Creating A Summer Bucket List with Your Kids

With the summer break just around the corner, it’s time to start planning all the different things that you can do with your kids. The activities can range from cleaning the room to engaging in art activities, planning day trips and a short vacation, and maybe even joining a summer club. Do keep in mind that during the summer vacations children have a lot of free time on their hands and you are bound to hear them say “I’m bored” many times if they are not kept fruitfully occupied.

The best way is to create a summer bucket list for kids. A bucket list is a collection of various activities and experiences you’d like to do throughout the summer break. Get your family together and brainstorm; remember there are no bad ideas; a seemingly ordinary idea might inspire the next good one.

So, get out your notepads and let’s get writing!!

45 Toddler Friendly Summer Bucket List Activities

We know how precious your time is! So, we have outlined 45 toddler-friendly summer bucket list activities for you!

1. Spend a day at the beach, building sandcastles and hunting for hidden treasures.
2. Spend a day at the pool and include some pool games like basketball or handball.
3. Camping can be one of the interesting activities that you can add to your summer holiday bucket list.
4. Making lemonade or other summer drinks is a fun and simple activity that parents and kids can enjoy together and add to their summer holiday bucket list. It’s a great way to teach children basic kitchen skills, encourage creativity with different flavours, and create lasting family memories.
5. Riding a bike as a family can be one of the summer to-do lists for kids to have unforgettable moments under the bright sun.
6. Have a picnic in a park.
7. Visit a zoo or petting zoo.
8. Visit an aquarium.
9. Have a picnic in a park. Organising a picnic in a park promises sunshine and laughter for kids. It is one of the must-do summer to-do lists for kids.
10. Spend an evening blowing bubbles.
11. Play hopscotch or some childhood games with your kid.
12. Bake some cookies. Baking can be an excellent activity to add to your summer holiday bucket list for kids.
13. Prepare and enjoy a chocolate or cheese fondue.
14. Go to the park in the evening and watch the sunset. Watching breathtaking sunsets with your children can be one of the cherished activities, making it a must-have item to add to your summer holiday bucket list.
15. Watch a movie together as a family with darkened rooms, popcorn, and sandwiches.
16. Set up an ice cream bar with different-flavoured ice cream and add-ins like crumbled cookies, chocolate chips, marshmallows, sprinkles, wafer biscuits, butterscotch bits, cut-up fruits, chocolate sauce, and so on.
17. Have a family game night and play games like UNO, Pictionary, 20 Questions, and more.
18. Visit an adventure camp that has lots of activities for the whole family.
19. Visit your nearest agro-tourism site for the taste of a simpler life.
20. Plant an herb garden in small containers.
21. Make a bird feeder and watch the birds flock to your home. Don’t forget to fill it out regularly. You can keep a water bowl nearby and watch the birds enjoy a cool splash.
22. Plan a family slumber party where everyone sleeps in the same room. You can even make some indoor tents.
23. Make a time capsule for each kid to open on their graduation day. Fill it with a drawing, a letter to their future self, a favourite toy, a list of hopes and dreams, what they think the future would look like, some favourite family moment photos, and so on.
24. Re-organise book shelves, wardrobes, and toy boxes. Outgrown and unwanted items can be boxed and given away or donated to a nearby charity.
25. Let the kids plan and take the lead in preparing dinner. You can help and guide them, but let them feel that they are in charge.
26. Teach your child to do some chores like making their beds, folding their clothes and putting them away.
27. Visit a children’s museum.
28. Take part in a workshop for kids.
29. Enjoy a theatre experience or a music concert.
30. Visit a local exhibition or a mela.
31. Plan a day trip or a road trip to see different sights in the city and visit various eateries to try different things.
32. Visit places of historic or religious importance.
33. Finish holiday homework. To get it out of the way earlier in the holidays, tackle this earlier.
34. Join a local library and encourage them to read books and enjoy some quiet time by themselves.
35. Try out some fun science experiments together.
36. Have a multi-layered food day, for example, a vegetable sandwich- it has many layers. Have each family member be a part of the assembly line and add an ingredient to the sandwich. The first person can spread butter and chutney on the bread, the next person can add cut vegetables, the next person can add a cheese slice and close the sandwich, and the last person can add some fries to the plate. So also the same can be done when making cheesy nachos, or assembling a trifle dessert before refrigerating it.
37. Do a family activity over the course of a few days, like solving a large multi-piece puzzle or creating a long mural. Draw the image on multiple sheets of large paper; each person can be responsible for a particular aspect of the mural. This activity can be done over a few days.
38. Make homemade ice-creams, froyo, juice pops and lassi pops
39. Have a Zoom call or Skype call with grandparents, cousins and other relatives
40. Make nature art, go on a scavenger hunt, and collect different types of dried leaves, flowers, seeds and twigs, and create beautiful pictures with them, you can even make them into cards.
41. Try different forms of painting and printing, such as marble painting, bubble painting, leaf printing, and vegetable scrap printing. Print using blocks, sponges, and crumpled paper to get different effects. Later, you can use these papers as wrapping paper.
42. Build an obstacle course for your kids to enjoy and hone their skills
43. Have a washing day with soapy water, sponges and toothbrushes. Kids will have fun washing their plastic toys and shoes; you can even get them to help you wash the car.
44. Use Pista shells, buttons, coloured cord or thin rope to recycle some waste materials, like plastic cups, bottles, toilet rolls, and kitchen rolls, into something colourful and new
45. Spending an evening looking through old photos together. Kids love looking at photos of themselves and people they know, as well as listening to stories about the photo. You can even print out newer photos and get your kids to help you update the family photo album.

