Fun To-Do Lists are a simple and effective way to combat summer boredom and virtually eliminate the phrase “I’m bored” from your children’s vocabulary!
One of my favorite things about summer break is that our whole family is home together all day, every day without any big plans or huge agenda.
One of my least favorite things about summer break is that our whole family is home together all day, every day without any big plans or huge agenda.
LOL!
I’m joking… kind of!
Truthfully, our family is very content to spend the vast majority of our 10-week summer break at home — swimming, bike riding, playing whiffle ball and basketball, jumping on the tramp, and having lots of friends, neighbors, and relatives over for pool parties and playdates.
However, our days are always more enjoyable, more fulfilling, and more productive when we start with a list… specifically A Fun To-Do List!
Early on in our marriage, Dave and I realized that unless we had some sort of a plan for our summer break, the days and weeks seemed to slip by. Before we knew it, Dave was gearing up for the back-to-school season and we hadn’t accomplished anything on our mental summer bucket list.
After we added children to the mix, we were reminded of how important it was to intentionally allocate the fleeting moments of our summer break so we didn’t flip the calendar to September while regretting the things we wished we should have done…
Things like:
- Visit parks, splash pads, and nature centers.
- Participate in church, community, and library events.
- Host various pool parties and backyard BBQs.
- Camp in the backyard.
- Wash the cars.
- Take a bike ride to get ice cream.
- Make a bonfire with s’mores.
- Go to the beach — hello Lake Michigan!
- Grow a garden.
None of these are big things — most are completely free and only require a few hours of our time… but that’s the problem.
We think… “we’ll do them another day”, but “another day” never comes, and then it’s back-to-school again for the year.
That’s why we make our trusty Fun To-Do Lists!
What’s A Fun To-Do List?
It’s simply a list of everything we need and want to do on a given day — written in colorful markers (it’s fun, remember!) and taped to the side of our kitchen cabinets where the kids can easily read it.
Our Fun To-Do Lists include everything we can think of:
- What we’ll eat for all our meals and snacks (and what times we’ll eat)
- What activities we plan to do that day (even something simple like “play outside” or “do a puzzle” or “bake cookies” or “paint rocks”)
- If we have plans to invite friends over.
- If we’re going somewhere (even just to the library or the neighbors)
- Any appointments or obligations we have
- Any house chores or yardwork we need to do
We also try to block out one chunk of time free time for Dave and one chunk for me each day (even if it’s just 30 minutes). It’s fantastic!
What makes it so fun?
Honestly, I don’t know!
But our kids love it… and every time they have friends over, the friends comment on it.
I think it might be the fact that the kids all know the plan for the entire day and can anticipate the “fun” things we plan to do without constantly asking us “is it time for ______ yet?” or “what can we do now?”
We do also intentionally try to think of a few fun extras each day — like visiting a park, going to the library, making a special dessert — things we might not normally do on a weekday during the school year.
If there are less fun activities (like pulling weeds or doing the laundry), the kids are extra motivated to work quickly in order to cross them off the list and get to the more fun to-dos.
Plus, the fact that our WHOLE family does it all together makes it fun and special for us.
The Benefits of Fun To-Do Lists:
If you’re not naturally a type-A person, or if you’re simply not in the habit of making lists, you might think we are totally CRAZY… but I’m telling you, don’t knock it until you try it!
Here are just a FEW of the many benefits for our family:
- Dave and I are both on the same page because we make the list together each evening.
- We rarely forget ANYTHING because we have 4 kids who are eager to remind us of everything on the list.
- I never have to wonder “what should I make” or listen to the kids ask, “what’s for dinner” 18 times a day because they can just check the list.
- The kids almost never ask us “what can we do?” or complain about being bored.
- Dave and I enjoy windows of free time each day.
- We are more diligent about planning out-of-the-ordinary activities each day.
- Our kids learn responsibility — following the list instead of us constantly reminding and nagging them.
