August is here, but there is still plenty of the sunny season ahead for completing missions of adventure and fun with your kids. When you start wondering how you’ll spend the rest of summer with your family in a way that is exciting, educational and also fun, it can be a challenge to decide what activities to prioritize. Should you hit the pool first or go see a movie? Run through the sprinkler or take a walk to the park? Read a book or see a baseball game? There are certain things you look forward to every summer, but there are also new ideas to jump into to keep summer days exciting for the whole family. We’re taking the guesswork out of your summer “fun list” with our first-ever Summer Missions.
Kiddie Academy’s “Amazing Starts Here” Curiosity campaign introduces children to a new role model for ingenuity and curiosity inspired by the famous astronauts, Sally Ride, Mae Carol Jemison and Peggy Whitson. As Kiddie Academy celebrates and supports children as they strive to meet their fullest potential, we also encourage a sense of curiosity and adventure in children as they explore all summer has to offer. With motivation to be more curious and have more adventures, these Summer Missions will have children mentally and physically moving—even rocketing—to where they’ve never gone before.
Each set of 15 missions is organized under a pillar from Kiddie Academy’s Life Essentials® curriculum: Character Education, Health & Fitness, Curriculum and Technology. Check them off one-by-one as you complete each mission, just pick out the ones that your family might enjoy the most, or cross them off as you do them throughout the summer anyway. Share footage of your mission progress with Kiddie Academy by tagging #missioncomplete on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Here are 15 Summer Missions that nurture and build character:
Character
- Donate > Look for old toys in your room you don’t play with anymore and make a donation to your local Good Will store or shelter.
- Interview > Talk to a leader in your community, be it a fire fighter, sheriff or a chef, and ask them the questions you’ve always wondered about!
- Meet > Make a list of the people who are part of your neighborhood like the recycling crew, your mailman and your next door neighbors. Learn more about who they are and let them get to know you, too.
- Feed > Feed the ducks this summer with leftover bread slices and crusts.
- Wash > Wash your grandparent’s car.
- Pledge > Discuss the word “pledge” (pledge = promise) and talk about how to make a pledge to do something important. Trace your hand on a piece of paper and make pledges for how you will act responsibly this summer, clean your room, be nice to your siblings. Make a lot of pledges in different hand tracings and cut them out to post on your bedroom door or wall for reminder.
- Host > Host a puppet show and use a stuffed animal or homemade puppet to model courteous etiquette when you’re sick (like covering your mouth when you cough).
- Appreciate > Go outside and make a list of the things in nature you appreciate (like that climbing tree or those pretty flowers).
- Knot > Learn to make different kinds of friendship knots. Talk about how friendships work.
- Practice > Practice kindness by playing ball with a partner in kicking or bouncing a ball back and forth, using kind language and being considerate of the other player.
- Meditate > Make your own “busy jar” full of glitter, water, food coloring, lavender oil and other ingredients you can find. After they’re sealed, shake them up before you go to bed at night and watch the glitter swirl around and, finally, settle.
- Send > Write and send thank you notes to your family and friends thanking them for things you’re grateful for about them. “Thank you for being you!”
- Visit > Visit the fire station with healthy treats for fire fighters.
- Leave > Leave a thank you note for your mail carrier.
- Deliver > Make and deliver chemotherapy care packages for your local oncology center. You might include gum or lemon drops to combat bad taste, lip balm, disposable tooth brushes, a notepad with messages from the kids, warm socks or a small lap blanket.
We want kids and their families to make fun their mission this summer. Which mission will you complete with your kids? Stay tuned as we release more Summer Missions under the Health & Fitness, Curriculum, and Technology pillars next! You won’t want to miss them!
