The Summer Bucket List/"I'm Bored!" Jar

Summer is here and the internet is full of great ideas for summer fun! I think the idea of having a "bucket list" or an "I'm bored!" jar is a great idea for keeping kids busy and entertained during the summer. I like to call ours an "I'm bored!" jar, because a bucket list is supposed to be things you want to do before you "kick the bucket" and I think that's a bit morbid for kids!

Before adding the fun strips

I washed out a plastic tub and removed the label with Goo Gone and added the words "I'm Bored! Jar" with blue glittery chipboard scrapbook stickers. Very simple, and I think it's pretty cute. I wrote down tons of ideas for fun things, learning opportunities, activities, and even chores on strips of scrapbook paper. I color-coded the paper so I know which type of activity is on each one. That way I can "direct" them to choose something else if I'm not prepared to do a time-consuming activity on that particular day.

The girls each pull out a strip of paper per day, one in the morning during our "morning project/activity" time, and one in the afternoon. I've tried a few different formats through the years and this is the system that works best for us. There are SO many ideas for various ways to create a summer fun/bucket list around the internet. I have seen a TON of great ideas on Pinterest and on many of the blogs I follow.

I'm also trying a new idea: Friday Family Fun Nights. I placed orange strips of paper with different family night themes on them in the jar. We will draw a slip on Mondays to determine the theme of our Friday Family Fun Night for the week. I will update with how this turns out!

A sampling of some ideas in our jar:

• Make root beer floats
• Choose a recipe out of a cookbook for dinner and help cook
• Make a sock puppet
• Build a blanket fort
• Find things that start with every letter of the alphabet
• Make a homemade instrument
• Bake cookies
• Play a board game
• Make a “just because” card for someone
• Paint “story rocks”
• Make a shadow puppet theater
• Have a water balloon fight
• Play hide-and-seek
• Empty the bathroom trash
• Sort a basket of laundry for mom
• Find a recipe from another country and make it
• Choose an animal and research it. Report 5 facts to mom + dad at dinner

We have a ton more in the jar - hundreds of ideas I've collected from the internet, books, and things that I made up. So much fun!

Sorting Laundry

Go create a Bucket List/Jar of your own! Don't forget to link up here: