Last year, I pinned many a “Bucket List” to my Summer Pinterest Board. I even printed off some blank ones and had each of the kids fill one out. We actually managed to complete most of the ideas on the bucket lists.
The thing that I noticed about our lists though was they were geared towards the kids. It may have involved me in terms of preparing activities or taking the kids places, but I’m going to admit honestly that I was not truly engaged in the activities.
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I have come to some realizations lately due in large part to the fact that my oldest son is now an adult. His 18th Birthday was a bit of a wake-up call for me, an awakening to how fleeting these years are. I still have many younger kids and I have the chance to create memories with them.
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The way that I have been doing things is to create situations that they may remember but they may not remember my part in them.
In being busy and working hard to gather supplies and instructions for those awesome Summer crafts and in taking the time to make the fun, creative snacks and meals, I sometimes miss out on the real moments, the kisses, the hugs, the chasing in the grass, the laughter.
I am creating this printable Bucket List for Moms Who Want to Engage for me and moms like me, those who feel like their kids’ childhoods are slipping away.
I will continue my honesty by stating that some of the things on this list will be a stretch for me. I don’t even like being outside. It will be hard for me to set aside the dishes and the to-do list and get down in the grass with my kids. But I will.
Let’s make this summer about treasuring moments and creating memories that last for our kids as well as for ourselves. Are you in?
- Have a picnic sitting on the grass with the kids
- Play tag in the yard
- Sit outside and read the kids a book
- Actually participate in a water fight
- Take the kids to a parade and soak in their excitement
- Hopscotch with the kids
- Draw each child’s outline with sidewalk chalk and add positive adjectives inside
- Buy a roll of pennies or dimes and fill the sandbox to watch the kids hunt for buried treasure
- Skip while holding hands
- Go for ice cream and let the kids take as long as they want choosing flavours
- Get dirty
- Lay on the lawn long after dark and point at stars
- Play hooky for a day from “life” and play with the kids
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- Swing on swings, slide down the slide, truly discover a playground
- Build a sandcastle or let the kids bury you to your arm pits in the sand
- Play hide-and-seek
- Blow bubbles
- Take a leisurely stroll through the Farmer’s Market with no agenda
- Blast the music, pick up one of the kids and dance like no one is watching!
- Go berry picking and learn to make jam together with the kids
- Stop and literally smell the flowers
- Hula hoop badly
- Lose an afternoon in the library
- Play “I-Spy” and actually pay attention
- Ask the kids about their dreams
- Colour with crayons
- Do the hokey-pokey
- Worry less, laugh more
- Teach the kids to speak Pig Latin
- Go hiking
- Build a block tower
- Have a games night at home
- Create a technology free day – no phones, no TV, no computers
- Explore our community like tourists
- Whisper
- Giggle
- Build a blanket fort on a rainy day, climb inside and snuggle while you trace letters on the kids’ backs
- Splash at a spray park
- Jump rope
- Create and go on a photo scavenger hunt
Click image below for full printable of 40 ideas…
(There is a typo in the printable which is super embarrassing for me, but could you do me a favour and just pretend you don’t see it or cross it out? I’d appreciate that!)
I love the idea of hiding coins in the sand box!! Great list Sharla!
Thanks Jen!
Beautiful. I really appreciate your perspective. I definitely want to engage more. Thank you.
Thank you. I hope you are able to create some memories this summer.
PINNED! I have a friend who does something similar but they do it as a family and so there are adult things on there too – like camping, festivals, suntanning, landscaping, etc. They write 50 things on big poster boards and hang them up in the house so they can cross them off as they do them.
PS – I put a giant dollar store cobra in the bottom of my sandbox and my little guy found it this week. He was so excited! LOL In hindsight, that really could have gone wrong…
I love the idea of the snake in the sandbox! Something unexpected for them to find…as long as it doesn’t scare the life out of them!!!
Love this, Sharla! “engaging” is key 🙂
Thank you for these wonderful ideas. These are awesome and I can’t wait to get started!
Our kids love to play tag at night!
I love this! Seriously, if there’s a SAHM who could be accused of being a workaholic, it’s me. I have a hard time leaving those dishes and piles of laundry alone. This is such a great reminder to slow down and enjoy my kids.
Oh – and I shared this on my Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/themeasuredmom
Thanks for sharing it Anna and I hope you’re able to pull yourself away from the to-do list for a bit this summer. I know how hard it is to do.
This really resonates with me! It is too easy for me to spend the whole day moving around dishes and laundry without creating any really meaningful moments. Summer vacation starts tomorrow so this is the perfect time for me to print this list! Thanks and I will be subscribing to your blog. 🙂 (The “chaos” also resonates with me as you can see from the title of my blog, lol.)
Glad to find another mom that the chaos resonates with! It’s always such a relief to hear that I’m not the only one!
Thanks so much! This is a great list. Looking forward to making some memories this summer!
I love this! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for the terrific list! I’ve been feeling so guilty about not being more involved in their day-to-day lately. Saving your list! Happy summer!