- We are all much more intentional with our summer break — which has a tendency to “waste away” without us realizing it.
- We accomplish more AND have more fun (see note above about being more intentional).
- We’re more appreciative and aware of little blessings and pockets of fun throughout the day.
I should mention that we only make these Fun To-Do lists during the week — not on the weekends.
We also use Fun To-Do lists over Christmas break, spring break, and any time our kids are off their “normal” school schedule.
You could easily adapt Fun To-Do Lists to fit your life, family, and schedule. For example, they could just be a weekend thing if you work during the week, or you could pick one day a week as the Fun To-Do List day. There are no rules, no template, no printable, no “right way”.
Just grab a piece of scrap paper and a few colorful markers and make a list!
Fun To-Do Lists are a simple tool to help structure the long-feeling days of Summer and make the most of these fleeting moments at home with our families.
More Lists Posts!
Dave and I are list fanatics — we make a list every night to help our days flow more smoothly.
Here are a few more of my “list posts” (many of which top the charts for my most popular blog posts over the last decade!)
- Improve your efficiency with Weekly To-Do Lists
- Use a Top 5 Lists to jump-start your day.
- Enjoy your productivity by making a Done List (I love doing this)
- If you’ve never made a DON’T-Do List, you must give it a try!
- My tips for creating more manageable To-Do Lists
- My Free Printable Grocery List
- My Free Customizable Daily To-Do List (this is an old file, but still very useful)
- The planner I use (and how I use it).
- More lists of simple ideas to upgrade the everyday.
What are your tried-and-true tricks to beat summer boredom and plan intentional family fun at home?
Lane says
This is such a great idea! Do you set an exact time for each activity or it is more just a loose schedule/goals for the day? Thanks so much!
Andrea says
Sometimes there are exact times — like if we need to be somewhere at a certain time. But mostly, it’s a loose schedule for the day with a rough timeline (like, after breakfast, before lunch, after dinner, etc.)
Shan says
Dear Andrea, Always enjoy keeping up with your posts. I so admire how you and Dave are raising your children intentionally. My husband and I have been blessed with the after school care of our now 7 y.o. grandson. I totally agree with you that routine broken up by fun-to-do things is so helpful. For three years while our grandson was in preschool or Kindergarten, he had Fridays off. We started doing “Friday Field Trips” to local museums, resale shops, parks, etc. When the weather is not cooperative or we just want to stay home, we might do a Friday Food Trip, even if it’s just meant going to Costco for hot dogs and lemonade! We have built many wonderful memories that way! By the way, thank you so much for sharing your Christmas card with us. Oh, my, how time flies and your children are all in school full-time! Love and blessings to you and your family this Christmas and in 2024! Shan
Andrea says
I love the idea of a Friday Field Trip! So fun… he will remember those field trips (however simple they are) for years to come!
Molli Lindquist says
When my girls (now 13 & 16) were younger, we had an “out of sight, out of mind” problem with their toys and games. So, I wrote out all their various toys (polly pocket, my little ponies, perler beads, memory game, etc) on little pieces of paper and put them in a random basket. When they complained that they were bored, or the 2 of them couldn’t agree on what to play, we’d pull a card from the basket. Sometimes they’d veto it and pull again, but it at least got them thinking of different toys or games that they may not have used lately and got them unstuck from the bored, nothing to do blahs. I also selfishly/sneakily only included activities they were fairly independent with, no mess so that I could keep getting dinner done or cleaning, or sitting with a book while they amused themselves.
Andrea says
This is a great idea Molli! Thanks for sharing as I’m sure it will help others too 🙂
Hannah Reid says
This is a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Chris says
Have a happy and blessed birthday! By the way, have you ever heard of Yooperlite stones? I just read about them recently. They are found in the Upper Peninsula.
Andrea says
Thanks so much, Chris!
