The Ultimate Nostalgic Summer Bucket List For Kids and Parents

Is there anything more magical than being a kid in the summertime? Maybe it's just nostalgia, but summertime always brings up childhood memories of swimming, watching clouds, enjoying homemade popsicles and ice cream, chasing fireflies, kicking a soccer ball around with your friends, bike rides, cookouts with your family. It's probably why parents are so baffled when their kids complain about being bored in the summer months — there's so much to do! But that's exactly why we compiled this summer bucket list for kids.

This summer bucket list is chock-full of great summery ideas you'll want to make sure to do before the summer's over and back-to-school season begins. It's meant to be inspirational. You can even print it out and tack the summer bucket list for kids up on your fridge and make note of what you've done or what your favorite outdoor activities have been so far. We guarantee some of the ideas will become memories your kids cherish all the way through their own adulthood.

The Ultimate Summer Bucket List For Kids

  1. Have a picnic.
  2. Watch a sunset at the beach.
  3. Fly a kite.
  4. Camp in the backyard.
  5. Stargaze. (You might even catch some shooting stars, thanks to summer meteor showers.)
  6. Play tag with friends.
  7. Run through sprinklers.
  8. Use summer's bounty to make DIY fruit popsicles. Then . . .
  9. Eat too many popsicles.
  10. Plant flowers or vegetables.
  11. Go berry picking.
  12. Make and sell lemonade on your front lawn.
  13. Have an underwater tea party in the pool.
  14. Paint pet rocks.
  15. Ride your bike from sunrise to sunset.
  16. Watch fireworks.
  17. Go across the lawn on a Slip 'N Slide for hours.
  18. Learn how to skip a rock.
  19. Go for a lazy canoing, kayaking, or tubing adventure.
  20. Swing at the park until you're out of breath with giggles.
  21. Have a water-balloon fight.
  22. Go mini-golfing.
  23. Get ice cream from the neighborhood truck (a lot).
  24. Make sidewalk-chalk masterpieces.
  25. Learn how to whistle through a blade of grass.
  26. Play in the rain.
  27. Catch fireflies in a jar.
  28. Collect seashells.
  29. Make tie-dye creations.
  30. Wash cars by hand.
  31. Blow bubbles.
  32. Build a sand castle at the beach. (Come prepared with this list of beach must haves for parents.)
  33. Eat watermelon slices that look like smiles.
  34. Have a watermelon-seed-spitting contest.
  35. Roast marshmallows over a real fire and make s'mores.
  36. Play Marco Polo in the pool.
  37. Go on a nature walk.
  38. Make ice cream in a bag.
  39. Make wishes on dandelions.
  40. Watch a movie outdoors.