Memories of summer days will last a lifetime. Give your child the opportunity to experience the best of the season! Here are 10 experiences every child should have this summer:
1. Catching fireflies Fireflies are magical to a child. Staying up a little late to chase them through the grass is one of summer’s best outdoor experiences.
2. Walking barefoot Taking off your shoes removes the barrier between you and nature. You feel the grass under your toes and, somehow, the whole world seems a little greener.
3. Running a lemonade stand The opportunities for teaching your child about money, responsibility, and entrepreneurship are almost endless, but the real reason every child should run a lemonade stand is that it is just plain fun!
4. Flying a kite When you run alongside a kite, you feel almost as free as the kite itself.
5. Tending a garden Gardening brings you close to nature- right in your own backyard.
6. Playing in the rain Leave the umbrella inside or take it with you. Playing in the rain means stepping out of the ordinary. Get wet, stomp in puddles, and have a ball!
7. Spend time on a shore Whether you go to a river, lake, or ocean, spending time by the water is an essential part of summer. Building sand castles, swimming, collecting rocks, and investigating small water creatures are all part of the fun.
8. Have a picnic Family dinners are a time to connect. Why not move dinner outside on a beautiful summer evening? Children love the novelty of stretching out instead of sitting in a chair. Best part for Mom: no table to wipe down and no chairs to sweep under!
9. Go stargazing Staying up late to sit under the stars is a treat for the whole family. Teach your child a few of the constellations and then make up a few of your own. Talk about how big the universe seems. Or just relish in the simple beauty of the night sky.
10. A Day With No Agenda The best summer days are the lazy ones, the ones in which we head outside and see where the day brings us. In our super busy lives, children need time to relax and explore their world at their own pace.
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great list! i will share!
Thanks so much, Amy!
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oh, I wish we had fireflies in Colorado!!
When I wrote this post, I had no idea that fireflies don’t live all over the country. I guess I learn something new everyday!
Camping!!
great list, and i like that they’re ‘doable’. Some lists are too far-fetched, too complicated to execute or too many to do in our busy lifestyles, but these’s are doable! I think we’ve done all with our kids except the lemonade stand. I’m sure they’d love to, but does anyone actually BUY any lemonade from these stands? I’d be sad if my kids got all excited about it, and no one bought anything.
Check out my post about our own lemonade stand. I had to secretly call some friends to get customers. (Shh… my kids don’t know!)http://52brandnew.com/2012/06/03/new-experience-21-lemonade-stand/
I always buy lemonade from kids with lemonade stands. Regardless of whether or not I am thirsty. It is a cardinal rule of mine.
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Wonderful list! We flew a kite just last weekend. Thanks for linking up to the Weekly Kid’s o-op.
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Great post. Happy to report that my girls have had all of these experiences! I’d add eating a messy s’more and roasting marshmallows to the list.
Good ones! Actually, my children have never roasted marshmallows. That might be a yummy new experience for us!
Go to Target and buy one of those cheaper end fire pits and get those duralogs. Strike a match and offer all the fixings. That and fireflies in one night. Perfection.
This is a great list – way to get the summer off to a fantastic start!
Thanks! We can already cross one off the list. My kids were barefoot all day!
Thank you, these are awesome, I read them with a few memories attached to most, though we were catching grasshoppers, not fireflies, I’ve never seen one in real life
Really? I thought fireflies live everywhere! Thanks for teaching me something new today!
Superb article… a must do for every child. Have done most of things, if not all, as a child as well as with my child…
Great list, although from personal experience from childhood ’til now at 30, number 2 is great!..until you step on a bee :/
True… there’s always a little risk involved when going barefoot. But, like most things in life, a little risk keeps it interesting!
Yes! Absolutely! I agree with everything on this list!
Love this list! Pinning and sharing
Thank you so much, Jen!
Great list…I did all of them as a child except for the first one.
I bet you remember each experience! It’s the little things in life that we hold on to.