We are very fortunate in our household to be able to have a wonderfully nanny come into our house 3+ times a week. But sometimes my kiddos can be a bit device heavy. Let’s be honest, it’s easy, they like it, and I know it’s not good for them. So… While I know our gal is amazing at keeping our kiddos busy and entertained with things other than devices, I decided to help her out a little just so she could know what was going on around the city!
We are also fortunate to live in a city where there are always things going on! We love Indy! We try to make everyone jealous when we go home to visit family. No, but seriously!
Oh you don’t have a Childrens Museum? — Oh you don’t have a Conner Prairie?! — Oh you don’t have THE COLTS?!?
I mean, c’mon!
I digress… but we do have SO MANY fun things happening all the time it can be hard to keep up with so I created a little Summer Fun Binder (and even had them help me decorate it) for the girls to reference over the next 8 weeks! Well, I guess it’s about 6 now…
There are so many resources out there with free templates, lists, ideas and I’ve compiled a few options at the bottom of this post as well as shared the ones we used. I also went and gathered calendars from places like the library and local theaters for the list of free movies available.
And I didn’t want summer to be a complete learning bust! I do think there’s a lot to learn in playing, activities, and from museums like The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and Conner Prairie. So while you’ll see fun things, you’ll also see a couple things I wanted Ella to work on so she’d know them for First Grade.
First we have our Summer bucket list…
Our 2018 Summer Bucket List
How we are doing so far!
This was fun. We made it in the car one night while waiting for my husband. We had some fun with it then I rewrote it one day while bored. We’ve done a pretty good job so far! Only Hiking, Central Library, garden, IMA, family bike ride, and eat on the patio are left! We checked off Road Trip and Dance in the Rain this weekend! And make sure to check out my free printable below so you can make your own summer bucket list! Even if it’s just for July!
Next we added a “Fun List.” And I like how this is broken up into different categories which is why I picked it. *Sorry some of it is covered up. That’s my fault! But I love how they are divided and it makes for an easy reference when looking for something easy to do. I also used that page and wrote down all the close splash pads & favorite parks on the back.
I found the fun list and others at Imagination Soup. There’s three pages for Reading, Writing, and Math minutes and how to accomplish those… I haven’t been too strict on all of these, but have definitely been encouraging the reading as much as possible! We have even starting reading chapter books like Harry Potter & Diary of a Wimpy Kid together at night. The summer reading incentives have helped with this too! I do have one question on this… does this count for my reading goals too!? It does, right?!
I found weekly calendars at Motherhood on A Dime and printed one for each week of the summer. Here I can list camps of the week and ideas of events or happenings that are on certain days, particularly those when our sitter is there. And they are followed by a weekly practice of phone numbers, address, and checking the weather.
Then on the back of some of the more task like pages, I have coupons Ella can earn. Like Ice Cream Treat, or Date with Mom or Dad. I figured incentive (ok bribery) is never a bad thing, right!?
It’s been fun to see how they use the folder – what they do and what they don’t. I’m pretty sure Ella hates doing the school-ish things but it’s good for her so it will continue. I do love how appreciative our little gal was for the folder. She’s from a small town just north of us and she loves knowing what is going on so they can plan the week when she gets here on Tuesdays! I think it’s been helpful for her.
We also have this calendar on the wall to keep our sanity. It’s one of my new favorite additions to the kitchen area and everyone else loves it too! I’ll share the DIY in the coming days… I think you’ll love it too!
But with that being said we are off to use our binder on this questionable weather day! The Mall? The Movies? The library? Who knows, but at least we know our options for the day! We just have to take one quick look at the week and it’s all there!
Do you all use something in the summer to keep yourself sane? And to keep your kids from saying “I’m Bored” all the time?
Chat Again Soon!
And enjoy this Summer Bucket List printable!
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