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Make a memorable bucket list.

Making a bucket list ensures a good amount of togetherness and summer fun while giving the kids lots to look forward to and check off. It feels good to check something off a list! There are lots of versions online to choose from, or just create your own! My personal favorite way to do this is to hang a poster board on the wall and draw a line down the middle. On the left, write TO DO and on the right, DONE. Write your ideas on post-it notes and place them all on the TO DO side. Simply move them over as you complete them.

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Try something new.

Encourage your kids to pick up a new instrument, take a kids’ cooking class, or write their own comic book. Maybe they’d like to learn to crochet or take swimming lessons. Summer is the perfect time to discover new passions and learn new skills!

Keep a summer journal.

Give your kid a new journal at the beginning of summer to record memories, ideas, and keepsakes. They can tape photos and ticket stubs inside and even write back and forth with you. It’s a fun tradition you can start this summer, and they’ll love looking back on it for years to come.

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Get curious.

During the school year, kids are told what to learn about. Summer is a time to get curious about what interests them and to follow that curiosity! Encourage your kids to be curious this summer and see where their imagination and creativity can take them.

Keep busy boxes handy.

It’s good to be bored sometimes. That’s where curiosity is often born! But no parent wants to hear “I’m so bored” on repeat. Make up a few busy boxes for “emergencies.” Depending on the age of your child, one box might include craft supplies, another box could have a new coloring book with crayons, and another might have playdough or baggies of LEGO bricks to create from. Making a few busy boxes up before summer arrives will save a bit of your sanity this summer!

Leave lots of space for free time.

In between adventures, star gazing, roller coasters, and lemonade stands, save a good amount of summer hours to do absolutely nothing but unwind and just be. That way, in between all of that summer discovering, kids can have time to discover themselves.

Rebecca Eanes is the bestselling author of multiple books including Positive Parenting: An Essential Guide, The Positive Parenting Workbook, and The Gift of a Happy Mother. She is the grateful mom of two boys.