Fun Summer Activities for Kids Using Things From Your Home
Who doesn’t love summer?
Sunshine. Warm temps. Endless days of play and fun.
But the joy of summer can quickly come crashing down when kids realize they’re left on their own to figure out what to do.
Sure, they’re ecstatic that school’s out. Their minds are full of ideas to enjoy their time off.
Until they exhaust all of their summer ideas in exactly 2.3 hours. Then what?
Help keep the joy of summer alive by planning summer activities for kids.
This doesn’t have to be extravagant or expensive. In fact, you can plan killer summer activities for kids using things you already have at home.
Keep them busy. Keep them entertained. Keep your sanity.
Water Play, All Day
Water games are the go-to summer activity for kids of all ages. And for good reason!
Summer is hot. Water activities let kids beat the heat while having a blast.
When thinking about your summer activities for kids, water games are a must. You should be doing water games daily, if possible. A couple of times a week at the bare minimum.
The best part? Water games have easy set-up and clean-up. You can get them going in a snap.
Try out these water play activities to keep them smiling all day long.
Water relay
An oldie but a goodie. This can be done solo or with a group.
Fill a container with water at the starting line and place an empty container at the finish.
Then, poke holes in a cup.
Objective: use the cup to move the water from the start to the finish.
You can jazz this up to use the same game in different ways:
- Make it a relay by passing the cup.
- Have a race between teams or one-on-one.
- Beat the clock!
- Set up obstacles to go through.
A few simple items and some water. You’ve got the ticket to endless summer fun.
Water sports
Soccer. Basketball. Kickball. Volleyball. Baseball. Tennis.
ANY sport can be upgraded to include water play.
- Swap out the ball for a water balloon.
- Change the bases to kiddie pools or buckets of water.
- Add a sprinkler to the field.
Ramp up the usual sports and make a splash with water fun.
Back to basics
Water play can be some of the simplest summer activities for kids. You don’t need tons of extra equipment. You barely even need to plan. Just let them get wet.
Here are a few more activities sure to bring a wet smile to all kids’ faces:
- Run through a sprinkler
- Water guns
- Water balloons
- Play with the hose
- Pour water from different-sized containers
- Make rainbow water using food dye
- Build a water slide
- Use the sprinkler under a trampoline
- Play water tag
Get wet. Have fun. Keep loving summer.
Fun With Food
Have you ever noticed that during the school year, kids are happy to eat three meals and one snack? Then as soon as summer rolls around, they need six meals and 148 snacks a day.
How can you keep up?!
Answer: food fun.
Some of the best summer activities for kids bring in food to keep them energized and entertained. And the best part – you can regain control of their eating. All without causing a meltdown.
Try bringing some fun to your food this summer.
Homemade popsicles
Talk about a double-whammy. Summer’s known for sweet, delicious fruits. Take full advantage of fruit season by using fresh fruits to make tasty treats.
Popsicles give your kids the chance to be creative. Let them choose which fruits they want to include. Then toss them in whole, juice, mash, puree – whatever their little hearts desire.
And who doesn’t love a frozen treat to help beat the summer heat? Definitely add popsicles to your summer menu.
Summer Picnic
There’s just something about eating outside. With or without a special menu, picnics are one of the classic summer activities for kids.
- Pasta salad
- Sandwiches
- Chips
- Fruit salad
- Meats and cheeses
- Sweet treats
Or bring a little variety to your menu with options like:
- Hummus
- Couscous salad
- Veggie wraps
- Guacamole and chips
- Turkey pinwheels
Grab a blanket. Ice down the drinks. Take whatever's on the menu.
And hit the great outdoors.
Themed menus
Another common summer activity for kids is summer camp. Whether or not you send your kiddo to summer camp, you can still enjoy the fun of camp at home.
One way to enjoy summer camp at home is through fun themes. Choose a theme that fits your kids’ interests and build activities and food ideas around the theme.
Here are some fun summer camp themes to get your creative juices flowing. Use these themes to create a show-stopping menu.
- Dinosaur camp
- Olympics camp
- Unicorn camp
- Nature camp
- Space camp
- Science/STEM camp
- Culture camp
- Star Wars camp
- Princess camp
The food possibilities are endless!
Get your kids involved with menu planning. Let them come up with ideas on what the characters in your theme would eat. Then shop, prep, cook, and enjoy together.
Help your kids enjoy the taste of summer. Get them excited with fun food ideas.
Outdoor Fun
Take full advantage of warmer temps and sunshine by spending the days – and nights – outside. Whether you’ve got a little space or a lot, these outdoor ideas can be adjusted to fit your family’s lifestyle.
Outdoor obstacle course
Kids of all ages love a good challenge. And one of the most fun summer activities for kids is a challenging obstacle course.
Use whatever you’ve got on hand. Jump ropes, hula hoops, and cones make great obstacles.
Don’t have any of the traditional equipment? Time to get creative. Try finding old tires, belts, ties, or boxes.
You can get as creative as you want. There’s never a need to buy extra stuff to make an obstacle course. You can always find something if you think outside of the box.
Outdoor camping
Not planning on visiting the campground this year? Great – bring the campground to you!
Set up a tent outside and let your kids pretend they’re out in the wilderness.
No tent? No problem. A sheet and some chairs will work just fine.
Once the shelter’s up, it’s time for camping favorites.
- Set up a DIY fishing pond
- Go on a nature hike
- Try out bird-watching
- Build a campfire
- Roast marshmallows and make s’mores
- Enjoy stargazing
- Tell scary stories by flashlight
Bring all the fun of camping to your very own backyard.
Stuck inside on a rainy day? Camping activities are great indoors, too!
