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Planning a fun, kid-friendly summer

If there is one phrase that hurts my ears (not to mention my head) it’s the ol’: “MOM, I’M BORED.”

That’s why we started doing this:

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It’s our Giant List o’ Summer Fun!

We’ve been doing it for a few years now, and it’s great. Not only does the activity itself eat up a couple hours (brainstorming activities and illustrating them all takes time you know), but it becomes a big “go-to” for when we’re looking for something to do. My goal is always to include smaller things the girls can do without me (have a tea party, play a board game, read a book, play at the park, have a pyjama day) as well as some of the bigger things I don’t want to forget to do as a family this summer (do some backyard camping, hit up some of our favourite museums, and go on day trips).

The best part is that when I hear that dreaded phrase I can point to our Giant List and tell them to just pick something.

Here are some of the things that are on our list:

  • camping (done!)
  • Parc Omega
  • vacation
  • go see the Harry Potter movie (maybe make some Harry Potter crafts too?)
  • Calypso Water Park (done!)
  • swimming at the local pool
  • make pudding
  • go to our Nana and Papa’s
  • visit Babi
  • continue our tree hunt/neighborhood leaf collection
  • check out the workshops at our local kid’s art studio
  • crafts (I have a bunch planned already)
  • make ice cream
  • bake yummy things (HELLO EASY BAKE OVEN)
  • picnic in the park – somewhere new!
  • go for a hike
  • go to the beach
  • go on a family bike trip
  • sleepover with friends
  • tea party (make invitations to make it official)
  • play with friends
  • mom’s birthday celebration in August
  • camp in the backyard
  • go for ice cream
  • go the library
  • check out our favourite museums
  • Saunder’s Farm
  • go to the movies
  • visit the Farmer’s Market
  • Papinack Zoo
  • Summer camp (one week away from home!)
  • write a letter to a friend
  • Spa Day
  • explore Ottawa
  • fly kites
  • make bubbles
  • decorate t-shirts
  • host a lemonade stand (done, but we can do it again!)

What would you add to your Giant List o’ Summer fun?

Mother of two imps and wife of one. Writer, photographer, pro blogger, adventure-seeker, Ottawaholic, social media evangelist and lover of STUFF. Also known as @missfish on Twitter.

2 Responses to “Planning a fun, kid-friendly summer”

[…] Over at the UsedEverywhere blog today I’m writing about how we plan our summers. […]

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[…] our Giant List O’Summer Fun? Well, we’re halfway though August and we’re starting to run out of ideas.  I’m […]

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