X

Summer Fun Unleashed: Beat Boredom with These 55 Kid-Approved Activities!

.

šŸŒžā˜€ļø Summer Fun Alert! šŸŒžā˜€ļø Are you ready to banish those dreaded words, ā€œIā€™m bored,ā€ from your kidsā€™ vocabulary this summer? šŸŽ‰ Iā€™ve put together the ultimate list of activities guaranteed to keep young minds engaged, bodies moving, and creativity flowing all season long! From outdoor adventures to indoor escapades, thereā€™s something for every kid to enjoy. Letā€™s dive in and make this summer the most memorable one yet! šŸš€

.

Note: I put this list together during the 2020 lock down and it came in handy when my son and got Covid and had to spend two weeks in quarantine. When we were finally ā€˜freeā€ he said:

.

ā€œMom, Iā€™m sad that quarantine is done. We made so many memories.ā€

Luke, age 7

.

Thankfully, the lockdown is long gone, but this list remains incredibly useful for those moments when boredom strikes and youā€™re in need of some inspiration! Plus, itā€™s an added bonus that youā€™ll make ā€˜so many memoriesā€™ along the way!!

.

.

1. Draw a Picture and/or write a letter

Set out Pencils, markers, water color, or crayons and blank paper or coloring books.

Draw pictures and write letters to family and friends!

Click here to purchase a ā€œHow to Drawā€ book on Amazon.

.

.

2. Read a book

  • Go to the library and allow your kids to explore!
  • Find books that will pique your childā€™s curiosity.
  • Most early readers (and pre-readers) enjoy comic-strip style books.Ā 
  • Set a timer so your kids know that itā€™s ā€œreading time.ā€
  • Ask an older child to read to a younger childĀ Ā ā€“ or ā€“
  • Read a few pages of a chapter book to your kids. The ā€œWho Wasā€ series is great!
  • My 12 year old son and I recently finished Front Desk and he LOVED it and kept asking me to read more.
  • We read Little House on the Prairie in 2020 and laughed at how similar the ā€œlittle house lifeā€ and ā€œquarantine lifeā€ are!

.

.

3. Tell/ write a story

  • My fourth grade teacher once gave us the title ā€œThe Entire City Lends a Handā€ and had the class each write their own story. Read a rendition of that here.
  • Give your kids a title and let them write!Ā 
  • Title ideas:Ā The first day of school! Best Vacation Ever,Ā If I were President,Ā Undersea Adventure,Ā You Wonā€™t Believe what Happened!Ā 

.

.

4. Make a book

Buy blank books from amazon or use a notebook you have on hand.

Have your kids write a little each day about what they are doing during the summer. (It will be interesting to look back on these journals in the future!)

Another option: Have your kids write 1 thing they are grateful for each day.Ā 

Be sure to have them add the date and their name.

.
.

5. Start a Gratitude Journal

Thinking about our blessings and what we are grateful for is extremely helpful inĀ building resiliency!Ā I researched journals a few months ago and decided to purchaseĀ this simple one for George. Iā€™ve loved watching him open this up (without prompting), and write what heā€™s grateful for!

Research suggests that keeping a gratitude journal can boost your health and happiness.

.

.

6. HOME EC ā€“ Cook togetherĀ 

Making pancakes with Paul
George making his favorite treat!
  • My boys love helping make any type of dessert. But they are also good ā€œsousā€ chefs ā€“ peeling potatoes and carrots, etc.
  • Teaching kids how to cook builds confidence in them and is a huge help once they know what to do.
  • Here is an easy recipe for ā€“ Personal Pizzas

Hereā€™s a post about the benefits of cooking together

.

.

7. Balloon games

  • Itā€™s crazy how much joy a simple balloon can bring.
  • Blow up balloons and work together to keep them from touching the ground.
  • Use a string/rope/crepe paper across the living room and play ā€œtennisā€ or ā€œvolleyball.ā€
  • Use a tennis racket outside with a balloon.
  • My sonā€™s love this balloon rocket from amazon!

.

.

8. Go Park Hopping!

George cooling off on the hot day
George on the zip line

.

.

9. Clean together

My sisterā€™s daughters (ages 4 and 7) ā€“ She says the girls enjoy the tactile nature of finding the clips, reading them, and then putting them in the container when completed.
  • There are so many benefits to giving your kids household chores and teaching them to clean!Ā 
  • Some bigger things we are working on together ā€“ the basement, baseboards, and cleaning our cars.
  • Smaller things the kids can do ā€“ a junk drawer, the pantry, baseboards, wiping lower cabinets, all door handles, appliance handles, pulling weeds, folding and putting away laundry, bathroom, bedroom, their closet, and loading/unloading dishwasher.
  • I offered my kids a quarter to whoever could wipe down the baseboards and bring me back the dirtiest wet wipe.

