Fun Summer Activities to Keep Kids Busy

Summer is upon us, and for many kids (and their caregivers), that means an abundance of free time. We've all heard our kids say, "Mom / Dad, I'm bored." It isn't easy to find the time, ideas, or resources to keep kids busy. This tends to lead to excess TV, video games, or other screen time. But there are many non-screen options you can do - often inexpensively - with a little ingenuity and planning. Here are some of my favorite summer activities to help fill up your time!

Creative Time

Craft time! There are many instructions online for making at-home crafts, and you can find most materials at your local dollar store. Here are a few of my favorite ideas.

• Print coloring pages for them. Try different mediums like pastels, sharpies, paints or paint markers, etc., to change it up.
• Help your child write and illustrate a comic book.
• Create a mural. You can buy a roll of paper from any craft store and find a place to keep it unrolled. Then, throughout the summer, encourage your kid(s) to add to the mural every day and see what masterpiece you have created by the end! Finally, a wall they can draw on.
• Have a Play-Doh sculpting competition. Make edible playdough for extra fun.
• Collect rocks, clean them and paint them. Then, have the kids leave them in random places or give them to family and friends. This a great activity if you have a home garden and want to spruce it up.
• Put on a fashion show or photoshoot. You can have themes like glamourous, wacky, etc.
• Start a family band and make music! Use instruments, pots, and pans with wooden spoons, anything you can think of. Let the kids put on a concert.
• String beads. Kids can make jewelry or decorations. Be sure to choose beads by size that are age-appropriate and monitor toddlers closely to avoid choking.
• Make homemade slime or oobleck. Let the kids decorate it with glitter or foam beads.

Indoor Activities

Sometimes the summer heat puts a real damper on activities, so AC is our friend!

• Build a fort. Use pillows, blankets, boxes- anything you can find! Let your kids’ imagination run wild. Bonus points if you enlist them to help clean it up after.
• Build a Lego castle or city. Clear off a table and get creative. This can be an ongoing summer project that you add to a little at a time. Be sure to watch out for stray pieces; nobody likes stepping on a Lego.
• Make paper airplanes and race them!
• Family game time! Break out the cards and board games, and spend time together as a family. For extra excitement, create a competition with a prize at the end.
• Play charades. This game never gets old with kids.
• Play “don’t let it touch the floor.” Balloons work best for this one!
• Have an actual tea party! Make tiny sandwiches, brew some caffeine-free tea or juice, serve it in little cups, and let your kids (and their favorite stuffed animals!) enjoy.
• Have a dance party, or play freeze dance. “Animal Workout” on Amazon Echo is another great movement activity kids love.
• Plan a home project. Get your kids involved in some work around the house. For example, organize the playroom or clean out closets. Who remembers the clean-up song from Barney?

Take Advantage of Local Resources

Take the little ones out on an adventure and explore your town or city. There's usually plenty of free family activities at local community centers.

• Explore the library! This is hands down my favorite and most used free resource. Kids love exploring books at the library, and there’s something for everyone. Many libraries even have computer games, virtual reality, and lots of free activities like lego building, arts/craft times, storytime, etc. Let them check out a book and set aside time every day to read! For tips on encouraging reading, check out my post on Raising Little Bookworms.
• Go to the park. You can utilize playgrounds or splash pads there, take bikes to ride, look at nature, etc.
• Find a free concert near you. Take snacks, games and a big blanket and enjoy.
• Go to a local flea market or garage sale. Make bets on who can make the best deals.
• Watch a local sports game! Even if it's a little league, you can make popcorn and cheer for your local team.
• Go fruit or veggie picking. Many local farms allow you to pick your own produce right off the plants/trees, which tends to be much cheaper than the grocery store and helps encourage kids to be more food adventurous!
• Visit your local farmer’s market and encourage the kids to help you pick out what they want to try and see what local treasures you can find.
• Tour a police or fire station. Be sure to call for an appointment first.
• Check out wildlife rescues, zoos, or aquariums near you.

Get Outdoors

Grab some sunscreen and take advantage of the great outdoors!

• Have a picnic outside and watch the clouds. Kids have big imaginations, and I’m always amazed at the shapes they can find!
• Go on a nature walk. I like to print free resources that I find on a quick google search, like nature bingo cards, to make it extra fun. Kids can collect flowers, leaves, sticks, etc and use paper and glue later to make a nature collage.
• Outdoor art is always a winner. Sidewalk chalk and paint are my favorites to do outdoors, especially since I don’t have to worry about cleaning up.
• Go on a treasure hunt. Hide a “treasure” from your house in the yard, print a treasure map and let your kiddos use their imagination to search for it.
• Plant a garden. This gift keeps on giving and helps teach your kids how to care for something daily.
• Go bird or butterfly watching. You can read about various species and even take a book with you (score one during that library trip!).
• Fly a kite. They can make their own kites, or you can pick them up at the dollar store.
• Go fishing. See if you can catch dinner!
• Get creative with water balloons. See who can pop theirs the fastest, play baseball or soccer with them.
• Set up the Summer Olympics in your backyard. Kickball, soccer, bocce, cricket, mini golf, tag, frisbee- the options are endless.
• Have a bonfire. You can roast hot dogs, marshmallows and make s’mores.
• Enjoy water fun (safely). Pools and beaches are always fun, but even sprinklers, blow-up pools, hoses, and slip-and-slides can create hours of entertainment.

Keep Their Brains Active (in a fun way!)

Keep those noggins working in the summer with some activities that challenge your kid's brains.

• Plan at-home science experiments that your kids can participate in. You can find tons of ideas online and use simple ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, food coloring, etc.
• Get a book of riddles or brain teasers that is age-appropriate.
• Do puzzles together. This is great for motor skills and spatial learning!
• Start up a storytime. Everyone can take turns telling parts of the story and then let the next person take over.
• Have them write a journal every day. For younger children, it can be a picture only or a picture with just one sentence. It’s a great way to keep summer memories!

Make it exciting

You can mix and match any of these tips with the ones above for extra fun!

• Find a photo bomber! Take a small garden gnome, unicorn, or a toy with you on a family outing. Then, take a photo of it every place you visit and then make a scrapbook at the end of summer.
• Make a day trip (or even an overnight trip) to another city near you. A change in scenery is always entertaining.
• Rainy day? Put on those bathing suits and play in the rain!
• Host an outdoor movie night. Rent or borrow an outdoor projector and use the side of your house or a white sheet for the “screen.” Extra points if you have a pool!
• Let the kids stay up late one night and stargaze.
• Camp out in the backyard. Overnight if they are old enough, but playing in a tent during the daytime can be exciting as well.
• Plan play dates with a trusted friend. Kids are incredibly social, so a weekly playdate goes a long way to prevent boredom during the summer.

Get Cooking!

Some of the best memories are made in the kitchen and this type of summer activity always has a tasty reward at the end.

• Let kids help with lunch or dinner prep. Most kids especially love chopping, pouring, and mixing, and it’s great for motor skill development. Kid-safe knives (usually made from nylon) are a must-have.
• Bake cookies and deliver them to your friends or neighbors.
• Have pizza night. Everyone can make their own personal pizza.
• Make lemonade or iced tea.  Then help your kids run on a lemonade stand!
• Bake bread from scratch. Let the kids shape their dough into people or their favorite animal before baking.
• Make slushies or ice cream. This activity always feels perfect on a hot summer day.

Have fun and stay safe!