My three dolls and I have been busy working through our summer goals: For Vintage Doll there is SAT prep, FLVS Spanish, and driver’s permit. Yes, folks! My 15 year old is on the road. I could wax cliche about clearing the road and such, but she is so careful and responsible that it would not be fair. For Sunshine Doll it’s perfecting handwriting, spelling practice, and straight columns in long division – slowing down and being careful in general. I guess I should save the driving cliches for her!
Fun goals
What with all the goal reaching, we cannot forget to have some fun! Here is some fun on the cheap we have had:
- Nature scavenger hunt with a PB & J picnic. We threw sandwiches, apples and water bottles in a bag and went to a park with trails. Printable scavenger hunts abound on the internet, but here is a cute one Sunshine Doll put together for us: NATURE SCAVENGER HUNT.
- Dairy Queen has a $5 buck lunch (the ones that have food). It includes a burger, fries, a drink, and a sundae. I saved that gem for a rainy day.
- Water balloons, bubbles, and squirt guns at the pool. Dollar Store items can be a ton of fun. We also saved some pop-its from July 4th for outdoor fun. We’ve been known to create our own musical parodies in the pool. Look out, Weird Al. The Sirens off the Deep End have a new one about pool noodles.
- Beachcombing. We found sea glass, driftwood, and a sand dollar. Slurpees on the drive home are our standard treat.
- Pottery painting. There is nothing quite like a quiet afternoon painting your own pottery. If they offer tiles to paint, that is usually the least expensive, multi-purpose item.
Frank Stella’s art makes Rainbow Baby smile.
- Local tourist sites. If you live in south Florida, sunny.org has a 2 for 1 card available for download. It gets you BOGO into most of our local attractions. We toured the NSU Museum of Art and the Stranahan House. The Frank Stella exhibit was intriguing and ringing the ferry bell was the highlight of the historic home tour.
Stranahan House
- Library events. Our local libraries are full of reading, crafting, book and chess club special events this time of year. My dolls are volunteering with the library puppet group. Occasionally, they forgive our late fines when we volunteer. That’s a deal for us!
- Sea turtle walks. In south Florida, in the summer, sea turtle nests are marked. If you walk the beach on a full moon evening you may catch sight of the tiny turtles making their way into the sea. We are going to try again this year. Do not touch them and do not shine a flashlight anywhere near the nest.
- Movies in the park, food trucks, Shakespeare in the park, outdoor jazz, drive-in movies, and all the community events there is no time for during the school year. SFParenting.com typically has quite a list of local goings-on.
- Movie Marathon. Since my oldest is finally old enough, she is working her way through the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Last summer it was the Indiana Jones series and all of the Star Wars movies. Sometimes she has friends over, sometimes it is a family affair, always there is ice cream.
Summer time is pool time!
Or popcorn.
- Family board game night, puzzle night, and read-alouds. We are working our way through The Chronicles of Narnia, Thomas Kincaid’s Disney themed puzzles, and Zar or Cover Your Assets – every one of them is lots of fun.
As long as it is a little out of the ordinary, is affordable, and sounds fun, it is a potential summer activity. What is on your summer list?
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