Click here for a ā€œchore chartā€ idea!

.

.

10. Dino Dig

My boys love uncovering a treasure, your kid will too!

.

.

11. Make some homemade gifts

Friendship bracelets are back! (Thank you T.Swift)

.

.

12. Play Hide and Seek

Take turns hiding ā€“ or ā€“Ā Hide a stuffed animal. Say ā€œhotter/colderā€ when they are getting closer or further.

.

.

13. Play bean bag games

  • Toss back and forth
  • Toss in buckets, pans, or boxes
  • Play ā€œkeep away!ā€
  • For bean bag toddler games, CLICK HERE.

.

.

14. Scavenger hunt

.

.

15. Puzzles

  • Do a Puzzle together
  • Puzzle races: 1. Time your kids and see how fast they can put a small puzzle together. 2. If you have two 50-100 piece puzzles, race to see who can put them together faster.
  • Optional Money-saving tip: Trade puzzles with your neighbors or buy some used ones! Dollar store sells some too!
  • Get a new puzzle from Amazon, or trade with friends.

.

.

16. Paint by Sticker

This sticker book has over 5000 5-star reviews! I got this for my son for Christmas and I see why it has so many positive reviews. We love it! The pictures turn out so pretty you could frame them!

Beforeā€¦
Duringā€¦
After

.

.

17. Sidewalk chalk

  • Lay down and trace each other ā€“ then decorate with clothes, faces, etc.
  • Write a verse or word of encouragement for passers-by
  • Use tape and color in the spaces like stained glass (pictured above)
  • Color rocks around your house

.

.

18. Create an Indoor or outdoor Obstacle course

.

.

19. Have a Spa Day!

Facials, paint nails, do hair, etc.

.

.

20. Spot It

This is a fun game for kids ages 4 and up!

.

21. Donā€™t Eat Pete Game

Click here for instructions

.

.

22. Play games with a Jump Rope

  • Do competitions to see who can go the longest without tripping. Itā€™s great exercize and FUN!
  • I definitely recommend you purchase the segmented jump ropes (pictured above). We bought several so we could all jump rope together.

.

.

23. Build withĀ legos or megablocks

.

.

24. Do a craft together

.

.

25. Memorize a poem or verse together.

.

.

26. Build an arcade game out of boxes.

Clark created a game called ā€œHit Itā€ ā€“ Targets for Nerf Guns

.

.

27. Play with Cheerios

  • Allow your kids to string Cheerios or Fruit Loops for an edible necklace
  • Stack cheerios on Spaghetti noodles
  • With older kids ā€“ turn this into a race!

.

.

28. Play a board game Ā 

.

.

29. Spike Ball

  • My son Clark just got this game for his 11th birthday. My boys love it. Itā€™s best for ages 8 and up.
  • When itā€™s too cold to play outside, this game can be played in a living room or basement.

.

.

30. Play charades or download the HEADS UP app

  • Even little ones can play this game. Whisper what you want them to ā€œactā€ out and let the sibling(s) guess.
  • The Heads Up app is lots of fun.

.

.

31. Build a fort

  • Put blankets over your dining table ā€“ or
  • Use boxes, or pillows and blankets.
  • Read a story in the fort!
  • ā€œGo on a Bear Huntā€œ
  • Decorate with Christmas lights!

.

.

32. Create or Buy Kinetic Sand or Play Doh

.

.

33. Exercise!Ā 

  • Follow a youtube exercise video
  • Family Bootcamp
  • Run around your house for 5 or more minutes. I donā€™t know about your kids ā€“ but my kids NEED to burn energy in a healthy way or they start getting mischievous!
  • If we are outside, I challenge my kids to a foot race so that we can BOTH burn energy and get exercise.

.

.

34. Play some backyard games

  1. Duck Duck GooseĀ 
  2. Balloon BounceĀ ā€“ Kids lay down (or sit down) and have to work together to keepĀ balloon(s)Ā in the air.Ā 
  3. Red Rover, Red Rover
  4. Red Light, Green Light
  5. Tag

.

.

35. Have a unique conversation

Has months of summer left you with nothing else to talk about than how bored you are? Then you NEED this set of cards.

