How to Plan the Perfect Old-Fashioned Summer: 11 Tips
Our homeschool books are put away and I am shifting back into summer mom mode. As I plan our summer calendar, I have been thinking about my own childhood. My 2025 Summer Bucket list includes many of my favorite summer memories. Our old-fashioned summer is underway!
An old-fashioned summer is good for kids. It gives them a reprieve from all the schedules and demands of the school year. Even though we home educate, our school days are still packed full of obligations, expectations, and responsibilities. Once summer comes, most of those demands can slip away.
In today’s world, you have to be a brave parent to let your kids have an old-fashioned summer. With signups for a million different activities opening in February, you have to intentionally choose to commit your family to a simple summer.
How to Plan an Old-Fashioned Summer
If an old-fashioned summer is new to your family, I have some tips for you to plan one.
First, think of all of your happy summer childhood memories and write those down. If they include trips, fairs, parades. or other special events, go ahead and plan those on the calendar.
Next, ask your kids what they want to do this summer. You might be surprised by their simple requests. Add their ideas and offer fun suggestions, perhaps inspired by your own childhood memories.
We keep our Summer Bucket List on a Chalkboard in our living room. It feels good to check off the items as the days go by!
Here are some of our old-fashioned summer plans. I hope they inspire you to ditch the organized kids’ programs and let the kids play, create, imagine and rest.
I created a cute and colorful, editable bucket list for my readers! Click here for the free download!
Spend Time with Siblings
The other night, all seven of my kids were playing on the trampoline together (we have a huge trampoline). They were laughing and jumping and enjoying themselves in a way I don’t see them do with their friends.
My kids are all the ages right now- from 3 years old to almost 18
. My oldest is working full time, and my next three boys also have jobs. We aren’t together as much as we were just 2 summers ago.
But when the kids are all together, there is so much laughter. My hope for my kids is that they go into the world and have wonderful relationships and opportunities that fill their lives with goodness. But I hope they have THE MOST fun when the seven of them come back together.
The childhood memories that my kids are creating together are invaluable. There are no organized activities that can compare with the goodness of just playing with your sisters and brothers.
Spend Time by the Water
My kids love water. They love pools, puddles, lakes, creeks, the ocean and thunderstorms. We are lucky to have 2 ponds on our farm, and they spend much of their free time playing near the water. They fish, boat, look for critters, swim, play pretend games, sunbathe and forage for edibles.
Make sure your kids have some unstructured days by the water if they are having an old-fashioned summer!
Go Fishing
I have five sons, and I am always surprised at their affinity for fishing. I know most boys like to fish. It is still surprising to me HOW MUCH THEY LOVE to fish.
We went to the lake last weekend and my sons and nephew starting fishing on Friday and did not stop until we left Sunday morning. They fished with Ugly Sticks, cast nets and even went magnet fishing.
They didn’t have the best luck, but they caught a lot of perch in the nets and a few catfish off of their poles. Magnet fishing is when you try to pull metal items out of the lake – like treasure hunting. They found a hammer, lots of nails, bottle caps and an old lawn chair. Success!
If your kids love fishing too, here is my fun post on fishing as a hobby. Fishing for Kids: 8 Tips to Make a Great Catch!
Ride Horses
My grandma has stories of riding her pony with her neighbors growing up. My mom has stories of riding horses with her neighbors and showing in 4H when she was a girl. My dad spent most of his childhood on a horse. I rode horses with my family and neighbors when I was a girl.
Guess what my kids are doing this summer? Riding ponies every day.
I loved my summers on horseback, and I am going to make sure that my kids spend a lot of time in the saddle this summer.
Go to Church Camp
One of the few kid activities that we participate in during the summer is church camp. My teenagers are attending different camps – one is for Leadership and Evangelization, and one is for Service. My twelve-year-old is going to stay at a seminary for a few days. My younger ones will attend a local Vacation Bible School in June.
