Ultimate List of Summer Fun Ideas For Kids

Ideas to help you and your child enjoy and enjoy their summer holidays in the city.

Whether you’re working from home, in the office, or staying at home with the kids, you need to come up with fun activities for the kids to keep them entertained during the summer holidays. Otherwise, children will spend all their free time on the computer or TV, and this will have a bad effect on their physical and mental health.

Today we’re going to look at activities that will help your kids overcome summer boredom. You, too, can enjoy these activities. So join!

You might want to try all the activities on the list. Or maybe you pick a few things you love to do and focus on them. Either way, you’ll have fun and have great memories. The main thing is not to rush and enjoy the summer days with the whole family.

Enjoy nature

You can devote long summer days to exploring the natural world. Don’t forget hats and sunscreen.

• Watch the birds. Take pictures of them and keep a diary of observations. Look up the names of the birds you see in books or on the Internet.
• Grow plants at home. Use flowerpots, plastic containers, or even coffee cans for this. Place your miniature garden on a windowsill.
• Gaze at the clouds. Lay a blanket on the grass, lie on it and look at the sky. Talk to your child about what clouds look like.
• Make bird feeders. Watch the birds that come to the feeder and record your observations in a diary.
• Make a house from improvised materials. Use moss, bark, leaves, etc. Make a house out of them for Thumbelina or another fairy tale character.
• Gather berries. Walk in the forest and look for places where raspberries or blueberries grow. And start collecting.

Make the most of rainy days

When rainy weather forces you to stay at home in the summer, you can have fun too.

• Browse your favorite movies or series. Host a movie night with popcorn.
• Build a castle out of blankets. Use chairs, pillows, cardboard boxes and other handy items.
• Build a Lego castle. Clear the table to lay out the details of the designer. Build the castle with the whole family.
• Set up camp at home. If there is no way to pitch a tent in the yard, spread sleeping bags on the floor and have a family party.
• Experiment with hairstyles. Braid your hair, try new hairstyles, use gel, etc.
• Learn the art of origami. Create funny figurines, present them to friends or family.
• Treat yourself and your child to breakfast in bed. Take turns serving breakfast with your child and having breakfast in bed.
• Create a time capsule. Invite each family member to write a letter and put a special item in the time capsule. Agree on when you will open the capsule – it could be New Year’s Eve or the day your child graduates from school.
• Make paper airplanes. Compete, whose plane will fly the farthest.
• Play card games with the whole family. You can just play the “fool” or master poker or some other card game. You can also buy a board game for the whole family.
• Rearrange the furniture in the apartment. Give your child graph paper and ask them to draw a plan for the new furniture arrangement.
• Come up with a project for the house and implement it. This can be a general cleaning in the garage, redecorating, etc. Let the child help you.

Check out local attractions

Summer is perfect for walking and relaxing in nature. If you have friends or relatives visiting, show them what’s interesting in your area.

• Go for lunch at cafes that are close to your house. Let your child order fast food or a milkshake.
• Go to concerts or just listen to street musicians. Enjoy music with the whole family.
• Go to flea markets. Let the child choose something for themselves and bargain with the seller.
• Go to an amusement park. At least once, allow both yourself and your child to eat something “bad”, such as cotton candy or a hot dog.
• Have a picnic in the local park.
• Take your child to the theater. Whether you’re watching a puppet show or a serious piece of drama, enjoy watching.
• Go to the cinema for a morning show. In the summer you will have more time for this.
• Take your garden gnome for walks. Repeat the plot of the movie “Amelie”: take a picture of the gnome in every place you visit. Make a photo album at the end of summer.
• Take a day trip to a nearby town. See all sights.
• Take part in a city run or sports competition. Such sports events are often held in honor of holidays (for example, in honor of City Day). Everyone can take part in them. Get involved with the whole family.
• Visit the museum located in an old building. Learn about the things people used to live without a few centuries ago.

Find food for the brain

Summer is not just about fun. Even when a child does not go to school, there are many ways to develop his mind.

