• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Crafting Chicks

Ideas and Inspiration to Create Your Life.

  • Home
  • Meet the Chicks
  • Advertising/PR
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Printables
  • Recipes
  • Holidays
  • Life
  • Sewing
  • More

guest post, Kids, Parenting, Summer

Summer Skill-Building Merit Badges

by Nikkala · on May 26, 2011 · 26 Comments ·

393 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

This was posted as part of Brassy Apple’s S.O.S. series.

Summer is such a fun time of year, but it seems to go by way too fast and I want to make sure we make the most of it. My oldest starts kindergarten this year, so along with having a great time this summer I want to make sure he is set for school! My mom always said “summer vacation doesn’t mean it is a vacation from life”. One summer when I was in 4th or 5th grade, and long before Google was around, she hauled 6 kids to the library every week and had us write research papers on different Native American tribes from our area. Using old school card catalogs, we would look up the topic she had assigned for the week to research about our tribe. Luckily, we were young enough it seemed like fun and not torture! And as a huge bonus, I’ve never met a research paper I was afraid to write because of that summer.

This summer I’m taking full advantage of my boys eagerness to learn. We’re implementing a merit badge type system. You know, like the boy scouts have? I’ve made up a stack of badges of summer activities and tasks that my boys are old enough do. As they earn a badge it will be added to their collection. I’ve even made some blank ones as I’m sure a lot of opportunities for badges I haven’t thought of will come along. At the end of summer they’ll be able to look back at all they accomplished summer 2011!

I don’t know if your kids are like mine, but they want so badly to be able to do tasks I’m not ready to let them do. Like my 2 year old is obsessed with being able to crack an egg. We always tell him he hasn’t passed the “egg class” or the “knife class” either, for that matter. This is the chance for me to hold these special “classes” and for them to become certified experts. I’ve tried to make the badges varied in the amount of time it will take to earn. Some will take all summer, others will be one time activities, and some are just fun things we have planned. Like their first airplane ride to visit a new cousin.

My list is geared toward the pre-school to kindergartner range, but of course this is can be customized for each child’s interests and abilities. My 5 year old can earn his bike badge by learning to ride without training wheels, while an older child could earn their bike badge by riding a designated number of miles, or even by learning to patch a flat tire.

Here’s a list of badge ideas:

Riding a bike
Tying own shoes
Weeding the garden
Washing the car
Reading
Washing dishes
Cracking an egg
Name writing
Camping
Birdwatching
Making a bug collection
Rock skipping
Roasting the perfect marshmallow
Building a sand castle
Stargazing
Pumping themselves on a swing

When a boring summer afternoon presents itself, we will know right where to look for an activity! Knowing my boys, they will try to earn all the badges in the first couple of days!

Edited: Thanks for all the interest in how the badges were made! Our badges were made using Crystal’s Ink Summer Circles and adding different digi scrap “stickers”, then printed off and cardstock and cut out. If your kids are a little older you could let them “design” their own–provide circles and let them draw. I haven’t decided if we’ll have a dedicated space on a wall for them, or if each boy will get a binder to collect his badges in. I’m leaning towards the binders.

About Nikkala

is the author of this post. Want to know more about the Chicks? Click here. :)

Comments

  1. Amanda says

    May 26, 2011 at 6:21 am

    Oh my goodness, this is a wonderful idea, definitely something I can implement this summer with my twins!

    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  2. stacey says

    May 26, 2011 at 6:23 am

    what a great idea. i think i may need to think of some badges of my own.

    Reply
    • Nikkala says

      May 27, 2011 at 3:40 pm

      Oooh, great idea! I have a whole list of things I should be working on too!

      Reply
  3. Maggie @ Midwestern {Sewing} Girl says

    May 26, 2011 at 7:41 am

    Oh my goodness…this is the BEST. IDEA. EVER. I am definitely going to be doing this with my kids this summer!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!!!

    Reply
  4. whatever DeeDee Wants says

    May 26, 2011 at 8:17 am

    This is a fun idea! I think my boy might be a little too young still but next summer for sure…

    Reply
  5. erinmalia says

    May 26, 2011 at 8:37 am

    This idea is fantastic! Would you mind giving more information on how you made the cute badges?

    Reply
    • Nikkala says

      May 27, 2011 at 3:42 pm

      I added a blip at the end of the post about this, but used digi scrapbook supplies for ours. If your kids are old enough they could draw their own.

