Our Summer Fun Guide

This is a view of our pantry door.  It is loaded with lots of fun activities for us to do this summer.  Before preschool was even out, I knew that I wanted to make the most of this summer.  At the end of it, I'm going to send Bella off to kindergarten.  When that time comes, I want to know that we really had fun together and enjoyed summer to its fullest.  That's where this idea was born.  Most things are very simple but are a way for us to really be intentional with our time.  It really works for us for three great reasons:

1. I am very motivated by to-do lists.  I am one of those people who will write down something that I've already done just so I can check it off.  Knowing that I will be seeing this whenever I'm in the kitchen assures me that I will stay accountable to doing each of those activities. 
2. On those afternoons when the kids are bored, I can easily look here for ideas.
3. When the summer ends and I wonder where all the time went, I will be able to look at the "DONE" side and get a quick recap of all the fun that we had.   

It's already gotten great use.  Just today, Bella asked me what "door activity" we were going to do.

This was one of them:  "Plant something"

A few weeks ago, we started with two apple seeds.  We got them straight from one of the apples we ate. 

Over the next few weeks, we let them germinate in a sealed plastic bag.

And they are now planted!  One for the boys and one for the girls.

Apparently, it can take apple trees several years to ever bear fruit.

Not a task for the impatient, I guess.

Family photos did not make our Family Fun Guide, but it's definitely something that I've wanted to do.  And now I can put a big ol' check on that one. 

More photos to come. . .