This is my first post in the week-long Summer Bucket List series. Join me and 8 fabulous bloggers while we share our take on the trend.
Today I share how our family made up our list and show you a few of the things we’ve already done!
When we decided to school through most of the summer we knew we would need to be intentional about choosing things that would also mark the time of celebration for the children. This school year was a tough one. We wanted to make sure they understood that we were pleased that they had given good effort in the face of challenge even if we had not completed every page in our program.
After we completed our homeschool review we decided to mark that as our official end-of-the-year. We celebrated with dinner out as a family and went to support the older boys at their Cub Scout pack meeting, where they had both earned badges.
Later we asked them what sort of things they wanted to do this summer. Five little voices had many suggestions. So I asked if they would each make a list of five things they would like to do. I told them to have a couple extra ideas in their minds in case we had repeats.
The three older children made turned in their lists and we were impressed.
I think what surprised us most was that many of the things they asked to do were pretty humble choices:
- go camping
- make a tree house
- have a family game night
- play in the sprinkler
- make goo (slime)
- have a birthday party at Players
Of course we had a good giggle at some of the more ambitious desires:
- go to Lego Land
- go to Disney
- own a pet snake(?!?!)
- watch Star Wars again (the boys have been on a mom enforced SW sabbatical for a while now)
Some of their requests were exactly what we expected:
- watch Brave
- go to Hershey Park
- go to a water park
- go to the beach
They gave us some great ideas and we reserved the right to add our own to the list that would be surprises.
The first thing we crossed off the list was a surprise item – I hadn’t told the children that I had registered them to bowl this summer so it was a bit of a surprise when we went bowling and had dinner out (KidsBowlFree and Buffalo Wild Wings, Kid’s Night is only $.99).
The children also didn’t know that dear friends from a few states away were planning to visit (we hadn’t seen them in nearly three years)! While they were visiting we had planned to take everyone for Medieval Times for dinner. There were lots of cheers for that one. We arrived early so we would get close seats and there was plenty of time for everyone to get decked out with all the right accoutrements.
We brought home quite a bit more food than was eaten, but everyone really enjoyed themselves while we ate with no utensils and cheered for the Black and White Knight! (I was pleasantly surprised when we got home and I completed the online feedback survey that we would receive 50% off for shows we attend in the coming year, SCORE!)
Be sure to visit the other participants in the Summer Bucket List Series and come back here tomorrow when I tell you about the next surprise item we crossed off our list (I’ve lived outside of Baltimore for nine years and never known about it)!
awesome! love their lists! love and miss you all. xoxo
We’ll have to figure out when we’re heading up there. We will have to cross of “go to the beach” 😉
I LOVE MEDIEVAL TIMES!!! One of the things I miss about NJ… 😉
This was only our second time and our kids love it. Going during a mid-week show was great. I didn’t know you once lived in NJ (I grew up in NY).
How adorable that they wrote their own lists!
Our boys would love that! I might have to put it on our birthday bucket lists–it’s not too far to drive with the right planning…
Only problem was that it required them to put a pencil to paper and even for something fun like this, they hesitated… it took well over a week for them to hand me their lists!
We’ve liked the two visits we’ve made to Medieval Times. It is expensive but it is a special treat (and we were able to find a coupon). The Arundel Mills Mall is a fun one to walk around too (there’s even a LEGO store in there).
Looks like fun! I love the picture of them all in their bowling shoes! I didn’t know Buffalo Wild Wings had 99 cent nights…….hmmmm……we might have to check that out!
Jennifer
Call your local BWW! Our ‘Kids Night’ is on Wednesday and along with $.99 kid’s meals they double punch their VIP cards, so after 3 Kid Night visits they’ve earned free regular priced kid’s meals. It’s a favorite of ours. We’re always on the hunt for a good Kid’s Night deal!!
Oh what a beautiful idea! I love the fact that you encouraged your children to join in on what their bucket lists are! Their lists were wonderful 🙂 I am so glad I found your blog! I will be reading it from now on! Lovely, absolutely Lovely! may God bless you!
blessings!
Thank you Nancy. Asking them what they hope to do was fun and also surprising because sometimes we tend to think they’ll have these big dreams, but really what they’re looking for is just fun as a family. It makes my heart swell.