Summer is almost here! Are you racking your brains to come up with unique ideas to keep the kids entertained all summer without spending a fortune?
Luckily, you don’t always have to pay for expensive summer camps or workshops with these simple and fun summer activities at home. Best of all, these activities are gadget-free and will keep your kids moving without draining your bank account.
Fun Summer Activities at Home: 15 Ways to Keep Kids Entertained This Summer
1. Picnic at the backyard
Pick a shaded area in your background and lay a thick blanket over the grass. Bring out the goods – sandwiches, hotdogs, fruit juices and chips. Bring out a speaker and play their favorite songs. It’s a great way to relax with the kids without having to do anything but talk.
2. Make homemade pizza
You can make the dough and let the kids pick their own toppings. If you have older kids around, they may even bake the pizza.
3. Swim in the inflatable pool
Beat the heat by taking out an inflatable pool and fill it up with water. Let the kids frolic and have fun while you prepare snacks. They’ll surely starve after that.
4. Camp-in movie marathon
Push back the furniture in your living room and pitch a tent in the center. Turn off the lights and play their favorite movie. Have some popcorn and enjoy your relaxing night in.
5. Doing puzzles
There’s always a puzzle for every kids’ age, and it’s easy to pick one that they’re interested in. Whether you let them do the puzzle by themselves, or you help them, this activity should keep them entertained and busy for a few hours.
6. Gardening
Gardening is a great way to get kids outdoors in the summer. Assign a flower bed or vegetable patch and let them dig into the soil, plant the seeds and water the plants. It’s also a good way to encourage them to eat their veggies.
7. Make your own ice cream
Nobody can resist ice cream on hot summer. But instead of buying ice cream for your kids, why not make one from home. There are easy to make ice cream recipes that call for simple ingredients. If you want to go a little fancier, consider topping with sprinkles and Oreo bits. Gather your kids’ playmates for an afternoon of ice cream date.
8. Make lemonade and have the kids sell it
This is another classic activity that many kids enjoy. Make fresh lemonade and set up a small table outside your home so that kids can sell it. It helps invoke their entrepreneurial spirit and further develop their expertise in math.
9. Treasure hunting
Whether you opt to do it inside your home or outdoors, kids are sure to have a blast uncovering treasures. Whip up a simple map and come up with a couple of riddles. Be sure to prepare a nice reward at the end.
10. Go on a bug hunt
Send the kids outdoors for a bug hunt. They’ll need a magnifying glass, glass container with a holed lid, and perhaps a book on bugs for their reference. This activity will allow kids to get to know the creepy crawlies first hand.
11. Kite flying
Show the kids how to make a kite and get them to fly it. Kite flying is a wonderful activity that teaches kids coordination and patience. Also, seeing those colorful kites against the clear blue sky is a sight to behold!
12. Rock painting
Have the kids collect rocks around the home or in your background. Give them some paint and brushes and let them paint to their heart’s content. You can use the finished products to decorate your flower beds, as an ornament in your home or as paper stoppers.
13. Cook dinner together
Engage the kids in dinner preparations and teach them the basics like chopping and washing vegetables. It’s also great to if you can bring the kids to the grocery or farmers’ market earlier to introduce to them the basics of budgeting. Depending on the kids’ age, they should be able to pitch in a task or two in dinner preparations.
14. Make a fort
Kids always love to play house, but a fort could be even better. Get some unused cardboards, blankets and other paraphernalia so that kids can build their own castles, whether inside or outside the home.
15. Canvas painting
Unleash the inner artists in your kids by giving them a bed sheet you no longer use (or pick one from a thrift store); some paints and brushes. Lay down the sheet on the lawn and let the kids paint the sheet as they like.
Whether you want some fun summer activities for preschoolers or older kids, the options are bountiful. Best of all, they’re often cheap, accessible and educational. These fun summer activities at home will not only keep the kids busy and learning at the same time, but it’ll also give them plenty of opportunities to bond with siblings, playmates and perhaps the entire family. So, make this summer the best season yet.
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