It’s never too soon to start planning for Summer. It feels like Spring just arrived but in the blink of an eye the kiddos will be out of school and looking at you to entertain them! I’ve made a long list of “FIFTY Fun Summer Activities For Kids” that can help you get through the season. Grab your flip flops, lather on the sunscreen, and get ready to enjoy a Summer full of sunshine and FUN!
1. Visit your local Farmer’s Market and let your child pick out their favorite vegetables and fruits to incorporate into a recipe later on.
2. Blow bubbles or make your own using 2/3 cups of Joy dishwashing soap, 1 gallon of water, and 3 tablespoons of glycerin.
3. Have a picnic in the backyard with an old blanket and observe the nature around you.
4. Use chalk to decorate the sidewalks and drive way or play Sidewalk Chalk dress up using your children’s clothing.
5. Make homemade popsicles from fruit juice and pieces of fresh fruit.
6. Collect trinkets, seashells, rocks, postcards, and any other special finds during the Summer time. Place them in a shadow box and display them in your child’s room so they can appreciate the memories.
7. Catch bugs with a net or create your own critter catching container out of an old Mason Jar.
8. Plant flowers or start a small vegetable garden on the side of the house.
9. Fly a kite in the park.
10. Collect different sized rocks and have your child turn them into people, animals, or objects using craft materials. Rock Crafts are a great trinket to remember Summer time.
11. Visit the beach and collect sea shells and other treasures in the sand.
12. Pick flowers at the park or nearby field.
13. Have a water party with wacky sprinkler heads, water guns, and water balloons.
14. Using paper towel or wrapping paper tubes create magical wands, rocket ships, or swords.
15. Play water hopscotch.
16. Create a fort in your living oomout of pillows, blankets, and boxes.
17. Play dress up and have a pretend photo shoot, capturing your child’s unique style.
18. Get your bathing suits on and wash the cars.
19. Make your own play-doh or glitter silly putty.
20. Recycle and create your own rainbow crayons using a muffin tin and various colors of broken crayon pieces.
21. Have a family friendly karaoke night.
22. Host a tea party and let your child pick our their favorite dress or suit for the occasions. Make small finger sandwiches and teach table manners.
23. Make your own bird feeders out of an old soda bottle.
24. Using old socks or paper bags make your own puppets and put on a puppet show for the whole family.
25. Play kitchen with foods made out of play-doh.
26. Decorate plain white sneakers with paint and glitter.
27. Make homemade pizzas from scratch.
28. Play card games like Go Fish, Old Maid, and UNO.
29. Tye Dye t-shirts and bathing suit cover ups.
30. Host a slumber party.
31. Visit the zoo or local children’s museum.
32. Make bracelets or necklaces out of candy, cereal, and other circular shaped treats.
33. Throw a Hawaiian luau in your backyard.
34. Make colored puffy paint with shaving cream and food coloring.
35. Visit the library and get your child a library card so they can read over the Summer.
36. Go bowling.
37. Give your dogs a bubble bath.
38. Have a camp out in the backyard with s’mores and spooky stories.
39. Make a stepping stone for the yard.
40. Make homemade ice cream with simple ingredients and a Ziploc bag.
41. Set up a Summer scavenger hunt in the backyard or local park.
42. Have a bake sale or set up a lemonade stand outside.
43. Let your child draw their face and name on a big balloon, creating their own character.
44. Have a spa day at a child friendly salon or at home using homemade face masks and scrubs.
45. Head to the pool and go for a swim. Don’t forget the floats and goggles!
46. Take an old sheet and spread it across the yard. Use paint to create a canvas.
47. Have a game night with classic games like charades, Twister, Bingo, Pictionary, Monopoly, Trouble, Sorry, etc.
48. Bake sweet treats like whoopie pies, cake pops, cupcakes, cookies, and more.
49. Use leaves, twigs, grass, and rocks for texture rubbing with crayons and markers.
50. Attend a kid friendly workshop at stores like Lowe’s, Home Depot, Pottery Barn, or Michael’s craft store.
What are your favorite Summer time activities to do with your family?
