NBrynn: Summer Fun Plan

Every summer, in an effort to make the most of my husband's time off and the extra hours of sun and warmth in each day, we come up with a "Family Fun Plan." Our first summer, this consisted of a big sheet of butcher paper listing weekly adventures prominently taped to our living room wall! Last summer, we got a bit more sophisticated and wrote our list out on a poster board and mounted it in our family Art & Learning room. With summer again just around the corner, I decided simply to use a plain 'ole sheet of paper with fringes along the bottom that the kids can tear off listing various summer fun activities. And today, I get to share this printable with you!

The two most important parts of making a family summer fun plan are:

A) Gathering opinions, wishes, ideas, etc. from all family members and

B) Setting a budget.

This summer, we are even tighter on money than usual with the pending adoption of our third child. So, we have set our budget very low and will be looking to lots of local and free options to help us make memories this summer!

Interested in making your own Summer Fun Plan?

Here's what to do:

Before school is out or the summer sun shines in all its brightness, gather the family and solicit ideas from each member about what they’d like to get to do this summer. Make this a natural opportunity to talk about finances and to set a budget as a family for how much can be set aside as “Summer Fun” money. With that amount in mind, agree on ten family adventures - one for each week of summer! Or, if you’re low on time or energy, use the ideas I have listed below to kickstart your summer fun plan. You can choose to rip one off every Saturday, or whenever the Boredom Bear comes growling through your home. Above all, enjoy making memories as a family this summer!