Church camps have been a great blend of faith and fun for my children.
Visit Grandparents
Every old-fashioned summer includes visits to grandma’s house! My kids spend a lot of time with their grandparents. Time spent with loving grandparents is priceless. We lost my husband’s mom last year to cancer. I am thankful we have so many photographs and memories of fun times past. She blessed our lives!
My grandma is 91 years old and lives independently on a farm in Oklahoma. We will take a few days this summer to visit her. I spent many summer hours at her house when I was growing up, and I am glad my kids get the same experience at their great-grandma’s house!
Take Field Trips with Homeschooled Friends
Many of our friends also have large families and the homeschool year can be very full. Summer is the perfect time to get in a few special field trips, so you don’t feel guilty during the school year!
Many locations offer special summer pricing. We live in Kansas and there is a great app called Sunflower Summer. It provides trip planning and free admission to many fun museums, parks and other recreational places in our state.
We have also had a POGO pass in past summers. You can buy a POGO pass for several American cities and it is a huge money saver if you want to take your family to several interesting, educational and fun area events and facilities. Check to see if POGO passes are offered in your city!
Read Books
I know it is summer, but we still do a lot of reading in our house! Summer reading programs offered through the library. Barnes and Noble, The Good and the Beautiful, or Pizza Hut are great incentive programs.
My kids read a lot throughout the summer. If you want your kids to read, just take away electronics and check out lots of different books at the library. Read aloud to your children. Listen to audio books in the car.
I have strong personal feelings about all of the classic stories I want my kids to read during their childhood. Summer is a great time to evaluate their reading content and make sure they are exposed to the stories you want them to remember!
If you need some hobby book ideas for your kids: 10 Hobby Books for Adventure Seeking Boys and Fifth Grade Summer Reading: 12 Classics for Virtue and Adventure
Attend Old Fashioned Community Events
We attend a parade, a county fair and a few rodeos this summer. These community events contribute to a lovely old-fashioned summer! I am normally a homebody, but I love the feel of these event: the smell of funnel cake and sound the band and the kids running amuck. I love the people watching and the entertainment and the general happiness and energy of the crowd.
Add these old-fashioned events to your bucket list too!
Go Camping
No old-fashioned summer is complete without a camping trip.
I didn’t grow up camping, but my husband did. When we first got married and had little kids, I was skeptical, but it is actually really fun.
Our family loves staying at new places and revisiting places we have already camped. There is something special about the slow pace of camping, the food cooked over a fire, the setting up of camp equipment, the games and time for real conversations. Many wonderful family memories can be made at the campground.
“Bored” is a Bad Word
The best way to have an old-fashioned summer is to allow your children to conquer boredom. Bored is a HABIT, not a real thing. If your children have a tendency to “be bored,” then you have a wonderful opportunity this summer to teach them to entertain themselves.
Summer should be free of a lot of organized activities so kids can feel comfortable and capable of independent play and just being at home, find the initiative to learn new things, make their own fun and enjoy their siblings and life’s blessings.
Like my own mother, I keep a long list of chores and jobs that my kids can complete if they ever utter the “B” word. It rarely happens because they know how to enjoy themselves and have a lot of initiatives and hobbies.
Kids with hobbies are never bored. If you need inspiration to conquer the habit of being bored here are some ideas:
Unique Hobbies for Homeschoolers- 14 Super Ideas
25 Outdoor Hobbies for Girls: Connecting with Nature and Creativity
An Old Fashioned Summer for Rest and Growth
Just like the new school year provides our kids with new opportunities for learning and growing, summer provides this too. An old-fashioned summer is the best way to achieve the rest and relaxation needed for healthy kids. It let them try new things, soak up the sun and reconnect with their family or friends or neighbors they miss over the school year.
Make the most of your summer by letting your kids just be kids this summer. Plan a few simple and wholesome activities for the whole family, but focus on spending lazy days and evenings together while the weather is warm and the schedules are light.
