Summer is here, and with it comes the challenge of keeping your kids entertained and engaged while they’re home from school or taking a break from homeschooling. Here are some fun summer activities that you can do with your kids.
Whether you’re dealing with sweltering heat or just looking to keep costs down, finding fun and creative ways to occupy your children within the comfort of your home can be both a practical and rewarding solution. From hands-on crafts and science experiments to active games and outdoor adventures in the backyard, the possibilities are endless.
In this post, we’ll explore a variety of summer activities that not only combat boredom but also encourage learning and creativity, helping you to create memorable experiences with your children. So, let’s dive into a summer filled with fun!
The Power of Theming your days!
This is honestly the best way I center our summer activities everyday. It makes life so much easier and the kids know exactly what do expect. I never have to answer the “What are we doing today, mom?”question.
Since my days are themed, we keep a similar routine through out the week and coming up with ideas on what to do on these days is simplified. Below I’ll share with you all the fun Summer activities we do by day.
Make-it Monday
Make It Monday is a day dedicated to unleashing your child’s creativity and encouraging hands-on fun with do-it-yourself crafts and projects. This weekly tradition is perfect for nurturing artistic skills, fostering imagination, and providing a sense of accomplishment. Whether it be a picture, painting, or craft this is when the magic will happen. Here are some exciting and easy-to-execute ideas to kick off your Make It Monday.
1. Painting Rocks– Collect some smooth rocks from your yard, beach, or a nearby park. Give your children some acrylic paints and brushes, and let their imagination run wild as they transform these rocks into colorful masterpieces. This is not just an activity for your children to enjoy but for the grown ups too. These painted rocks can be used to decorate the garden, create a rock garden, or even be given as thoughtful gifts.
2. Paint or color a Picture- Take you children outside and give them some canvases from the Dollar Tree or simply use some white paper. Give your children some acrylic paints and brushes and have them recreate a scene from outside. You will be amazed how time flies and how much fun is to be had with painting.
If your children do not enjoy painting, try coloring or a puzzle book. Simply get some coloring books with crayons or colored pencils and spend some time outside coloring. this can be a very relaxing time for the entire family.
3. Crafts- What kid doesn’t love a craft? You can have your children make bird feeders, tie-dye shirts, craft stick activities, or you can repurchase craft kits. It doesn’t have to be too elaborate to be fun!
4. Lego Challenge– I don’t know about your kids, but mine are obsessed with Legos! Create different weekly lego challenges for your kids to think outside the box. Some ideas are one color challenge, 50 piece challenge, the one hand challenge, or have them build something that goes with a specific theme.
Tidy Tuesday
We all need a day to tidy things around a little. This doesn’t have to be a full blown cleaning day. Simply set a timer for 20 minutes where everyone will help tidy a little. You can make this into a fun competition if you have competitive children. Then reward yourselves with a fun visit to the library.
Tuesdays are also the day when we love going to our library and do some of their programs. Make sure to check out your local library! They often run amazing summer programs that are very engaging, hands on, and best of all FREE!
Water Wednesday
This is the perfect day to do an activity that will keep you nice and cool during the hot summer months. You can designate this as a beach day, pool day, water balloon day, or simply a “get wet with the hose” day! This is my kid’s favorite day of the week because we do some sort of water activity. (they love water)
We go to the beach every Wednesday and play with the sand or collect beach glass. On times when we can’t make it to the beach, I simply turn on the hose and spray the kids with it. They have such a blast running around while I try to tag them with the water hose. When they were younger, I simply used to fill a small tote with water and you would have thought they were in a giant pool! 😂 These are all things that you can do with you children as well on water Wednesday
Thinking Thursday
Thinking Thursday is all about thought provoking activities that combine fun and learning! This day is perfect for encouraging critical thinking, problem-solving, and intellectual curiosity in your children. Here are some engaging and educational activities to make Thinking Thursday a highlight of your summer:
- Science experiments- Experiments not only fascinate children with their dramatic results but also teach basic scientific principles and the importance of observation and hypothesis. You can make salt crystals, observe a bean germinate, compare different product quality, and many others.
- Brain Teasers, Riddles, Puzzles– Challenge your kids with brain teasers and riddles that require logical thinking and creativity. Set up a scavenger hunt with clues that they must solve to find the next location or item. This activity not only keeps them entertained but also sharpens their problem-solving skills. Work on a jig-saw puzzle together. If you want to make it extra challenging to a 500+ piece puzzle
- Coding for kids- Introduce your children to the basics of coding with kid-friendly programming sites such as Code.org. These platform offer interactive tutorials that make learning to code fun and accessible. Coding helps develop logical thinking, creativity, and an understanding of how technology works. We used code.org in our school back when I was a 6th grade teacher and my students LOVED it. Best of all, it’s FREE!
Fun Friday
Fun is a term that is very different for every family. What might be fun for one family might not be of another and vice versa. For this day, I highly recommend that you get your children’s input as to what they might enjoy doing on Fun Friday.
For my family Fun Friday means going to a playground and having a picnic lunch there. This is so much fun to them because they get to play with other children, sometimes we set up a playdate there with friends, and they get to eat out somewhere. You can pack their lunches or pick a happy meal up if you would like. Either way makes it an extra special and fun day!
Check out other fun activities to do with your children for 100th day of school and Earth Day.
Start your fun summer activities with your kids
The challenge of keeping kids entertained and engaged during the summer at home can turn into an opportunity for creativity, learning, and family bonding. From the artistic endeavors of Make It Monday to the brain-stimulating fun of Thinking Thursday, these activities provide experiences that cater to every interest and curiosity.
By incorporating DIY crafts, science experiments, and more, you can create a summer full of memorable moments and valuable lessons without breaking the bank. These activities not only help combat boredom but also encourage the development of important skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
Remember, the key to a successful summer at home is flexibility and enthusiasm. Be open to exploring new ideas and let your child’s interests guide the way. With a bit of planning and a lot of imagination, you can transform your home into a place where every day brings a new adventure.
So, dive into these fun summer activities, and watch as your kids discover the joy of learning and playing right at home.
What are some fun activities that you enjoy doing with your children?
