Our 2026 Summer Bucket List

Creating a summer of adventure, curiosity, and fun together!

We’ve made it through another homeschool year and have arrived at summer once again! It’s hands-down my favorite season of the year so I’m savoring all these hot, lazy days where we can put our feet up and relax a bit.

I’ve met many homeschool families over the years where some of them continue their schooling right through the summer so that they rest of the year has flexibility, but for me I need a several month reset to feel refreshed and excited to jump back into another school year. Maybe that’s the previous public-school teacher in me, but taking this intentional break allows me to do more adventures with my kids, take on some neglected house projects, and get back into some hobbies that I didn’t have the time for during the rest of the year.

That being said, it’s our second year making a Summer Bucket List and it’s been one of the most fun ways to kick off a new season! We’ve also made one for the fall too, but there’s something magical about summer adventures that no other season can compete with.

In this post, I’ll share about our goals for our bucket list, how we gathered ideas, and what things we’re most excited for that we included on our bucket list. If you’ve never made one with your family, it might be a great way to add excitement and adventure to the months ahead.

But before I get into all of that, let me explain what this Summer Bucket List isn’t…it’s not about doing it all or feeling guilty if we’ve only accomplished a handful of adventures (like last year when I became pregnant at the beginning of summer and didn’t feel like leaving the couch very much!). We certainly aren’t trying to pack our summer full of back-to-back activities, leaving little margin in our weeks.

It’s also not a list of expensive attractions or events that cost much money— fun can absolutely be free! Many of our ideas are free, they just require some planning and creativity.

I like to refer to our bucket list like a poster full of inspiration we can return to when we hit a lull or feel that familiar “I’m bored” start to surface.

No expectations, rules, or requirements. Just a list of what will help to make this summer full of learning, connecting, and being together.

Making the Summer Bucket List

Since a bucket list isn’t new to my kids, they all had ideas of what we needed to put on this year’s poster— which I love because traditions are one of my favorite parts of being a mom.

We began with a giant list of idea (curtesy of Chat GPT) that contained ideas divided by categories…

• Arts & Crafts

• Nature & Outdoors

• Food and Baking

• Water Play

• Exploring & Travel

• Celebrating Fun National Days

From there, I read off the ideas to my kids and they gave a thumbs up or down if it was something we should include in our chart. I kept reminding them that these are all just possible ideas, not guaranteed plans and that we very likely wouldn’t accomplish all of them this summer.

After we narrowed down our list (no set number, just a bunch of good ideas), we made and decorated our poster. I let my kids have complete ownership of this since it motivates them and builds excitement!

What’s on our Summer Bucket List

Arts & Crafts

• Make tie-dye t-shirts

• Make DIY boats and float them down the creek

• Paint rocks and hide them around the neighborhood

• Have a paper airplane contest

• Make friendship bracelets

Nature & Outdoors

• Play backyard sardines at night with flashlights (a fun version of hide-and-seek!)

• Make trail mix and go hiking

• Camp in the backyard (we call this Camp-o-Rama)

• Catch fireflies at dusk

• Watch a movie outside

• Backyard family Olympics

• Go to a baseball game

• Make bird feeders

• Play badminton in the backyard (we just picked up a set and are excited about this new sport!)

• Go strawberry picking

• Visit 5 new playgrounds

Water Play

• Visit a splash pad

• Have a neighborhood water balloon fight

• Wash the car together in the backyard

Day Trips

• Play in the fountains in Philadelphia (we love Dilworth Park)

• The beach! (we live less than 3 hours from beaches so it’s our favorite day trip)

• YES Day! (my kids are thrilled about this ambiguous event)

Baking & Food Fun

• Make homemade popsicles (here’s our favorite recipe book!)

• Have an “ice cream for dinner” night

• Donuts for breakfast

• Make homemade ice cream (we have this ice cream maker which we love)

Silly National Days

• June 20- National Vanilla Milkshake Day: we’ll be doing this one while we explore a new ice cream shop!

• July 20- National Lollipop Day: a visit to our local candy store is one of the best times (we did this one last year and still talk about how fun it was!)

• July 24- National Cousins Day: my kids’ cousins are their best friends so why not celebrate with a sleepover and some fun activities

• August 2- National Ice Cream Sandwich Day: this will be another fun baking activity we can do together

• August 10- National S’mores Day: Bring on the campfire and backyard campout

  

  Let Summer Be Simple and Sweet

  You don’t need to fill your calendar with expensive trips or outings to make summer feel fun. Sometimes all you need is a list of easy, cheap, possibilities, a few lazy days, and the willingness to stomp through a creek, catch fireflies in the dark, or indulge in ice cream for dinner!

  I hope this post inspires you to create a bucket list of your own, making it one that fits your family and your rhythm. And if you do, I’d love to hear what you put on yours!

  Here’s to a slow, joyful summer ☀️