Every summer we hand kids a bucket list. Catch fireflies. Build a fort. Eat something messy outside. Meanwhile, staff are out here running color wars, untangling pool noodle disputes, and somehow still smiling in the group photo — with zero bucket list of their own.
So here’s one. Ten things, no pressure, no deadline, no one’s checking. Do two. Do all ten. Tape it to the break room fridge and let chaos decide.
With Your Group
1. Hand over the playlist. Let a kid run the music for a full day. No skips, no vetoes, no matter what’s on it (except of course with content controls on). You signed up for this.
2. Build an obstacle course and lose on purpose. Set up a few fun stations — outside, in the gym, wherever there’s room — and let staff race through it while kids cheer on their favorites.
3. Ask a kid what their favorite thing about your program area is. (Club Directors, swap in “favorite thing about the Club.”) Write down what they say — it’s almost never what you’d guess.
For You
4. Eat lunch somewhere new. Outside, in your car, on a curb — anywhere that isn’t under the same fluorescent lights you stare at all day.
5. Lead an activity that pushes you a little. Maybe it’s a STEM setup with more moving parts than you’re used to. Maybe it’s a poetry slam you’re half-convinced the kids will think is lame. Do it anyway.
6. Learn something new about a young person. Not their favorite color — something real. A hidden talent, a weird fact, what they want to be when they’re 40.
7. Plan a special weekend thing. You’re exhausted, and rightly so — but block off one weekend outing anyway. Try the new restaurant, see the movie with the biggest popcorn available, get outside and move. Couch is still there Sunday.
Low-Key Wins
8. Get yourself a treat on the way to or from the Club. A fancy coffee, a new donut place, whatever feels like a tiny bribe to get out the door.
9. Write down a moment that made you laugh out loud. Future-you, deep in a January staff meeting, will be very grateful.
10. Tell a coworker they did something well. Out loud. This week. No occasion needed.
BONUS: Making a bucket list is also a fun activity to do with youth! Have them pick 5-10 things they want to do at the Club this summer — big or small, silly or serious — and turn it into a poster, a jar of folded-up slips, or a list taped to the wall. Bonus points if you let them check things off as you go. This could be done as a group or if you’d like to have them write individual lists, here’s a template from Canva, or older youth could make their own on Canva like this.
That’s it — ten small things, zero gold stars required. Print the list, stick it somewhere you’ll actually see it, and check things off whenever they happen to happen, in whatever order life hands them to you. Summer’s short, and so is this list, so go enjoy both while they last.
What are your best tips for a SPECTACULAR summer? How do you support staff well-being while things are busy at the Club? Comment below, on the BGCA Youth Development Facebook page, or email ClubXBlog@bgca.org.
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