Summer time fun is up to you to plan and enjoy with your kids. Have you run out of ideas? Looking for something fresh? Here are 100 fun summer activities!
- Pick your own….whatever. Find a farm with blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes, flowers, etc., and get picking.
- Play outside in the rain. Smell the rain on the pavement; splash in puddles; make mud pies.
- Make your own rain. Douse everyone with the hose or sprinkler.
- Take family naps. Parents nap too!
- Have daily quiet time. Big kids need rest too.
- Cook out….frequently. Go beyond the burgers. Try veggies or fish. The kids might like them!
- Make ‘smores. Chocolate + marshmallow + graham cracker=summer
- Camp out. First-timers, try backyard camping.
- Camp in. Put the sleeping bags on the floor and have a family slumber party.
- Stargaze. Invite friends and make a party of it.
- Catch lightening bugs. And then watch them flicker away into the night.
- Rearrange the furniture. Give the kids graph paper and have them draw out a plan first.
- Make your own pizza. Look online for a recipe.
- Invite friends over for a game night. Have a kids’ games table and an adult one too.
- Go to the demolition derby. And expect to see some major crashes.
- See an air show. And hope for no crashes.
- Stop to smell the flowers. (Go to a botanical garden.)
- Talk to the animals. (Go to the zoo.)
- Get wet. (Go to a water park.)
- Play a word game. Think Scrabble, Boggle or Bananagrams.
- Play a card game. Maybe crazy eights, spoons or poker. Take your pick.
- Play a board game. Candyland, chess or Monopoly, depending on age and inclination.
- Make good use of nearby parks. Go to your local parks website, print the schedule of activities and tape it to the refrigerator.
- Pack a picnic. And plop down to eat it just about anywhere, at a free concert, in a state park or in your own backyard.
- Start the back-to-school shopping early. The farther from the start of school the more fun my kids think it is.
- Get the summer homework done. Not exactly fun, but get it out of the way.
- Experiment with new hairdos. Let the kids try out not-permanent colors or braids. Or maybe a spiked look.
- Dig in the sand at the beach. Doesn’t matter if it’s on the ocean, lake or bay.
- Set a goal and complete a home project. Find ways to let the kids help.
- Take an early morning bird walk.
- Grow vegetables. And then eat them.
- Grow flowers. And then arrange them .
- Let the kids cook dinner. In fact, make a tradition of it.
- Host the kids’ friends for a sleepover. And the maybe your kids will be invited next…giving you a free evening.
- Go to a nearby museum that you’ve never been to before.
- Go to your favorite local museum…again.
- Go to a carnival or county fair. Eat cotton candy, fried dough or something really bad once this summer.
- Decorate your walkways with chalk.
- Take a hike. Choose a route near your house or take a drive to a more distant park.
- Plant a butterfly garden. Watch the butterflies flutter by.
- Make fresh lemonade. Maybe even sell it at a lemonade stand!
- Take road trip to a nearby city. Spend the night if you can or just make it a day trip.
- Show the kids science is fun. Look for easy experiments online.
- Go to a matinee. Find a bargain movie houses and pay less.
- Go to the drive-in. If there isn’t one nearby, look for one near your vacation spot. Every kid should go to the drive-in at least once!
- Read a chapter book aloud. Or even go on and read a whole series together.
- Listen to a classic as an audiobook.
- Teach the kids a game you haven’t played since you were a kid.
- Meet friends at the playground. Not groundbreaking, but always popular nonetheless.
- Visit a historic house. Kids will be amazed at what the old-timers lived without.
- Make ice cream.
- Use bikes as a mode of transit. Show the kids the way to the store or a friend’s.
- Take bike rides for fun. Either leave from your own house or drive to biking trails.
- Go fishing. In many states kids can drop a line in without a license.
- Paddle a kayak or a canoe. Or if you’re really adventurous try white water rafting.
- Jump rope.
- Press summer flowers.
- String beads.
- Blow bubbles.
- Play miniature golf. Can you make the last hole-in-one for a free game?
- Eat at the counter of a diner. And let the kids spin on the stools.
- Find a new place to play. Easy idea: Clear out the basement or garage. Complicated idea: Build a treehouse.
- Build a Lego castle. Clear off a table and make it a family project.
- Master a new skill together. Learn to juggle, play harmonica, do the hula hoop, etc.
- Teach the grandparents to use a computer.
- Build a fort. Try pillows in the living room or cardboard boxes in the yard.
- Make fairy houses. Use moss, bark and leaves in a dwelling fit for Thumbelina.
- Write/illustrate a comic book. Make it a group effort or let everyone do their own.
- Oooh and ahh at fireworks. Might have to wait until July 4.
- Find a free concert near you.
- Fly a kite.
- Run in the yard. Kickball, wiffleball, Frisbee and tag will keep you moving.
- Visit a local farmers market. And feast on the fruits and veggies of the season.
- Create art with beach items.
- Have breakfast in bed. Take turns being the server and the served.
- Play with clay. Then bake your creations to make them permanent.
- Make play dough creations. Then rip them up and do it again.
- Make paper airplanes. See whose goes the farthest.
- Join the library summer reading club. Parents can list all their books read over the summer too, but I doubt the library will give you a prize.
- Keep a sketch diary.
- Write in a journal. At the end of the summer share selections with each other about the highlights of the season.
- Teach the kids to skip stones.
- Make artwork using old photos. Grandma will love them.
- Take lessons together. Cooking, yoga, tennis, music, etc.
- Play croquet on the lawn. And try bocci too.
- Set up a badminton net. You could use it for volleyball too.
- Play HORSE. With little ones, set up a mini basketball net next to the real one.
- Create a scavenger hunt. Do it on your own property or around town.
- Erect a bird feeder. And then watch the show from your window.
- Join a Junior Ranger program at a national park.
- See a dramatic performance together. Doesn’t matter if it’s a puppet show in the park or a touring Broadway show.
- Put on your own dramatic performance. Write a script, sew costumes or just do a little improv.
- Make music. Either make your own instruments or play traditional ones.
- Play charades.
- Break out the family movies. And the popcorn too!
- Go to a flea market or garage sale. See if the kids are better negotiators than you.
- Have a garage sale. Kids can earn spending money by selling their old stuff.
- Climb trees together. Of course, only if the kids are big enough, and you are brave enough.
- Get a book a riddles. See if you can stump each other, then write your own.
- Keep your kitchen cool. Find a recipe for no bake cookies.
Make this a great Summer!