12 Fun Tips to Plan Epic Summer Activities for Kids

Before you begin, use these pro tips to help you plan your summer activities for kids!

1. Begin making a summer bucket list of activities for kids at least a month before vacations begin.
2. Prepare the bucket list as a family of different activities everyone would like to do. Keep the list handy for adding more items as and when required.
3. Make sure to include chores and cleaning days as well.  Did you create your bucket list for summer yet?
4. Prepare a daily schedule for summer break so that children are aware of the routine.
5. Choose activities that can be done both outdoors and indoors.
6. Make sure you have some quiet time activities that children can do by themselves, giving you a chance to rest or catch up on some other work.
7. Make a to-do list for kids to follow and do independently. The list could include a few simple activities and daily chores.
8. Choose activities that excite your children so that they can do these by themselves. Also, choose new activities that excite you. When children see you engrossed in a new activity, they might be willing to try it out.
9. Research some summer clubs for kids held nearby for the days or weeks when you don’t have leave or cannot spend the entire day with them.
10. Include some “family activity time” for the whole family.
11. It’s better to overplan and have extra activities handy than to underplan and be at a loss.
12. As adults, you have responsibilities other than entertaining the kids. So, it’s okay to let your child watch TV, but let this be only for a fixed amount of time. If they are allowed to watch TV with a fixed schedule, then they will be more willing to turn off the TV without a fuss when their time is up.

These are twelve tips for planning a summer bucket list for kids. Organising a summer bucket list for kids excites their spirit and creates memorable experiences for them to cherish for the rest of their lives.

Conclusion

Creating a summer bucket list with your kids can be a joyful experience. You can map out an entire holiday to create memorable experiences. In this article, we have provided 12 fun tips to plan epic summer activities for kids and 45 toddler-friendly summer bucket list activities. We hope you try your hand at a few of these to create a fun experience for your kid.

Apart from these activities, there are also many DIY kits that can be purchased from the shop or online. These cover many activities and are easy to do with your kids or for them to do alone. However, if all else fails, there’s always EuroKids to the rescue. For tips, you can check out our blog, Summer Learning: Educational Activities To Keep Your Toddler Engaged. Don’t forget to check out EuroKids Blogs for more information.

EuroKids Preschools, the leading brand in early childhood education, is conducting a summer club for kids of various ages. Our summer activities for kids will keep them fruitfully engaged and entertained for hours. The children will be divided into two groups based on their age and each group has two themes.