One of my favorite end-of-the-school-year traditions in LSL auditory-verbal therapy is creating a Summer Bucket List with children who are deaf and hard of hearing. I typically introduce this activity when children finish kindergarten and continue it annually as long as they are receiving therapy. It serves as a wonderful bridge between the structure of the school year and the adventures of summer break.
While children are naturally excited about summer, a bucket list transforms that excitement into a listening and language-rich learning opportunity. Through conversation, planning, and goal setting, children practice important communication skills while dreaming about the experiences they hope to enjoy during the months ahead.
Why Create a Summer Bucket List?
Brainstorming summer activities encourages children to think creatively, share ideas, and engage in meaningful conversations with parents and therapists. The process supports a wide range of listening, speech, and language goals, including:
Learning and using summer-themed vocabulary
Categorizing activities, places, and experiences
Describing people, places, things, and events with relevant details
Expressing ideas, opinions, and feelings clearly
Listening to and building on others' contributions
Asking and answering questions
Participating in conversational turn-taking
Using clear speech and age-appropriate language
Making plans and setting goals
Most importantly, children discover that communication is a tool for connecting with others, sharing dreams, and planning meaningful experiences.
Summer Learning Happens Everywhere
Summer is often viewed as a time to relax and take a break from academics, and it should be! However, it is also filled with opportunities for natural language learning and auditory development.
Whether families are taking a big vacation, visiting local attractions, attending community events, exploring nature, reading at the library, or simply enjoying their backyard, every experience creates opportunities for listening, conversation, and language growth.
Parents often tell me how much they enjoy sitting down with their child to dream, plan, and talk about the activities they hope to experience together. The bucket list becomes more than a summer project—it becomes a roadmap for creating memories.
Guiding Parents and Children Through the Process
I like to begin with a simple bucket craft made from construction paper. As children assemble their bucket, we target listening and following directions skills through hands-on activities.
Next, I introduce printed shapes that represent various summer categories. Depending on the child's age and interests, these may include:
A swimming pool for water activities
A playground swing for outdoor fun
A minivan for day trips and vacations
Sunglasses for summer adventures
A library book for reading goals
An ice cream cone for favorite treats
A tent for camping experiences
A baseball for sports and recreation
As we look at each category, parents and children brainstorm together. Parents write down the child's ideas while we engage in rich conversations. I encourage children to explain why an activity is important to them, describe what they expect it to be like, and ask questions about activities they have never experienced before.
Building Language Through Conversation
The real value of the activity is not the completed bucket list—it's the conversations that happen along the way.
A simple goal such as "Go swimming" can become an opportunity to discuss:
Where they might swim
Who will go with them
What they need to bring
Safety rules
Favorite water activities
Previous swimming experiences
These discussions naturally expand vocabulary, strengthen auditory memory, and develop higher-level language skills.
Keeping the Learning Going All Summer
Once completed, the bucket list can be displayed at home and revisited throughout the summer. Families can check off activities as they are completed, add photos, and talk about favorite memories.
At the beginning of the next school year, the bucket list becomes a valuable conversation starter. Children enjoy sharing their experiences, practicing narrative language, and reflecting on the adventures they enjoyed.
Creating a Summer Bucket List is a simple activity, but it provides endless opportunities for listening, language, family connection, and joyful learning. Most importantly, it reminds children that communication opens the door to planning, experiencing, and sharing life's adventures.
There are countless listening and language goals to target and include summer vocabulary, categories, describing places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly, listening to others, asking and answering questions, and speaking one at a time about the topics, building on others' talk in conversations, using clear speech and more.
Summer is a time to relax but, also an opportunity for extended learning, building language, and adventures whether in the backyard or on a vacation. Parents and kids alike enjoy thinking, talking together, dreaming, and setting summer goals with a bucket list.
How to Guiding Parents and Children When Creating a Summer Bucket List
I begin with a bucket craft made simply from construction paper and target listening and following directions. Next, I introduce printed shapes of summer categories such as a swimming pool, a playground swing, minivan, sunglasses, library book, and more. The parents write the child's goals for each category as we brainstorm and talk together.
☀️ Summer Bucket List Categories ☀️
Places I want to visit
Things I want to see
Things I want to try
Summer foods I want to eat
Crafts I want to make
Sunny day activities
Rainy day activities
Nature activities
Playground goals
Sporting goals
Water activities
Swimming goals
Books I want to read
Reading Goals
Camping activities
Carnival rides to try
Fourth of July activities
Beach activities
Summer music concerts
Celebrations to attend
Travel plans
Road trips
Fun with friends