      Reply
  6. emily k m says

    May 26, 2011 at 8:48 am

    such a fantastic idea that i will for sure do with my children. yesterday was the first day out of school for my 1st grader (i also have a 5yo, 3yo, and 9mo) and let’s just say it was a looooooong morning. this will surely help – once i get it going!

    how did you do your badges? did you just print off pictures? color them yourself? will you have a place to put the cards?

    thanks for sharing your brilliant idea!

    Reply
    • Selina says

      May 26, 2011 at 11:24 am

      Also wondered how you made them. 🙂

      Reply
    • Nikkala says

      May 27, 2011 at 3:44 pm

      I used digi supplies and printed them off–but there is no wrong way to make your own! I haven’t decided if we’ll hang them on a wall or if each boy will get a book to collect them in.

      Reply
  7. Kim says

    May 26, 2011 at 12:40 pm

    Would love a tutorial on how you made them!!!!!:))

    Reply
  8. Becky says

    May 26, 2011 at 3:57 pm

    Love this! The only problem is that we live too far away from each other. 😉

    Reply
  9. susan says

    May 26, 2011 at 5:03 pm

    i loved earning badges when i was in scouts. i think my own learning could be accelerated if i could earn badges too. hmmmm. what would i like te learn?

    master making a roll cake
    baking a delicious gluten- and dairy-free pie crust
    clean up blog
    achieve 100% mobility of left arm
    write an ebook

    this is just the start.

    Reply
  10. Shannon says

    May 26, 2011 at 11:56 pm

    I think my boys would love this. How did you make your badges?

    Reply
  11. Michele says

    May 27, 2011 at 11:22 am

    These are way cute! i really love all of the ideas on your blog. i am now following your posts 🙂

    Reply
  12. Kathleen says

    May 28, 2011 at 8:39 pm

    What a great idea! I have a boy scout and a cub scout and then the little brother who sees his big brothers do all this scout stuff and can’t wait until he can do it too! The older boys will be spending their summer working on merit badges and activity badges. This will be perfect for my little guy so he can feel like he’s earning something this summer too! And then when he turns 8 in September he’ll be a pro 😉

    Reply
  13. Amanda says

    June 12, 2011 at 1:32 pm

    i love this idea! and i found a tutorial to make felt valentine’s patches, but i’m thinking about tweaking them to make badges that are drawn by my 6 year old son. 🙂 here’s the link — http://alphamom.com/family-fun/holidays/homemade-felt-valentine-patches/

    Reply
  14. Emily Flippin Maruna says

    June 14, 2011 at 8:56 am

    I got so excited when I first saw this idea. So cool! I just had to share it with my readers over at The Handmade Experiment. Check it out – http://wp.me/pkcUM-KU

    Thanks for the great inspiration!
    Emily

    Reply
  15. Kathy says

    October 12, 2012 at 6:27 am

    Wonderful ideas. You’ve given me lots of ideas. Thanks

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Playful Picks (June 6, 2011) says:
    June 6, 2011 at 3:02 am

    […] Summer Skill-Building Merit Badges :: The Crafting Chicks […]

    Reply
  2. Summer Fun Chart-Kirsten Edition :) says:
    June 6, 2011 at 9:41 am

    […] NIK’S SUMMER MERIT BADGES […]

    Reply
  3. Summer Fun Chart-Kirsten Edition :) says:
    June 6, 2011 at 9:41 am

    […] NIK’S SUMMER MERIT BADGES […]

    Reply
  4. Summertime Fun Badges, Chores, and Free Printouts! | says:
    June 11, 2011 at 10:31 pm

    […] found the idea for Summertime Badges from The Crafting Chicks!  Once we put together our badges, Cate asked, “Can we do them in […]

    Reply
  5. Lovely and Clever | The Handmade Experiment says:
    June 14, 2011 at 8:52 am

    […] The Crafting Chicks’ Summer Skill-Builder Merit Badges […]

    Reply
  6. 10 Summer Fun Ideas for Kids at Home San Diego Mama says:
    June 11, 2012 at 7:57 am

    […] I always have a list of skills I’m wanting to be sure my kids are learning to do.  I saw this idea of making badges for each skill that they can earn as they learn and master that skill. What a fun […]

    Reply
  7. Keep Learning Alive This Summer! | Play With Your Family says:
    June 25, 2012 at 8:33 am

    […] this idea from The Crafting Chicks to make your kids Merit Badges for the skills they build during the […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent

Ham and Spinach Stromboli

Yarn Wrapped Pumpkins

Spinach Tortellini Salad

Sunday Roll Recipe

Pesto Turkey Wraps

Tile Fire Art

Get access to our free crafting guide

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

© 2023 The Crafting Chicks. Website by WP Barista. Privacy Policy

393 shares