101 Fun Things to Do With Kids This Summer
Summer may be a time to relax, but tell that to kids who are bouncing off the walls or shrieking“ I’ m bored.” As parents, babysitters and nannies, we want each summer to be more memorable than the next, and with that comes the need for a few new ideas-- especially if your child is too young to go to a summer camp.
Jill Tipograph, summer expert and founder of Everything Summer, suggests that you“ take advantage of those bright sunny days and warm summer nights and plan something new a couple of times a week.”
Jesse Koller, of Play, Create and Explore, holds regular art workshops for local kids.“ We have a blast focusing on mostly process art and projects, as well as some sensory activities.”
Here are 101 ideas for your summer bucket list-- to keep kids from being bored and create memories that they’ ll have for a lifetime( or at least for that first day of school when they’ re asked“ what did you do this summer?”).
Hey families, want help making your way through this list? Print it out and give it to your nanny to do with your kids. And if you don’ t have child care lined up for the summer yet, start looking through profiles of summer child care professionals so you can lock down a nanny or babysitter ASAP.
1. Bake cookies for ice cream sandwiches. 2. Volunteer at a nature center. 3. Make a photo journal or a family yearbook. 4. Have a luau in the backyard. 5. Visit the beach and collect shells. 6. Make a fort out of cardboard boxes. 7. Visit a farmer’ s market. 8. Stage an A to Z scavenger hunt, where you have to find something that starts with every letter. Here are 8 more scavenger hunt ideas. 9. Pick berries. 10. Have a picnic at a state park. 11. Make ice cream. Tipograph loves using YayLab’ s ice cream ball, which you fill with ice cream base and kick around until frozen. 12. Go canoeing at a local lake. 13. Build a sandcastle. 14. Write and illustrate your own book and have it published into an actual hardcover book using IlluStory.
15. Forget cooking-- set up an ice cream sundae buffet for dinner. 16. Clean up trash at a local park. 17. Have a backyard campfire... or just
22 May and June Edition use the grill! Roast hot dogs on sticks, pop popcorn and finish off with s’ mores. 18. Make homemade pizza. 19. Go for a walk and then make a collage from nature objects you find along the way.
20. Head to a creek and look at the ducks.( See some duck games) 21. Set up a lemonade stand. 22. Have a water balloon fight. 23. Practice your origami skills and make objects to hang from the ceiling. 24. Go biking on a trail 25. Interview an older relative about what life was like when they were young.
26. Plan a picnic at a local park-- or in your backyard.
27. Print out a list of children’ s books that have won Caldecott Medals. Visit the local library throughout the summer and try to read as many as you can.
28. Create salad spinner art: Place circles of paper inside a cheap salad spinner, dab tempera paints on top, cover and spin away.
29. Practice making interesting shadow puppets and then put on a show with your characters. 30. Plant a garden of herbs and veggies. 31. Make a sidewalk chalk mural. 32. Go ice blocking( sledding) in the grass with a towel-covered block of ice.
33. Have an outdoor painting party using huge canvases or cardboard. 34. Visit a fish hatchery. 35. Plant a butterfly garden with flowers.
36. Pretend to be pirates for a day-- dress up in costumes, plan a treasure hunt and talk like a pirate.
37. Make an indoor sandbox using colored rice: mix 4 cups of rice with 3 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol and a few drops of food coloring and let dry overnight.
38. Turn the backyard into a carnival-- set up a face painting area and games like ring toss.
39. Make totem poles out of paper towel rolls and decorate them.
40. Visit a museum you’ ve never been to.
41. Make a giant hopscotch or Twister game on the lawn( with spray paint) or driveway( with chalk).