Summer is the perfect time for kids to enjoy their break outdoors and for families to spend more quality time together. However, after a few weeks at home, finding new ways to keep everyone entertained can become a challenge.
Thankfully, we’ve put together a list of fun summer activities for kids that will encourage creativity, curiosity, and a sense of adventure. Best of all, these ideas are affordable, easy to organize, and can be enjoyed at home or close by.
From tasty homemade treats to exciting outdoor games, there is something here for every child to enjoy during the final weeks of summer vacation. And, hopefully, a few of these activities will give Mom some quiet time to catch up on that Netflix series too!
16 summer activities for kids
1. Make 'Nice Cream'
Beat the summer heat with a delicious and healthier frozen treat: “nice cream.”
This simple alternative to traditional ice cream is made without dairy or added sugar, and you only need a few ingredients to prepare it at home.
Simply blend frozen bananas with your children’s favorite fruits, such as strawberries, blueberries, or mangoes. In just a few minutes, you will have a creamy and refreshing treat the whole family can enjoy.
Or try this yummy chocolate peanut butter 'nice cream'!
2. Have an Outdoor Picnic
Pack a picnic basket with your kids’ favorite snacks, sandwiches, and refreshing drinks, then head to the backyard or a nearby park.
Spread out a comfortable blanket and enjoy a relaxed meal together in the fresh air. Bring along some board games, cards, or books for extra entertainment. A Polaroid camera can also be a fun way to capture special moments from the day.
A picnic is a simple way to spend time together and create lasting family memories.
We have plenty of delicious picnic snack options, including nuts, trail mix, dried fruit, savory snacks, healthy treats and juices.
We've got loads of options for picnic snacks, including nuts, trail mix, dried fruit, savory snacks, honey candies, and healthy juice options.
3. Fun Chalk Murals
Encourage your kids to unleash their creativity with colorful sidewalk chalk murals.
Give them a selection of chalk and let their imaginations run wild as they draw pictures, patterns, games, and colorful designs on the pavement or an outdoor wall.
Before long, your driveway may look like an outdoor art gallery. You could even invite the neighbors over for a free exhibition!
4. Backyard Camping
When a camping trip is not possible, bring the camping experience to your own backyard.
Pitch a tent, bring out the sleeping bags, tell campfire stories, and enjoy some delicious s’mores. Once the sun goes down, lie back and look at the stars together. You can try identifying constellations or keep watch for a shooting star.
If you're going on a camping trip, here are 5 quick and easy plant-based camping dishes.
5. Fun Science Experiments
Turn learning into an exciting hands-on activity with simple science experiments.
Use everyday household items to explore chemical reactions, create miniature volcanoes, or make colorful bubbling mixtures with baking soda and vinegar.
These experiments are entertaining, educational, and a great way to encourage curiosity.
Here are some fun ideas for science experiments for kids!
6. Make a DIY Bird Feeder
Help your children develop an appreciation for nature by making a simple bird feeder together.
You can use recycled materials and basic craft supplies, such as toilet paper rolls, peanut butter, and birdseed, to create a feeding station for your feathered visitors.
Hang the feeder near a window and encourage your children to observe the different birds that stop by for a snack. They could even keep a small notebook and record the species they see.
7. Paint Rocks
Let your kids explore their artistic side by painting rocks.
All you need are a few smooth rocks from your garden or a nearby park, along with paint and brushes. Children can decorate them with colorful patterns, encouraging words, funny faces, or adorable animals.
Once dry, the painted rocks can be used as bedroom doorstops, paperweights, garden decorations, or simple handmade gifts.
8. Discover The Joy Of Gardening
Start a small garden in your backyard, in containers, or on a sunny windowsill.
Allow your children to choose a few plants, herbs, vegetables, or flowers from your local nursery. They can plant seeds and watch them germinate or begin with seedlings for faster results.
Summer is also a good time to begin planting certain fall vegetables, including root vegetables, cabbage, broccoli, and kale. Marigolds, zinnias, petunias, and sunflowers are colorful flower options that grow well during the warmer months.
Gardening teaches children patience and responsibility while giving them a wonderful sense of achievement as they watch their plants grow.
This post from Azure Farm goes into detail about how gardening can benefit kids: Gardening With Kids: Tips, Activities, And All The Benefits It Brings
9. Berry Picking
Visit a local berry farm and spend the day picking berries with your kids. It is even more convenient when you have berry bushes growing at home.
Berry picking is a fun and rewarding activity that allows children to spend time in nature while enjoying fresh, delicious fruit.
Once you get home, use the berries to prepare smoothies, muffins, desserts, or homemade jam together.
10. Get Cooking or Baking
Spend some quality time in the kitchen with your little chefs.
Choose age-appropriate recipes and allow your children to take responsibility for certain steps under adult supervision.
Cooking and baking help develop creativity, confidence, coordination, and sensory skills. They also give parents an opportunity to teach children that homemade food can be healthier, more affordable, self-sustaining, and rewarding.
Some easy recipes include grilled cheese sandwiches, muffins, cupcakes, cookies, and crunchy peanut butter pretzel bites.
11. Bean Bag Toss
Enjoy some DIY family fun by making your own bean bags and toss board.
Bean bag toss is a simple outdoor game that improves hand-eye coordination and can provide hours of entertainment for children and adults alike.
A little help from Mom and Dad may be needed for this project. One parent can sew small fabric bags and fill them with dried beans, while the other helps build or decorate the target board.
For an easier option, place hula hoops on the ground and use them as targets.
12. Summer Scavenger Hunt
Create a scavenger hunt using summer-inspired items that can be found around the house, garden, or backyard.
Your list could include garden vegetables, fruit, flowers in different colors, green leaves, beach toys, sunglasses, summer hats, and flip-flops.
Give each child a basket or bag to collect the items and watch as they race around trying to complete the hunt.
Afterward, use the collected items for a craft project, a recipe, or imaginative play.
13. Make Homemade Goop With Cornstarch
Combine cornstarch, water, and a few drops of child-safe food coloring to create a fascinating homemade goop.
This mixture behaves like a liquid when poured slowly but becomes firm when pressure is applied. Children will love squeezing, stirring, and experimenting with this unusual substance.
Here is how to make it:
- Pour 1 cup of water into a large mixing bowl.
- Add a few drops of food coloring in any color.
- Slowly stir in 2 cups of cornstarch until the mixture develops a thick, goopy consistency.
This activity can get messy, so it is best enjoyed outdoors or on an easy-to-clean surface.
14. Make a homemade movie
Give your children a family video camera or phone and let them create their own movie.
They could host a pretend television show, film nature videos with commentary, interview family members and neighbors, or act out scenes inspired by their favorite characters and songs.
Not only will this keep them entertained, but the finished video will also become a funny and memorable keepsake to look back on one day.
15. Backyard Obstacle Course
Few activities get children moving quite like an obstacle course.
Use pool noodles, garden hoses, wooden boxes, skipping ropes, hula hoops, buckets, and other safe materials from around the house and garden to create different challenges.
Children can crawl, jump, balance, weave, and race through the course.
Turn it into a light-hearted timed competition, or divide everyone into teams to teach cooperation, communication, and the value of teamwork.
16. Help a Neighbor
Teach your children about kindness and community by helping a neighbor who could use an extra hand.
They could water plants, walk a dog, rake leaves, mow the lawn, carry groceries, or help with a simple errand.
Small acts of kindness can make a meaningful difference in someone’s day while teaching children generosity, responsibility, and compassion.
