Sponsored by: Daily Harvest. All opinions and ideas are honest and my own. As my family has been vacationing in Florida the past two weeks, we’ve had a lot of time standing in line and riding in cars to talk. I’m a talker when there’s nothing else to do but stand around and wait and let me tell you, my boys are not. It’s been like pulling teeth, but those teeth are pulled and we had some good conversations! One of those was putting together a list of things to do this summer for our summer bucket list. The other big conversation we had was setting family goals for the summer. We’ve started doing this with my oldest now that he’s old enough to have an opinion (and one that’s actually educated and not just I want mom to not work at all). Since it’s summer, I wanted to keep the goals fairly minimal but doable. And I wanted my husband and sons to buy into the goals, so they’d actually do them with me! Family goals are no fun if one person sets them and no one else cares. We came up with four family goals and since I like alliteration – I turned them into our family’s summer S’s. I’ve included specifics for our goals below along with some tips for taking these four categories and adding them to your family’s summer!
1 – create a summer schedule
Creating a summer schedule was actually my oldest’s idea. It was more like, mom, don’t work so much. I turned it into creating a schedule that works for everyone. For our summer schedule goal, we’re going to set a schedule every week (since every week is a little different with camps and activities) that everyone will know ahead of time. Then the goal will be that everyone abides by that schedule. So for example, one week my son has camp from 1-4PM every day. Those are my work hours for the day so that I’m around when he’s home from camp. Other weeks I’ll be scheduled to work while he’s doing the items on this summer chore chart.
Schedules Set Expectations
Everyone’s schedule will look a little different but having a schedule so people know to expect can make a huge difference in everyone’s moods throughout the summer! This is especially important if you have kids home from school and parents working from home. I’ve found that my oldest son has a hard time with me working while he’s home for the summer because he’s not used to seeing me work (while he’s at school). So each week he’ll know which days I’m working and off-limits (aka he needs to talk to dad). So far it’s really helped, and I hope it sticks for the rest of the summer!
Stay on Schedule with Daily Harvest
I’ll be honest, this is the most difficult goal for me out of all four. I’m terrible at going into my office and never coming out whether it be to eat, to hang out with my family, or even to sleep. But this summer will be better! I already took one step by ordering a box of healthy pre-made breakfast and lunches from Daily Harvest, a company that I’ve heard my friends talk about for the past year that seemed like a great option for helping me stick to a work schedule this summer! Daily Harvest is a company that sends healthy food (and smoothies!) made from high quality sustainably sourced ingredients directly to your door and then they go straight into your freezer to enjoy when you’re ready. And they only take minutes to prepare so I can still get most of my work hours in while enjoying a nutritious meal! Plus, they work for pretty much any eating styles and nutrition plans – plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, and more! So subscribe now for healthy and simple eating all summer long! Boxes can be ordered for either weekly or monthly delivery with different box sizes from 6-26 items – everything is flexible and can be customizable to work for your family! II could go the entire day without eating (something I’m really trying to work on), so I’m excited to have a freezer full of options like Smoothies, Harvest Bowls, Forager Bowls, and Bakes ready to be prepped and enjoyed in minutes! I ordI ordered everything from Smoothies to Soups and even some hearty Flatbreads for days I need a little more! For dinner, you can try out their Harvest Bakes! As far as my Daily Harvest review goes, everything I’ve tried so far is delicious, but I’m a bit obsessed with the Smoothies, I’ve been making them then eating them in smoothie bowls with a little granola, fresh fruit, and honey. Or just drinking the smoothies directly from the cup! The Strawberry + Peach is my personal favorite but with 28 different smoothie flavors to try, I’ll probably have about twenty favorites once I try them all! Each smoothie is the perfect amount for one person – just add your preferred liquid to fill the cup, add to a blender, and blend. And then you just pour back into the cup they came in, add a straw, and then the cup they come in turns into a drinking cup so all you have to do is wash the blender, it’s seriously so smart – and recyclable too! And since we’re talking about schedules, Daily Harvest gives you the ability to adjust your delivery schedule as needed so you can add, skip, or adjust weeks to fit your schedule! With the schedule flexibility, the variety of over 100 food options, and the quality of the food – I’m excited to have my freezer filled with Daily Harvest items for the long haul!
2 – Have Fun in the Sun
The second goal to add to your list when setting family goals is a sunshine goal, or really a get outside goal. We have a goal to get 100 hours outside in the sun over the course of the summer. If that seems low, you can totally do yours higher. I just tend to get stuck inside a lot, especially when I’m working on big projects. Creating a sunshine goal not only gets you doing things together as a family, it gets you outside to get much needed Vitamin D, fresh air, and just a break from the stresses that live inside your house. I downloaded a fun free sun tracker printable, and we’re coloring in the hours as we do them. This one’s a goal that would a great addition to any family goal list – just don’t forget the sunscreen! And Daily HarvestThis one’s a goal that would a great addition to any family goal list – just don’t forget the sunscreen! And Daily Harvest smoothies for hydration in the summer heat – especially their summer flavors like Mango + Papaya!
3 – Step It Out
Another fun goal that we’re tracking this summer is our 100 mile goal. We decided to try and get 100 total miles either walked, run, or rode on a bike this summer. I grabbed another free printable tracker and we’re coloring it in as miles are stepped! There are so many reasons that a mile goal is a great one for families – it fosters together time as you log miles together, it gets you outside (double up with your sunshine goal), it’s a healthy habit to move, and it’s a fun way to explore your city! Grab a Raspberry + Fig Bite to go!
4 – Make a Summer Shortlist
If you’ve ever looked at summer camp schedules that have fields trips, you’ve probably seen things like week 1 kids will go to the zoo and the trampoline part. During week two, they’re going to the pool and local park. When setting family goals, I like to make a summer shortlist from our bigger summer bucket list. These are the main “field trips” that my family wants to do and that they want to prioritize during the summer. We’ve already gone through and made a huge list of all of the fun thing we would like to do in Kansas City this summer if we have time but if there’s not time, we now have a list of our top 10 things that if we hit those, we’ll be happy with our summer. So sit down and create a summer shortlist and add those things to your schedule (see goal #1). And like with all of the other goals, stick to the schedule and you’ll get through that shortlist in no time! So as you’re setting family goals, keep those four things in mind – schedules, sun, steps, and summer fun shortlist – and you’ll set your family up for the best summer ever! And don’t forget that you can get a Daily Harvest discount of up to $40 off your first box by ordering this link or use code PPP!
More Fun Summer Ideas
Backyard bbq ideas – tons of ideas for backyard summer fun with friends!Summer charcuterie board – the perfect fruit and snack board for a pool party! Fun outdoor games – tons of great outdoor games for the entire family! Water games – the best ways to beat the hot summer heat when you’re outside! Field day games – these aren’t just for field day, fun activities for all summer long!