Summer Challenge

I've had several friends ask for the Summer Challenge that I came up with for my girls.  They are 13 and 15 years old and our summer will consist of sleeping, eating, and watching TV if something doesn't change.  Out of desperation for something other than mindless electronic stimuli over the summer I created a list of 40 things for my girls to do.  They have to pick 5 items to complete by the end of the summer.  A few more ideas have surfaced since then, and I will add them to this post.  Of course if rules about electronics aren't followed or complaints of boredom erupt my children will be referred back to said list.

Feel free to adapt my ideas to suit the needs of your children.  Want an extra challenge? Chose 5 items that you also have to complete! Compare notes at the end of the summer. If you chose to have your children complete this challenge, please leave me feedback on how it went. Also, if you came up with any awesome ideas, post them to this blog so I can use them in the future!

I can't add the Word Document, so I copied and pasted it here.  Feel Free to copy and paste to print.

A few ideas that aren't listed:
_________ Create a budget
_________ Invest in something
_________ Raise money for a cause of your choice
_________ Write a mission statement for your life, find a symbol/word, make it into a piece of art.
_________ Research our political candidates
_________ Start a blog that you will keep all summer, writing 10 posts throughout the summer.
_________ Start a new business on paper. What would it be? How many employees would you need?
_________ Turn an object into something else, re-purpose it!


Here's the original list:

Summer Challenge

This is not optional.  Pick at least 5 things from this list to do this summer.
All items must be complete by the last week of summer before school starts.
Put the date next to the items as you complete them.  Enjoy!

_________ Volunteer

_________ Write a short story

 _________ Write a letter a week to bless someone else

_________ Write a song that you can play a musical instrument to

_________ Write a year-in-review of your recent school year

_________ Write to a pen pal

_________Write a book of poetry

_________Write different lyrics to a song

_________ Perform 5 random act of kindness and write them down

_________ Read a series of at least 3 books

_________ Read a classic book

_________ Complete a faith-based study book

_________ Take an online class

_________ Learn something new

_________ Make a movie

_________ Create a musical mash-up that tells the story of your life… so far!

_________ Create a new piece of artwork for your room

_________ Scrap pictures from your recent school year

_________ Build or construct something out of any material you want

_________ Research a career you are interested in (duties, college, salary)

_________ Design your dream bedroom using grid paper

_________ Plan a dream vacation

_________ Plan a party

_________ Find a recipe a week to try for dinner

_________ Cook dinner for the family once a month

_________Make a layered dessert… and clean up the mess!

_________ Plan a special family date (you make any necessary reservations)

_________ Plant something and tend to it

_________ Commit to pick the tomatoes

_________ Lead a faith-based discussion group with peers

_________ Find 7 passages in the Bible that speak to you

_________ Take a sabbatical from ALL electronics for a week (camp doesn’t count!)

_________ Take the online quiz to learn your Love Language (5lovelanguages.com)

_________ Walk the distance of a marathon by the end of summer (26.2 miles)

_________Do yoga or pilates once a week

_________Set 5 personal goals for the rest of 2016

_________Go through your artwork keepsake box and try to downsize

_________Come up with a family motto and design it to put in a frame

_________See how many days you can go without fighting with your sister

Last one was omitted as it was to continue a project in progress at our house!  LOL