5815 Tutt Center Point - Colorado Springs, CO 80922
Finally! Its summer y’all! Have you been counting down the days like we have?! As the cold days become fewer and fewer, my family is in the mood for sunshine and fun. I have begun planning mini vacations, weekend trips, and the day to day activities. I think these will be great to do this summer. In previous years, we have had a ‘go with the flow’ type of schedule. On the weekends we would go to the pool and try to catch things that were free around town. While that has been great, I wanted to try something new this summer! We are making a summer bucket list! This list is going to have daily goals and also BIG summer fun goals included. Here are a few tips and some of the ideas that my kids and I have come up with!
Depending on the age of your kiddos, you may need to make separate goal sheets for each child. My vision for this is to include daily goals they can accomplish easily. And also family goals or a summer bucket list. I feel having this tool for the summer will help keep us busy and have a more organized schedule. Because truth is, I say that I want to do these ‘things’ over the summer and I either end up forgetting what I wanted to do (seriously…) or I get lazy and take the easy way out and make park and pool trips. Which is totally fine. But it means that I never followed through with what I wanted my kids to experience over the summer.
Daily goals
Depending on age, these are simple things that they need to get done daily. You could turn this into chore type activities. Or small learning activities that will help keep those brain cells busy in the summer months. My preschooler has 3 daily goals:
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to read 30 mins total (with sissy or a parent),
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feed the dog dinner (he picked),
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and play a writing/letter game with mom.
So, this is a combination of chores and learning. It is important to include your kiddo in making these decisions. It makes them feel the responsibility of making a choice. These goals will most likely get switched up during the summer. This way, he can focus on other things he needs to work on and will be involved in that process too. Now, I have thought of also doing a reward system for this…but decided against it. I want these goals to really feel important to him and not become something he is doing for a sticker/toy. This means working with my preschooler so he understands the concept a bit more. I want to pump him up so he meets his goals and feels proud.
Family goals or Summer Bucket List
This is a concept that I came across online, but I put my own spin on it. Online, the picture had all the places they wanted to go visit. While that will work, I just wanted to be more specific and expand it a little. So, for our Summer Bucket List we are coming up with a list of things that we really want to do/see/explore and also some kindness activities. I picked a few items on the list and I let each of my kiddos choose things to add. Most of the things we added are things that we are surely able to accomplish and will be awesome to be able to cross them off.
Some of the ideas my kiddos came up with fall into the ‘we will sure try’ category. While I am not sure if we will be able to do some of the items, I still wanted to include them. I think it is also important for them to see what happens when goals are not met as planned. That way, they get to have conversations and examine their feelings on it and grow from it.
I really feel this system will make a positive difference in our summer adventure. I want them to really have a busy, fun, and engaging summer! Having a small outline of what this will look like will help keep us all accountable. I also recently read a quote online that said “You only get 18 summers with your children, that’s it. So make it count.” Boom. Right to the feels for sure. Being a kid is such an experience that can be truly magical. MY daily goal is to act like a kid and have fun, that way my children will have the most memorable summer ever!
-Ms. Whitney
Lead Prekindergarten Teacher
Curriculum Coordinator
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