Fun Things To Do With Kids In The Summer
Last weekend I got a few fleeting hours at the coffee shop. One of the things that had been plaguing my to-do list was searching the web and brainstorming my heart out to create a list of fun things to do with the kids this summer. We still have to do some school, but since my son will be getting a tonsillectomy at the end of the summer, I am highly motivated to make the beginning as fun as I can!
I thought I would share my list for those who may just be looking for something to do on any given random day!
THINGS TO DO WITH KIDS IN THE SUMMER (Or at least things I will be doing with my kiddos this summer!)
1- Turn the sprinklers on (Add some shaving cream for extra fun!)
2- Bike ride together
3- Each of them will make a scrapbook at the end of the summer of all the fun stuff we did! (Gives me a reason to take lots of photos too!)
4- Picnics
5- Art/Crafts (I went to the craft store and loaded up on a bag full of stuff we can pull out randomly, including REAL canvases for the kids to paint on!)
6- Photography outings (The kids taking their own pictures and making a collage out of them and/or framing for their walls)
7- Field trips (to local sites of interest and of businesses like the post office, ice cream shop, farms etc.)
8- Baking (cookie surprises at random especially cranky days, cakes for no reason, AND we are having our own ‘cupcake war’ day on Tuesdays, trying out yummy recipes cause we ALL love that show! Look for yesterdays cupcake recipe tomorrow)
9- Reading classic chapter books (starting with Wizard of Oz inspired by The Reading Promise)
10- Visits to the Pick-Ur-Own berry patch
11- Start a hiking club (once a week we have scheduled a bunch of hikes/walks for our friends to join when they can)
12- Camp (Outside in the wild AND in the backyard when we need an adventure!)
13- Build a teepee (From Soulemama’s book Handmade Home)
14- Make our own documentary
15- Museum days with Imax thrown in
16- Zoo (duh)
17- Build a time capsule (I remember doing this in elementary school, but never remember opening them…)
18- Have our own real art show (this idea came from a friend of mine who is ready to hostess with appetizers and all!)
19- Community dinner nights (Inspired by The Family Dinner)
20- Tie-dye some clothes (cheap t’s at the craft store)
21- Water balloon party
22- Movie afternoons with friends (and popcorn)
23- Homemade ice cream (duh)
24- Ice cream social with our friends
25- Swim
26- Practice astronomy late at night by our fire pit in the backyard
27- Make up our own holiday, invite our friends to celebrate
28- Yoga (I have had enough classes to lead the kids through a salutation)
29- Decorate our dinner table for different days (inspired by The Family Dinner)
30- At home ‘spa’ day
31- Add 1 hour of reading/quiet time into our day
32- Make popsicles (we did this one yesterday with just juice, so easy!)
33- Dollar movies
34- Activities at the local library
35- Make a BUNCH of homemade play-doh and let em’ at it
36- Bowling
37- Board games, card games, etc.
38- Pajama day (we stay in p.j’s all day and eat pancakes and watch movies, great for winter too!)
39- Publish our own books
40- Playground
41- Create clay creatures
42- Make gak (you know, the stuff like play-doh except made with glue)
43- Learn to juggle
44- Giving day (we pick a group/organization/or individual to do something nice for)
45- Take the dogs to the dog park
46- Make our own chalk and chalk on the sidewalk.
47- Paint some rocks (they have kits for this at the craft store, but if you have paint already, go find some rocks!)
48- Host a tea party
49- Puzzle hour (pull out all the puzzles and let the kids try them OR get one to do as a family)
50- Make cards and send them to people
51- Work in our sketch pads/nature books
52- A day at a local lake
53- Their own activities to pursue their own interests! (swim class, tennis, t-ball)
So there you have it, 53 things to keep your summer days busy, and hopefully the kids not fighting! I am sure we will not get to them all and will do some of these in the winter too, but we are having fun so far since I made the list, it makes it way easy when things start to go downhill to just head to the list and pick one.
Enjoy and share your summer activities for inspiration!
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