I need to bookmark this so when I run out of things to do with my boys this summer, I have some new ideas. My boys LOVE catching bugs….ew.
Glad to see you mentioned bowling – did you know that kids bowl free all summer long? http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/
Your graphic is great. I bought a popsicle mold for us to use this summer!
We do a lot of those! Our big plan is moving this summer. I've got to come up with ways to keep the kids entertained while out trying to find our new house. LOL That is going to be fun.
Awesome ideas! The farmer's market is one of my favorite weekend activities.
This is such a great list! I love the chalk dolls, what a creative idea. I'm pinning this so when the "Mom I'm bored" drama hits I'll be ready.
We have done a lot of these in the past few months! BUT I need to sign these kids up for the home depot kids activity and have a picnic at the park.. Those are def on my list.
That's an awesome list! We do so many of those things and my kids LOVE them. Can't wait to try a few of your suggestions!
I just pinned this. Thanks so much for the ideas
What a great list! My boys tend to tell me they are bored shortly into the summer.
These are some great summer ideas for the kids. I will keep them in mind to share with my grandkids.
Those are some awesome summer ideas! When we get back from our road trip this Summer I'm going to do some of them on the list.
Great ideas! Every year the kids and I make a big chart and list all the things we want to do for the summer. It's always a long list and every weekend we try to cross something off of it!
What a great list of summer ideas! We just introduced my son to sidewalk chalk. He's pretty obsessed!
You sure know how to make summer magical! These are fabulous ideas, and I'm curious about that water hopscotch. It sounds so fun!
Great list! I am going to have to visit back and take notes for supplies. Gonna be a fun summer!
This is the perfect "mom, I'm bored" list! I'll have to save this for later!
Silly putty and play-doh are very popular in my house. Sometimes we 'camp out' in the living room. My daughter and her cousin love to plant seeds in any little contain they can. My least favorite is the bug catching. No up my alley.
Great list! I added it to my book marks. I love the glitter putty and they spa day ideas.
Added this to my bookmarks! Love the glitter putty idea and the spa day!
I love activity lists like this! I refer to them constantly when looking for something fun to do.
What a fabulous list! I know I am SO ready for summer.
That is an awesome list! There's almost something for every day of summer break there!
I have never played water hooscotch. It looks like a lot of fun!
This is awesome! Thanks for sharing.kids counseling
Amazing how fast 50 activities can go! I'll definitely save for this summer when the boredom kicks in! Fun pics!
So many great ideas! Love the list and your kids are super cute!! Awesome shots. I love swimming the most 😉
SO many great ideas!!
Summer is just around the corner. Gotta keep those kiddos entertained
Great suggestions! Some of these are on my list. I am going to book mark this post though for reminders of things to do throughout the summer.
Looks like there is no lack of fun in your home! Love these ideas, will definitely be using some for summer.
Awesome ideas! You look like you all are going to have a fun and busy summer!
So many great ideas thanks for sharing! This post has got me excited for summer!
so many great ideas! I'd love to try the water hopscotch with my kids this summer.
I made up a list for our Summer too! I'm so excited for the warmer months to get out there with the kids and explore.
So many great ideas! I personally love the combination of homemade popsicles and sidewalk chalk 🙂
We love to do the Kids Free Bowling! this is a great list of activities!
These activities sound like so much fun. I am definitely going to do some of these with my kids.
My sister-in-law was just telling me she was wanting something to do with my niece this summer. I'll be passing this long list of interesting things to her to keep them busy 🙂
I need to get to checking some of these off our list. I haven't flown a kite in ages.
What a great list. When my daughter was little, we let her plant a little garden of flowers next to the house. It was so cute. 🙂
This is a great list of fun summer activities! I'm bookmarking it so that I have it ready to share with my daughter.
Awesome list. I just want to squeeze your kids, they are so stinkin cute!
This reminds me of the homemade PVC pip "car wash" sprinkler we made last year. We need to get that back out!
Great activities for summer! We're always looking for something fun to get into.