Summer Bucket List 2023

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Our 2023 Summer Bucket List

We may be a little biased, but we love a good Rhode Island summer. We have great beaches, amazing food,  vibrant culture, and great festivals. Our  Summer Bucket List will keep you and your family busy this summer and help you make the most of these feeting sunny days!

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
– F.Scott Fitzgerald

 

Stay Home

Rhode Island Summer days can get LONG with the kids home from school. Keep these ideas handy for when the kids start complaining that they are bored. (Or just make them clean their room!).

  • Have a water balloon fight.
  • Make a blanket fort.
  • Try one of these simple at home activities.
  • Have a watermelon seed spitting contest.
  • Let the kids stay up late and stargaze together.
  • Make paper airplanes.
  • Do a scavenger hunt of at-home items.
  • Make a homemade slip n slide.
  • Have a lemonade stand.
  • Break out the sprinklers (or make your own!)
  • Play Capture the Flag.
  • Create an obstacle course in your own backyard.
  • Ride bikes.
  • Raining? Measure the rainfall!
  • Have the kids collect interesting rocks and paint them. Find somewhere fun in the yard to make a “rock garden”.
  • Go on a bug hunt.
  • Have a sidewalk chalk “Art Show.”
  • Have a dance party.
  • Have too much fruit from berry picking? Make homemade sorbet with the kids.
  • Go on a campout in your backyard. This is great for sleepovers!
  • Make S’Mores.
  • Two words – sensory play!

Do Good

  • Spread some cheer to kids at Hasboro with Good Night Lights. At 8:30 people in various parts of the state gather to signal to kids in the hospital that they are thinking about them. Through blinking their headlights, shining flashlights, or turning lights on and off, Good Night Lights aims to spread some cheer. Check out their website for info on where people gather. Get a group together and go one evening this summer!
  • Help your local firefighters cool down by bringing ice cream/treats to the firehouse. (They might even let you see the trucks).
  • Next time you’re at your local playground, teach your kids about taking care of their community by taking a few minutes to clean up.
  • Even closer to home, pick up trash in your neighborhood.
  • Didn’t quite get around to spring cleaning? Do a summer clean out and find toys/clothes/household items to donate.

Get Out

Eat Local

We asked our contributors what Rhode Island summer food they were dreaming of. This is what they had to say. What would you add to the list?

Ditch the Kids

Summer fun isn’t just for the kids! Here are our favorite things to do when you have a rare minute off from being mom.

  • Read some good fiction (and not the rhyming kind!).
  • Visit a local coffee shop…alone.
  • Spend an afternoon at a local brewery
  • Get a babysitter and snuggle up with someone at WaterFire.
  • Go on a wine tour.
  • Date night!
  • Have a picnic dinner on the beach.
  • Yoga on the beach.
  • Run on the beach.
  • Do nothing on the beach alone! (Possibly our favorite).
  • See a movie- nothing PG allowed!
  • Send the kids to Grandmas, and catch up on… sleep.
  • Organize the year’s worth of photos.
  • Work out in the yard.
  • Go kayaking.

Play Local

Summer can get expensive, but you can have an amzing Rhode Island summer without breaking the bank! Here are some ways to stretch your budget this summer and a list of 27 local places kids get in free.

Here’s to an amazing RI ‘Cool Mom’ Summer!