Why We Gave Our Kids a Summer Challenge Mission

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Every summer, I feel the same tension.

I want our kids to have a summer that feels like summer. I want long days, swimming, staying up late, playing with siblings, reading good books, being bored enough to invent something to do, and making the kinds of memories that only seem to happen when there isn't somewhere you have to be every morning.

But I also don't want to look back at these summers and realize we missed an incredible opportunity.

We have all of these weeks with our kids at home. They're growing up right in front of us, and there are so many things we want to teach them before we eventually send them out into the world.

Not just academic things.

We want them to know how to work hard. How to take care of a home. How to do things that feel uncomfortable at first. How to speak confidently in front of other people. How to use their bodies well. How to learn something simply because they don't know it yet.

And maybe most importantly, we want them to understand that our family is a team.

We help each other. We teach each other. We rely on each other. When something is hard, you don't necessarily have to figure it out alone.

That was really the idea behind our Summer Challenge Mission.

We made a list of things we wanted them to be able to do.

Some were incredibly practical.

Help change the oil in a car.

Replace an air filter.

Clean and organize the garage.

Wash and vacuum a vehicle.

Organize their closets and bedrooms.

Some were physical challenges.

Do a push-up with correct form.

Learn a proper squat.

Hold a plank.

Jump rope without stopping.

Run without quitting.

And then there were things we wanted them to learn.

One child learned the Pledge of Allegiance. Two worked on memorizing the 50 states. Another learned important facts about Texas.

We wanted them to memorize a poem.

Learn words in another language.

Read books.

Give a presentation.

Learn a song and perform it.

Learn a magic trick.

Tell a joke.

Catch a fish — and actually take it off the hook themselves.

None of these things individually are life changing.

But together, they represent something that matters a lot to us:

We're raising kids who are becoming capable.

Then something happened that I didn't really anticipate.

I knew the kids would work through their lists because there was a big prize waiting for them at the end.

What I didn't realize was how much I would love watching the process.

I'd walk through the house and find one of them tucked into a corner quietly studying their poem.

Someone would be practicing a magic trick and another sibling would stop what they were doing to help them figure it out.

At bedtime, they started listening to Spanish audiobooks because they wanted to learn their ten Spanish words.

They encouraged each other during the physical challenges.

They struggled with things.

They tried again.

They taught each other things they had figured out first.

They celebrated when someone finally accomplished something they'd been working toward.

And suddenly this wasn't six kids individually completing a checklist.

They were doing it together.

That might have been my favorite part of the entire thing.

I want our kids to know that they belong to a team.

This is something Austin and I think about constantly in the way we raise our kids.

With six children, it would be easy for everyone to operate as an individual. Your activity. Your accomplishment. Your stuff. Your problem.

We want to push against that whenever we can.

You're part of something.

If your brother is struggling, help him.

If your sister knows how to do something you don't, ask her.

If there's work to be done, everybody pitches in.

If one person succeeds, we celebrate with them.

If something is hard, sometimes the answer isn't quitting. Sometimes it's trying again — with five siblings standing beside you giving you ideas.

I watched that happen over and over again during this challenge.

Childhood should be fun. But it can also be purposeful.

I don't think those things compete with each other.

Our kids still swam. They played. They stayed up too late. They made messes. We traveled. They watched movies and ate popsicles and had plenty of completely unproductive summer days.

But tucked inside all of that fun were opportunities to become a little more prepared for the world.

A little stronger.

A little more confident.

A little more responsible.

A little more willing to try something they aren't immediately good at.

And a little more aware that they have five other people growing up alongside them who can help.

That's the kind of summer I want to give them.

Not one where every minute is scheduled or optimized.

Just one where, when August arrives, we can look back and say:

We had a lot of fun. We learned some things. We did some hard things. And we did them together.

Make Your Own Summer Challenge Mission

I made a printable version of our Kids Summer Challenge Mission that your family can use too.

The missions include practical life skills, home responsibilities, fitness goals, learning challenges, and confidence-building activities. There's also a progress tracker kids can color in as they complete each mission.

Use ours exactly as it is, or let it inspire you to think about one question:

What would I love for my child to know how to do by the end of this summer?

Then give them the opportunity to surprise you with just how capable they already are.