Stop Boredom in its Tracks

Summer has just begun, and a long summer of possibilities stretches in front of your kids. For now. Unfortunately, there will be days, sometimes even weeks, when kids grow bored during the summer months. While you likely have some time before that happens it’s better to be prepared now. We’re helping you out with this list of fun summer activities for your kids to do this summer!

~ Have a campfire with your kids. Cook hotdogs over the flames, make s’mores, and tell ghost stories. You don’t need to go camping to indulge in a bonfire!

~ Host a cookout for your children’s friends. Invite everyone over and cook some hamburgers, hotdogs, roasted corn, and whatever else your kids like. Pull out some yard games for a great party.

~ Take kids on a picnic. Do it up right; the basket, the blanket, and the classic picnic foods (sandwiches, chips, watermelon, pasta salad, lemonade, etc).

~ Go stargazing. You’ll want to get away from city lights for this one. For an extra treat, go during a meteor shower.

~ Go fishing. You may be surprised how much kids love it! If kids aren’t quite patient enough to simply sit and wait, have them invite friends to talk to or bring a book.

~ Take kids berry picking. It’s strawberry season right now, in fact. They can see where their food comes from and pick a delicious treat!

~ Spend a day on the water. Take a boat right or swim in the ocean. Summer is a great time for being around water.

~ Have a baking day. Bake cookies, pies, cakes…whatever you want. Encourage kids to challenge themselves to something difficult.

~ Go to a national park to explore the natural beauty of this planet. Take kids camping, or go for the day to hike.

~ Hold a rummage sale and encourage kids to choose items they want to sell. Let them keep the profit, which they can save or use on a fun treat.

~ Visit county fairs and local festivals. Admission itself is often free, and there’s tons of great activities for kids. Games, rides, food, music…festivals really have it all!

~ Take kids to a farm. They’ll get to see where food comes from, meet the animals, and maybe will even be allowed to help out.

~ Start a garden. It can be large or small. Ask your kids what they want to grow. It may be flowers or vegetables that you can eat come harvest time!

There’s so much you and your kids can do during the summer months. This list doesn’t even account for a fraction of the things you can do over the summer. Give this list a try, and if you finish it a Google search will give you hundreds if not thousands of additional ideas. 

Creative Summer Activities

We’re right in the middle of summer, and some kids might be getting a bit bored. Or are you just looking for something more creative to do that your kids will be talking about for ages? We’ve compiled a list of ten creative activities you can do this summer that kids will love.  

1.       Put some time and energy into creating a box house with your kids. You can make all different sizes, and this house can be as easy or complex as you want. For the youngest kids, all you need is a large appliance box and a box cutter to make some windows and a door. If you want something bigger, you can make the frame and roof of the house with multiple boxes. Kids can help make it too! Let them draw where they want windows and doors, color on details such as window sills and curtains, and more!

2.       Be prepared for summer storms with a rainy day box. It’s really simple! Just fill a box with indoor things for rainy days. This way kids won’t default to watching TV shows and movies for the whole day. Great items to go into this box are board games, coloring books, craft kits, books, and more. Update the box after every rainy day with new items.

3.       Plenty of kids run a lemonade stand in summer. Why not try something different, such as a bake stand? Kids can bake a small variety of treats such as cupcakes and cookies, then set up a stand. They can even offer lemonade as well! This makes the stand a multiple day activity, with all of the baking.

4.       Another fun idea that really utilizes kid’s creativity is to have them roleplay. Most kids engage in roleplay activities with items such as play kitchens, but push it further. Make the roleplay fresh. Have kids do a super hero plot, with someone as the hero, villain, and victim! Kids can dress up, use household items as props, or even make props for the occasion. Some other creative options include witches/wizards, western, and medieval times!

5.       Make a nature scavenger hunt for your kids. All you have to do is type up some items then take your kids outside or to the park to find everything. Need some examples of things to have kids hunt for? Send them searching for items such as sticks, multiple types of leaves, something green, different sized rocks, and more!

6.       Help your kids create something magical by working on a fairy garden together. This project will likely take you a few days and requires some planning. First you’ll need to find the right section of yard or container for your garden. Next you will have to get ideas for the garden so you can gather supplies. What does your kid want? A pond? A cave? Once you gather the materials, all that’s left to do is put it all together. If you want a detailed tutorial there’s tons of them online.

7.       Create a water park in your backyard! Put together different water activities. Set up the sprinkler, fill the baby pool, lay out the slip n’ slide, as well as any additional things you can think of! You could set up a water balloon and water gun stand, or make it like a real water park with a section of lawn chairs for resting in the sun. If you want to get very creative, you could even set up a snack station outside to serve as the food court!  

8.       Another great indoor activity is a themed movie night. Choose one or two movies, both centered around a similar topic, and make an event of it! For example, what if you choose two movies about magic? Make some snacks such as wizard hat cupcakes, and have everyone make their own wands to bring for the evening. What about a movie about animals? Have everyone wear something with an animal on it, such as a T-shirt. Have a big container of animal crackers for snacks. There’s tons of options with this one!

9.       Have fun with chalk in a new way! Are your kids bored of chalk? Try to challenge them! Have them pick out an art piece they like and print a picture of it. Your child can then try to re-create it in chalk. This will be more difficult and will likely occupy kids for a while.

10.   Celebrate cooking in a new way with a mud kitchen outside. Give your child several pots and pans, as well as some dishes to play with. We recommend old ones you no longer plan to use. Then have kids mix up their own “meals” using items from outside. Fill jars with dirt and sand. If you have any empty spice containers, fill them with pebbles, small sticks, and torn up leaves. Now kids can mix up “food” without using any actual ingredients.

There you have it! These great ideas are sure to keep young ones entertained. Give them a try next time your kids are looking for something new to do.