Simon is OBSESSED with rocks right now so I’m sure he would get a big kick out of those Yooperlite stones. We might just need to plan a trip up there to find some special glowing stones 🙂
Adri says
You definitely need to plan a trip to UP! We are from Ohio, but live in Alabama right now…made the 18-hour trek up there with our family of six and everyone agreed it was our BEST TRIP EVER! We stayed in AuTrain! Sooooo BEAUTIFUL and peaceful!
Andrea says
someday we’ll make it to the UP!
Fran says
I love list and don’t understand people who don’t. HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Andrea says
haha — you and me both!
Wendy says
Happy birthday, Andrea. These list ideas are great. Blessings.
Andrea says
Thanks Wendy 🙂
JJ says
HaPpY BiRtHdAy, AnDrEa!!! So so thankful you started your blog 11 years ago!!!
I’ve actually thought to myself that people making patents should pick your brain for practicality. You are a master of breaking down the complex and explaining/showing a doable “fix” for so many areas of life.
I need to do this fun list. My kids would like it and benefit.
AND: so thankful you posted the link to the paint pens. The ones we used were more for adults and caused a lot of frustration. That’s another thing I appreciate about your blog. You recommend products that actually work and have quality. When you look for a product, what process do you go through to choose? I feel like reviews have been most valuable, but several times I have gotten things with almost immediate regret.
Thank you so much for everything!!!
Andrea says
haha — I actually DID help one cleaning company with a few patents for their products several years ago. They would send me their things and I would tell them how to make them more functional for a homeowner. It was a whole team of younger men and you wouldn’t believe how silly some of their designs were. I was thrilled to help 🙂
And yes, we love the paint pens — but since they are acrylic, they will stain. I’m OK with that for outside painting though!
As for testing products, keep in mind that I ONLY share the products we like on the blog — that doesn’t mean we don’t have products we DON’T like. I just don’t share those! There are times when I hit a jackpot on the first try, but there are other times when we trash products (or return them if possible) and try something else until we find what we like. These paint pens were our 2nd attempt and we’ve been using and loving them ever since.
I personally decided (many years ago) not to share the products we don’t like, simply because I don’t want to tarnish a company’s reputation based on MY opinions… hopefully that doesn’t feel deceitful. Everyone has different needs and preferences, so just because I don’t like something, doesn’t mean it can’t work for someone else.
However, now that I’m a decade into blogging, it’s likely that the vast majority of my long-time readers have similar tastes, needs and preferences as me… so the likelihood of you liking the same things I like is pretty high (which is probably why my Favorite Things posts are so popular!)
Anyway… hope you’re loving the new house 🙂 Have a good week!
JJ says
That is really neat that you got to do that! It makes sense that you don’t share the mishaps/defects–totally respectable! I hope your birthday was fantastic!
Natalia says
We’ve made a “bucket list” of fun ideas for the summer, but I love this idea of having a list with the details of the day, for the reasons you mentioned. Awesome!
Andrea says
yes, the “new list every day” is a pretty big bonus for our family. Otherwise we forget about the summer-long bucket list and many things go undone.
Ann says
1. Have your kids gotten those paint pen ink on their clothes and does it come out?
2. My mom made a lists of 100 things to do. She posted it in the garage. #100 was “Ask mom for some work”. If we EVER said, “I’m bored” her response was “CHECK THE LIST.” If we said we had she’d smile and say “Then you are ready for # 100?” We always checked the list again!
Elizabeth Luscomb says
I need your mom’s list!! Lol!
Andrea says
haha — yes, I was thinking the same thing!
Natalia says
I love it!
Andrea says
Hi Ann — yes, the paint pens will stain because they are acrylic (but that’s what you need for the rocks).
To be honest, we don’t care much about our clothes — I get them all from thrift stores for around $1 per item (or for free from neighbors) so if they are badly stained, we throw them out. Also, the kids know that these paint pens stain so they are more careful… it hasn’t really been an issue for us.
Also, thanks for sharing your mom’s list — I think you may have told me this at some point before and I still remember it… however, I’m glad others are able to read this idea again! So clever!