How to Create a Summer Activity Calendar

Don’t let the carefree days of summer pass you by without doing all the activities your kids have been waiting all year for. Put together a summer activity calendar that keeps fun in mind. Invite your children to help put together the list of summer calendar of activities. Include places they’d like to visit, trips to the pool and even foods they’d like to try.

Supplies You’ll Need to Create a Summer Activity Calendar

To create your own summer activity calendar, use a calendar you have around the house or create your own calendar using a computer. If using a computer, you will also need paper, printer and software to design a calendar in such as Microsoft Word or page layout software. A three-ring binder with plastic sheet protectors is also recommended. Other supplies that come in handy are markers, stickers and area guides to museums, parks, activities your children are already signed up for and dates of any vacations you have planned.

We post the calendar on our family bulletin board and also put a copy in a binder with protective sheets. The three-ring binder is filled with extra protective sheets that we fill throughout the summer with pictures, brochures, leaves, flowers or other items collected on our summer outings. This is a great way to keep items organized to put in a scrapbook later in the year. Plus, the binder is ideal for bringing along on trips and other outings.

Pick a Summer Activity Theme for Your Calendar

We like to pick a theme that our summer calendar activities are based upon. One year we picked quirky holidays and celebrations and made each of those a part of our summer activities. Some of the favorite days were “Take Your Houseplant for a Walk Day” held annually on July 27th and National Ice Cream Day held on the third Sunday in July, which falls on July 19th this year. If you’d like to base your summer activity calendar on some of the fun holidays and celebrations throughout the summer, there are several great web sites to check out including Holiday Insights and Brownielocks.

Other theme ideas for your summer activity calendar include world travel, set your calendar up to explore a different country each week. Throughout the week learn about the culture, travel to a local museum that may have information about the country, make some of the food from that country and read books about the country. To go along with this theme consider making each child a miniature passport that you can fill with a sticker for each country visited as a part of their summer activities.

If your kids are animal lovers, consider filling each week with activities that involve their favorite animals. For horse lovers, go horseback riding. For dog lovers, visit a dog show or kennel. If your kids, love to cook, base each week around a particular ingredient. Whatever you do, pick activities that will keep kids entertained and create lasting memories for them and you.

Fill Out Your Summer Activity Calendar

Using your theme, take the time to organize activities for each day of your summer break. Leaving some free days, is a good idea to. If you’re calendar is looking relatively empty consider making up some of your own activities such as read-and-feed day, watch a movie in your pajamas day or pretend you’re a movie star day. Be creative and have fun.

Encourage your children to get involved by creating a cover for the calendar to slide into a three-ring binder. Or by decorating the calendar pages after you’ve completed filling them out. Older children can even help to design calendars on the computer.

After filling your calendar out completely, post in a place that is easy for everyone to see. You’ll be amazed at how often your children refer to the summer activity calendar to see what activities are coming up on the days ahead.

Having a summer activity calendar is a great way to plan summer fun into each day of summer. It also works well to keep everyone on a routine, so they are ready when school starts again in the fall. Who knows? Maybe creating a summer activity calendar may become a new family tradition you look forward to doing together each and every summer.