32 Exciting Ways to Cure Summer Boredom With Your Family

Wondering where to find summer activities to do with kids? Check out these fun ideas that will keep your family busy all summer long! From outings to yummy treats, there is something here for every person in your family. 

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Outings

There are so many places to go and visit in the summer. Sunny, hot days make it perfect to be outside.

Check out these options for family outings. 

If you haven’t done them yet this summer, try one today.

If you already have experienced one of these outings, try it again! Sometimes you learn and see something new the second time around!

Some of these suggestions for outings may not be available this summer of 2020 due to COVID-19.

1) Explore a new park-Not necessarily a brand new park, but a park you have never been to before. Maybe there is one in your town you have yet to visit or maybe there is one in a neighboring town that you can go explore for at least part of the day.

2) Go fishing- If you don’t already have a favorite fishing spot, research public fishing places and the rules or license(s) that apply.

3) Go to a baseball game-Find the nearest baseball stadium and plan a summer evening outing. Make sure you experience all the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of this sport. That includes hot dogs and cracker jacks!

4) Go to a carnival (or amusement park)-Here is another outing that engages all your senses!

Funnel Cakes, cotton candy and snow cones might not be the healthiest, but every child needs to experience this at least once every summer.

5) Go to a water park- My family and I had a blast at our local water park last summer.

It was so much fun even for our toddler. She could have stayed in the water in the kiddie area all day.

After being in the water all day, both of our kids slept like logs that night.

6) Swim in a lake (or the ocean)-We don’t live close to the ocean, but there are a few nice lakes near us where we can spend the day.

There is something about swimming in a lake or ocean that can’t be beat!

7) Visit a farmer’s market-If you aren’t able to grow your own garden (or even if you do), take your kids with you on a trip to the farmer’s market.

Let them see the abundance of produce and other goods for sale. Buy some fresh fruits and vegetables and have a healthy snack or meal when you get home.

8) Visit a petting zoo-More than likely there is a petting zoo within driving distance that you can visit.

Have your kids experience feeding and/or petting the animals. If they are like our animal loving daughter, they will love it!

Outdoor Activities 

Head on out to the great outdoors and get some fresh summer air.

Check out these free and fun summer activities to do with kids.

The whole family can enjoy them together!

9) Camp out in the backyard-If you aren’t able to go on a camping trip in the forest, do the next best thing.

Grab the tent and camp outside under the stars in your backyard….which leads us to the next activity….

10) Gaze at the stars-Cross off two summer activities on the list by gazing at the stars while camping outside.

Grab a telescope if you have one, and see how many constellations you can identify.

11) Have a teddy bear picnic-Have your kids gather all their teddy bears (and any other stuffed animals they want to invite) and head outside to picnic with their furry friends.

Make some lemonade and you can check off another item on the summer activities checklist.

12) Have a toy car wash-Our son loves to wash his toy cars outside at the same time we are washing our cars.

Your kids will think it is extra fun (and messy) if they can play with the cars in the mud first.

13) Hunt for bugs-Grab a glass jar, put some grass and sticks in it, punch some holes in the lid and then go on a bug hunt with your kids.

How many bugs can you collect?

Discuss the similarities and differences of the bugs.

Let them go once you and your kids have had a chance to observe and document their behavior.

You can also buy bug catching kits online if you don’t want to make your own.

14) Make homemade bubbles-Check out this post for two awesome soap bubble recipes to make with your kids.

15) Play hopscotch-Use sidewalk chalk and draw the square and numbers for the game on a sidewalk or your driveway. Play this game with your kids and pass on this fun pastime to your children.

16) Run through the sprinkler-Put on your swimsuits and run through the sprinklers while you are watering the lawn.

It is the perfect way to have fun and cool off on a hot day!

Sunny Day Activities 

These outdoor activities are ideal on hot, sunny days.

Make use of the sun’s rays to learn and have fun!

17) Have a spray bottle battle-Need to cool off fast on a hot, sunny day?

Grab a couple spray bottles and have a battle with your kids.

I guarantee they will love it and you will all feel a lot cooler soon!

18) Have a water balloon fight-All is fair in love and…water balloon fights, right?!

I have so many memories of these fun soaking battles when I was a child.

Make some memories with your kids, too.

19) Make an ice sensory bin-Put ice in a big container for you and your kids to play with on a hot summer day.

It will be a lot cooler experience than playing with sand, water or dried beans.

20) Make sun prints-Gather leaves, sticks and other items from nature t to make beautiful sun prints with your kids.

Check out the tutorial on this post. They explain it better than I can.

21) Melt toys frozen in ice-I did this activity with our kids last week.

We filled a container with water, put some small toys in the water, put the lid on the container and put the container in the freezer overnight.

The next day, we dumped the solid mass of ice on the sidewalk.

The kids experimented with different utensils and methods to get the toys out of the ice. Of course, the best method was just to wait until the sun melted it.

22) Paint with colored ice-Drop some food coloring into the water in the ice tray before you pop it into the freezer.

A few hours later, you will have a cheap, fun and easy activity to do with your children outside or to keep your children busy while you finish up work elsewhere.

Check out this post for more about colored ice cubes.

23) Paint with frozen sidewalk chalk- This article has a great tutorial on making frozen sidewalk chalk.

It can be used to paint all kinds of colorful designs on pavement.

24) Trace shadows-Trace the shadows of your kids with sidewalk chalk on the pavement during the morning and the afternoon.

Compare the shadow tracings and ask your kids how they are alike and different.

Ask them why they think they are different.

Check out these kids tracing shadows of toys in this video.

 

Yummy Activities

Let’s talk about edible summer activities you can do with kids.

Hot dogs, ice cream, snow cones, watermelon, tomatoes, corn on the cob, lemonade….

The list goes on and on of food that is so yummy in the summer!

Experience these tasty treats with your kids today!

25) Eat a snow cone-What is summer without one of these? Yum!

You can even make your own at home with a snow cone making machine.

26) Eat corn on the cob-Buy a dozen of these when you visit the farmer’s market.

Eat them with butter for another amazing summer taste!

27) Have a watermelon seed spitting contest-I personally don’t care for watermelon, but I have participated in a watermelon seed spitting contest with my grandma.

She loved spitting these seeds while eating this juicy fruit in the summer.

28) Make homemade ice cream-This is a great treat to eat at birthday parties.

On my birthday, my parents would make a batch of Oreo ice cream in the ice cream maker.

29) Make lemonade from scratch-Lemons, water and sugar! Three ingredients that make a sublime beverage on a hot day!

30) Make popsicles-Our son loves to watch this on YouTube.

So, we had to try making these rainbow popsicles with the juice of different colored fruit. Scrumptious!

 

31) Make s’mores over a camp fire-Graham crackers, melted chocolate, and gooey marshmallows are a delicious combination whether you are able to make them over a camp fire or not.

32) Pick and eat berries-If you don’t have your own berry trees or patch, look online to see if there is a place near you where you can go pick some to buy.

What a fun and tasty experience for your whole family!

Try These Activities Today

If you haven’t tried any of these summer activities to do with kids yet this summer, you need to start today.

Most of them are free and simple. The best part is that your kids will enjoy doing them with you.

Leave a comment below and let me know what summer activities you like to do with your kids.

What summer activities do you remember from when you were a child?

If you try any of the activities suggested in this article, let me know how it went.

Have a wonderful summer!

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