Each card asks interesting questions for your family to answer or discuss. My kids ask for us to pull the cards out whenever we sit down to eat. One time my kids were eating alone and my oldest son pulled the questions out to ask his little brothers.Ā I LOVED listening to their conversation!

.

.

36. Have a ā€œWhatā€™s in the Box?ā€ Challenge

  • Cut holes a in box
  • Choose an item to put inside
  • Allow someone to reach their hand inside the box and ā€œguessā€ what it is.
  • Take turns finding items to hide, then guessing ā€œWhatā€™s in the Box?ā€

Click here to watch the Egly boysā€™ challenge. Theyā€™d love for you to subscribe to their channel.

.

.

37. Homemade Tap Shoes

Sorry parents, this oneā€™s noisy! Itā€™s so easy, though, and will keep your kids busy.

Simply tape coins to the bottom of your childā€™s shoe. Voila, homemade tap shoes.

Get them to come up with a tap-dancing routine, rehearse it and record their final performance (bring your own earmuffs).

.

.

38. Look at old photos

Take out your photo albums or pull up pictures on your computer and enjoy!

.

.

39. Build a Marble Maze / Labrynth

Your kids can use an empty box.

Glue straws to the bottom to create a maze.

.

.

40. Card Games

Playing ā€œGarbageā€
RataTat Cat ā€“ fun family card game!

Play ā€œWarā€ with the classic deck of cards.

.

.

41. Play ā€œMinute to Win Itā€

Click here for 10 fun games to play with your family

.

.

42. Practice an instrument

Piano, keyboard, xylophone, harmonica, recorder or drumsā€¦make it a family band. Look on Youtube for free lessons.

.

.

43. Blow bubbles

Make some bubbles using dish washing soap, water, and sugar (for consistency).

Or check out these ā€œbubble glovesā€ on amazon.

.

.

44. Make a flip motion animation book

Kids can learn how to make a flipbook animation in less than 5 minutes. All you need is a pen and a stack of notecards, paper, or a sticky note pad.Ā This videoĀ is a great and very quick tutorial.

.

.

45. Ā Play Simon Says or Follow The Leader

  • Have each child take a turn being the leader
  • Walk all around your houseĀ 
  • Do jumps, turns, stop to hug dad, etc.

.

.

46. Ice excavating

Place some toys in a bowl of water and Freeze. Let the kids dig them out.

.

.

47. Build a volcano

Click here for instructions

.

.

48. Make Ice Cream

If you have milk and sugar, your kids can make their own ice cream! Click here for the recipe!

.

.

49. Nerf guns

Shoot at targets ā€“ I made some targets with construction paper and held them in place with play doh.

.

.

50. Jokes

Get a joke book from Amazon, or search for kidā€™s jokes on the internet and entertain each other!

.

.

51. Create Salt Dough Figures

Click here for instructions

.

.

52. Play ā€œWould you Rather?ā€

Click here for questions!

.

.

53. Create ā€œRamp Racesā€

A really fun and simple activity that can act as a physics lesson and opportunity for an experiment. Make a simple ramp using cardboard or a piece of wood, and roll different objects down: measure how far they go, how fast they roll, or hold races between different kinds of balls to see which wins!

.

.

54. Leaf or Texture rubbings

Find leaves, grass, and other flat-ish items and put them under paper. Color over them.

.

.

55. Take an aimless drive.

  • Listen to a podcast or the radio.
  • Go through the drive through for ice cream or dinner.

.

CLICK HERE FOR 20 more ideas

Bonus Idea: Create a ā€œIā€™m Boredā€ Jar:

  • Print the 55 options listed above, cut apart each idea, and put them in a container. If your kids say ā€˜Iā€™m Boredā€™ ā€“ have them pull a paper from the jar and complete that activity.
  • Itā€™s OKAY for your kids to be bored and figure it out too! Boredom leads to creativity! Clark was bored when he created his own Cardboard Arcade!
  • Boredom leads to new inventions. I look forward to what will be thought up during this quarantine!

.

.

Do you have an idea? Leave a comment!

Please subscribe so you donā€™t miss a post!

*I am an Amazon Affiliate, so I make a small percentage off of Amazon links I share if you click through and purchase, without any additional cost to you. Ā Thank you for your support in this way!Ā 

Kathryn: I am a mom to four young boys and wife to one handsome man. I love hot coffee and good books! I'm a midwest girl living and loving life in Minnesota. I'm originally from Indiana, but have lived in: Ohio, Florida, Oklahoma, Illinois, Colorado, and NOW Minnesota!!

View Comments (0)

Related Post