for their attention.
I want to make the most of this time we have now.
Creating a bucket list is a great way to be intentional with our time and will help us in planning for an intentional summer together. It will also help eliminate mom guilt.
When we choose together the activities we want to do as a family, I don’t need to worry anymore about the things we aren’t doing. Those things just aren’t as important to us.
There are so many fun activities we could add to fill up our summers but I don’t want to fill it up with so much that it leaves us feeling tired and stressed. I want to make sure we have plenty of time this summer to rest and be at home as well.
Outside of fun summer activities and times of rest, the other important space I want to make sure we are creating time for Bible study and intentional learning activities.
Not only do I need a daily quiet time with the Lord but I want to teach my children the value of it and model it for them.
In terms of rest, I want to make sure our days aren’t so full of activities and events that we miss needed time to stop, relax, and just enjoy being together.
I want my kids to learn the importance of free time and how to be creative when they are bored. I want them to appreciate discovering adventure in our own backyard
I want them to appreciate discovering adventure in our own backyard (even though it’s relatively small) and use their imaginations.
Most importantly, I just want to cherish these summer moments and enjoy this precious time as a family before the school year starts back up again in August.
This past weekย I sat down with my older two to create a bucket list. We listed out some fun, meaningful activities they were excited to do, never mind the fact I pretty much had to prompt them because if it was up to them we would be blowing bubbles and playing with the trash cans every day!
We listed out some fun, meaningful activities they were excited to do, never mind the fact I pretty much had to prompt them because if it was up to them we would be blowing bubbles and playing with the trash cans every day! ๐ย (Both of my sonsย are obsessed with trash cans, trash trucks, and trash day. It is literally their favorite day of the week!)
So what’s on our summer bucket list?ย
- Walk barefoot in the grass (because it’s the little things)
- Visit the summer display at the library to check out new books and read throughout the summer
- Enroll in the library’s summer reading program
- Visit other libraries in our community we don’t normally go to
- Make homemade bubbles
- Roast marshmallows
- Go to the farmstead
- Plant and water flowers
- Special 4-week Ballet class for my daughter
- Run through the sprinklers
- Go to a baseball game (Go Royals!)
- Rest and relax at home (This one is for Mama!) ๐
- Time with Jesus every day
- Kanakuk Kampout at our church for my oldest (It’s a fun week long day camp)
- Create murals with sidewalk chalk
- Go to the water park
- Swim in the backyard kiddie pool
- Go to a movie (my kids have never been to a movie and there are several summer frugal kid themed movies nearby to choose from)
- Attend Vacation Bible School
- Visit Daddy’s office and have lunch with him
- Sleepovers at Nana’s & Mimi’s house (my kids are so fortunate to have both grandmothers livingย nearby)
- Make ice cream at home
- Go to the zoo
- Pick blueberries at the berry patch
- Play at the brand new spray pad and playground
- Visit the Thomas the Train exhibit downtown
- Go to the children’s museum (A.K.A. pick the hottest day of the summer and go to a destination that is inside with air conditioning!)ย
To make it worthy to place on the front of the refrigerator, I made up a fun printable bucket list with room to record your family’s summer activities with a place to check off when completed.
Click HERE to download your free summer bucket list printableย which is included in the brand new Your Intentional Summer Planning Printable Pack!
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Now that our bucket list is complete, it’s up to me to include these activities in my calendar.
It is so easy to write all of these things down and then just forget about them as we go through our days.
Part of being intentional is creating a plan of action. Sitting down today to create a flexible summer routine and entering some of these activities on the calendar is key.
Sure we might not get everything done on the list BUT I would rather that be from lack of time than lack of intention.ย
What activities do you have planned for your summer bucket list?ย
Don’t miss the 2018 Confident Mom Summer Survival Calendar & Summer Action Guide!
Take charge of summer with these practical organizational tools for family fun!
Summer is my favorite time with the kids because it is so much less hectic than the school year. I love mixing tons of free time with fun outings!
Yes, I want a good balance of fun and rest. Hope you and your family have a fun summer!
Love this idea, have 3 girls here!
So fun! Hope you and your girls have a great summer!
Cute lists, Thanks! It will be fun to put our summer goals on.
Thanks Margaret! Hope you have a great summer ๐
We have many of these on our to-do list, as well!
So fun Melanie! I hope your family has a great summer too ๐
What a great way to make memories! It was always a big production but my kids really enjoyed going fishing and crabbing during the summer. As they got involved in other activities it became harder to schedule because the weekends were packed, but I’m glad we got to go when they were small.
Yes that is exactly why I want to be so intentional now while they are young because I know the days are coming when I won’t be able to compete with friends or other activities! ๐
Great ideas! I especially love including time with Jesus. Sometimes during the summer, it feels like our schedules get off, and we end up running around from one activity to the next, and we can forget how crucial our time in the Bible really is!
Yes so true! I always feel silly scheduling time with Jesus or rest time but I know in our busy days if it’s not written out in front of me, I would let it slip and I don’t want to do that! Plus I want to teach my kids that it’s important to build in the time too, regardless of what season we are in.
I love this!! This will be great for my family someday. I can’t believe how time flies with kids so I love that this really makes it count and gives you a chance to spend as much time with them as possible.
I know what you mean about time flying by! We are looking forward to having a fun summer together.
I love this idea! I just printed a sheet out for my daughter. ๐
Yea! I hope you enjoy it Jillian ๐
Love your Bucket list for Summer fun! I hope you get to cross off every one and have fun in doing so!
Thanks Joanne, we are looking forward to some fun activities this summer! Now if only it would stop raining… ๐
I think it is so fun to have a bucket list because then you always have something planned!
So true! It’s easy to have good intentions but unless we make the effort, our best plans never happen.
I think it’s important to have kids aspire to do things through Bucket Lists! It gives them a sense of adventure and a reason to work hard ๐
I agree! It’s fun to see what adventures they can plan up and accomplish ๐
Thanks for the free printable and the reminder to be more intentional. I can’t believe how fast the summer gets away form us!
As a mother of three, I actually teared up at that first bit! The years are short, indeed.
For my summer bucket list, we change it up a bit every year, but the constant item there is the decoration/redecoration of the exterior of our home. Oh how the kids love the excuse to bring out their inner artists!
What a great idea! It is so crazy how fast time goes by once you become a Mom and I want to enjoy every minute of it with my sons as I can. So glad that there are other Moms who feel the same way! Thanks for sharing on Social Butterfly Sunday this week!
Such a fun list! The little things are so important. My goal this summer is spend more time in nature and let the little things surprise me
Sounds like good summer goals to me!
What a great idea! I love these printables!
Thanks Stephanie!
Really good list! It made me miss summer reading it. My aim for Spring is to spend more time outside and enjoy some of the ideas on your list. Thanks
I love summer, am already making my list of things to do for summer 2018. I’m being inspired by the longer days! Thanks for the ideas – you had a few I hadn’t thought of!
I’m in planning mode too Stephanie! I can’t believe summer will be here soon. I’m glad this has helped you think through a few new things for ideas ๐
I love summer, am already making my list of things to do for summer 2020. Iโm being inspired by the longer days! This is perfect information