Schools out for summer. Words that provide a range of emotions for parents. Cheers for no more packing lunches and desperate mornings ushering the children out on time. Jeers for stay at home parents that your kids are now home 24/7, looking to you to be their on call chef and entertainment provider at their every beckon call. Not forgetting the working parents, who require care providers, summer camps or vacation to tend to their little chickens.

This blog is a mission statement that throughout summer break 2018 I will keep my kids:

A. Entertained (not announcing they are bored every fifteen minutes)

B. Out of the house (receiving their daily doses of vitamin D)

C. Actively Learning (not from online videos)

En route to achieving our objective I intend to incorporate and explore southern Alberta as much as possible. Personally, I have seen many of these locations during my younger years and now I welcome the opportunity to present them to my children.

Our Family’s Summer Objectives

1. Experience the variety of environments located in Southern Alberta (from badlands to the rocky mountains) with weekly family hikes
   1. 1. Barrier Lake Trail in Bow Valley Provincial Park
      2. Heart Creek Trail in Heart Creek Provincial Recreation Area
      3. Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park
      4. Consolation Lakes in Banff National Park
      5. Horseshoe Canyon in Kneehill County 
      6. Marsh Loop in Banff National Park
      7. Silverton Falls in Banff National Park
2. Immerse ourselves in the past at the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site: Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump
3. Explore the five floor exhibition of Canadian music in the StudioBell National Music Centre
4. Stopping and explaining what all those rocks are about at the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, instead of simply passing them on our way to Fernie
5. Soak up picturesque Moraine Lake
6. Find our inner cowboy and cowgirl at Bar U Ranch National Historic Site
7. Investigate the Cave and Basin Historical Site
8. Learn and play at the Granary Road Active Learning Park
9. Take a walk with the dinosaurs in Jurassic Forest
10. Log as many kilometres as possible with weekly biking trip around City of Calgary’s extensive pathway system

Overall, our primary objective to make this break one of the best for my children: mentally, emotionally and physically.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook, I will be posting pictures and anecdotes from our adventures.

If you have any other suggestions for family day outings originating from Calgary, please leave a comment, would love to hear about other awesome locations and events to experience.

Have a great summer everyone!

Bailey

P.S. I wanted to put a small shout out that this blog was inspired by my close friend Crystal Richard and her yearly summer bucket list blog on East Coast Mermaid. If you are thinking about visiting, or live in the Maritimes be sure to check the website out. She has fabulous insight on where to go, what to see and where to eat!