Bucket Lists – Your Kids Have the Key to Summer Fun | By Shona Bowes

July 16, 2017

Last year I was lucky enough to persuade my work to approve me on a Leave Without Pay for the months of July and August. I crunched all the numbers and made the leap because somehow the stars aligned and all my children were transitioning to new childcare programs. Which, for the first time in a VERY long time, didn’t require me to ‘hold my spot’ and pay for daycare all summer. I was determined to make it a summer of memories, fun and a variety of activities.

Since I was going to be home with them every day we decided to do a Popsicle jar. All you need is a bag of popsicle sticks and you just write down your ‘bucket list’ idea and place it in a mason jar. The kids LOVED that they were picking what we were going to do for the summer and came up with some great ideas. We had everything from catch fireflies to going to the zoo.

Some days we already had planned activities or I wanted to stay home so we didn’t pick from the jar (summer needs to be a little relaxing right!?) but on the days it was quiet and we were looking for fun, we would pick a popsicle stick at breakfast and make a plan. My husband found it funny that sometimes he’d call to see how we were all doing and we’d be at New River Beach or had already been to 4 parks in the city that day. You can imagine the fun stories that he got to hear at the dinner table!

I would recommend if you are up for mini road trips that you do a separate jar so that if you had more time (and energy) then your kids can pick from that one. Nothing worse than picking a super exciting road trip stick and then have Mommy say you can’t do that one – set yourself up for success!

This year I am not able to take much time off for summer holidays so our Popsicle sticks are different but will still add so much excitement for the kids!

Here are just a few of our chosen activities for Fredericton and surrounding area:

Pack a picnic and go to O’Dell
Eat supper on a patio
Join the Summer Book Reading Club
Enjoy hot chocolate downtown on a rainy day
Go swimming after dark
Explore to find waterfalls
Take in some of the fantastic music during Harvest Jazz & Blues
Go to a baseball game
Make homemade popsicles
Set up a lemonade stand
Go to 3 parks we’ve never been to
Have a fun filled day with cousins – games, forts, bbq, etc.
Visit Uncle Mark’s ‘snazzy’ trailer (my 6 year old’s description) and spend the day at the beach with he and Aunty Cass

There is no special formula from me – it’s all in your kids and their summer wish list! My kids know that in order to go to the cottage in PEI and do a couple of camps that we try to keep our activities around the city on a budget – with a few treats of course! If you want more info on how amazing our city and province is check out www.tourismfredericton.ca & www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca.

Happy Bucket List Making!

Shona

We would LOVE to hear some of the things on your list in the comments below!

Meet Shona!

Although I am not shy this is completely out of my comfort zone! My name is Shona Bowes and I am originally from the ‘Chi’. I use this as my excuse after all super fun parties….don’t judge, I am fun at a party. I have been married for almost 10 years and Ryan and I have 3 crazy, awesome kids. Stella is 8, Lydia is 6 and Isaac is 3. I love all things competitive except for running in a race but I will take a game of Yahtzee or a Company ball tournament to an entire other level. I also love Coronation Street, hot tubs and the beach. In my spare time I hang out with my kids acting like a rough gang cruising the streets of Skyline on our bikes and skateboards. When I am not rolling with my posse (usually in my minivan) I enjoy reading, being a coach and planning our next family adventure. We love exploring New Brunswick and are big fans of a good roadtrip! I am really looking forward to the Mom Talk Blog and connecting with people in a new way!