List of Summer Activities for Kids

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Looking for things to do with your kids this summer? Coming up with ideas is tough, especially if you can’t pack their summer full of camps and planned activities. Here is a big list of summer activities for kids no matter what age they are.

If you have older kids, sometimes a schedule or time limits help. So they can play video games after they’ve spent x amount of time reading, doing an activity or game etc. If you have a mix of ages have the older kids be in charge of activity ideas.

Make an underwater scope - summer fun!

Activities for Kids: Theme Weeks

One “trick” that can make it easier for you (or the kids) to come up with ideas to do throughout the week is by giving each week a theme. We did this for several summers and it not only helped me as the parent to come up with ideas for things to do, it got the kids excited to think up activities as well.

Themes can be general, supply based, holiday focused etc. Here are some ideas of themes that we’ve done in the past.

Printable shark tooth puzzle game, fun for a shark party or just an every day boredom buster

There are so many options for theme weeks depending on what your kids are into. Brainstorm some of your own ideas and see how many activities, snacks and books you can come up with for the week to fit the theme!

Other At Home Activities for Kids

If you’re not into making a complete theme you can still check out the links above for some fun activity ideas. Pinterest is chock full of them as well. If you aren’t wanting to set up a specific craft or game here are some other at home activity ideas to keep the kids busy this summer.

Learn new card games
Learn some easy magic tricks and put on a magic show
Write and perform a play or concert
Make a band out of household objects
Make a stop motion movie
Make up your own board game and play it for family game night
Have a paper airplane contest
Make an obstacle course
Build a fort
Come up with a product to sell
Learn to code
Buy some old electronics at a thrift store and take them apart
Bake something
Have a garage sale and plan a day out with the earnings

Things to do this summer outside of the home

If you can get out of the house and have some summer fun with your kids, here are some ideas of things you can do together.

Explore a new park
Visit the pet store
Go on a day trip
Visit a National Park
Geocache
Get a POGO Pass for your City – grab a coupon code here.
Go to the movies
Visit the library
Go on a hike
Go camping (even if it’s just in the backyard)
Visit thrift stores
Volunteer – try VolunteerMatch to find something in your area
Have a picnic
Go on a scavenger hunt
Go on a photo tour
Find and attend a free concert
Visit a farm and pick your own fruits or veggies
Go to a water park

Activities for Tweens, teens, or Older Kids

Some of the activity ideas above are great for any age. Teens can definitely get into photo tours, making their own movies, or even thrifting (mine love to look for records or movies). Here are some other ideas specifically for older kids (besides getting a job).

Plan summer camp for younger kids
Read (make it more fun by making a reading nook with string lights and bean bags or pillows) visit the library for new books and ask your friends what they’ve been reading and loving
Practice photography skills and post processing
Plan a themed party for your friends (shark week is coming up)
Try new recipes
Ask someone to help you learn to work on a car (change a tire, change the oil, etc.)
Have an outdoor movie night
Go on a bike ride
Make a time capsule
Re-arrange your room
Do a puzzle
Learn to play a new game
Make a crazy dessert or mocktails in a fun glass
Spend a day coming up with a huge list of things to do. Put them all in a jar and choose from the jar when you’re bored.
Write a blog post and submit it to blogs – maybe you’ll get featured!
Have a glow party
Help an older person with their technology