• Playing puzzle games together can help with this.
• Solve riddles with your child. You can also come up with your own puzzles together.
• Read with your child the entire list of books for the summer and complete school assignments. This may not be the most pleasant experience, but you will be happy when together you can complete the entire list of tasks to the end.
• Collect puzzles with your child. You can arrange a competition – who will collect his puzzle faster.
• Get an interview with grandma or grandpa about her or his life. Write your family history together.
• Together with your child, learn something new: juggle, play the harmonica or sew.
• Show your child that science can be fun. Show him entertaining scientific experiments.
• Draw a comic book. You can do this together or give each family member a separate piece of work.
• Keep a diary and make daily notes. Have your child do the same. At the end of summer, share the highlights of summer with each other.

Get creative

Summer is the perfect time for creative activities. Try the following ideas:

• Collect and color stones. You can use them as garden decorations or souvenirs.
• Make summer graffiti. Spread out a large piece of paper and make some graffiti with your family. Make drawings, add your summer photos to them. Add details to your graffiti all summer long. In the last days of summer, throw a party to open your work of art.
• Draw on asphalt. Use crayons for this, or make your own paint using cornstarch, vinegar, and food coloring.
• Draw. Get a sketchbook and sketch in it every day. Give your child the same album. At the end of summer, show each other your drawings.
• Have a summer photo session. You can choose an urban location for this or get out into nature. If your child knows how to work in photo editors, offer him to process the photo.
• Create music. Play musical instruments or create your own from scratch. If you want, record your musical compositions.
• Make figurines out of plasticine. This activity is suitable for little kids.
• Dry summer flowers. You can make a herbarium or use flowers for appliqué.
• Write and play a play. Write a script, design costumes, or just improvise.
• Weave from beads. You can make a simple bracelet or a whole work of art with your child. It all depends on your patience.

Spend time outdoors

All you need is some space and sunshine for activities that will keep the kids active.

• Build an obstacle course in your yard. Let your child imagine that he is a ninja who easily overcomes any obstacles. Record the time for which the child will pass all the obstacles. Let him set new records.
• Climb trees with your child. Only do this if the child is old enough to do it.
• Fly a kite. Make it yourself or buy it from a toy store. Find an open area where you can launch your kite.
• Go fishing with your child. Take fishing rods and teach your child how to fish. The first catch will delight him.
• Have a competition to see who can blow the biggest gum bubble.
• Arrange a shootout with water pistols.
• Have a competition to see who can spin the hula hoop the longest.
• Compete in jumping rope. Learn a few counting rhymes that will set the correct rhythm.
• Explore nearby parks and find out what activities are available there.
• Ride on a catamaran. If your city has a body of water, spend some time on the water.
• Play badminton with a balloon. Take rackets, and use a balloon instead of a shuttlecock. This game can be played both indoors and outdoors.
• Play outside when it rains. Enjoy the smell of wet asphalt. Run through puddles, build a castle out of wet earth or sand.
• Throw a frisbee and play other outdoor games. You can host your own Olympic Games.
• Host a family badminton competition.
• Go for a walk. Choose a route near your home or take a walk to a distant park.
• Ride your bike. Get a route on the bike paths or take a bike ride out of town.
• Teach your child to throw rocks in the water. Arrange a competition whose stone bounces more times on the surface of the water.

Have some fun in the evening

Stock up on mosquito spray and spend the evening outdoors.

• If you live in a private house, put up a tent in the yard. Take sleeping bags and spend the night outdoors.
• Catch fireflies. Or just watch them glow in the dark.
• Get out into nature with an overnight stay. Every child should experience this adventure at least once in their life.
• Light a fire. Fry marshmallows or slices of bread on it.
• Hold an outdoor movie screening in your backyard. Take a laptop and a projector, and use a white sheet instead of a screen. Take sleeping bags, stock up on popcorn and enjoy the view.
• Listen to audiobooks outdoors. On the Internet you can find books for every taste – both classic and modern books.
• Gaze at the stars. Gather your friends and have a party under the stars.

Spend time with friends

Summer is a great time to meet relatives or friends whom the child has not seen for a long time.

• Bake cookies for grandma and grandpa. Put it in a nice box and write a note.
• Set up a quest. You won’t need much effort to do this. For example, you can come up with a list of things for the child to photograph in the city at a certain time (a flower, a trolleybus, something red, etc.).
• Spend a reverse day. Let the child wear clothes backwards, have dessert for breakfast and soup for dinner, walk backwards, etc.
• Have an evening of board games.
• Invite your child’s friends to a sleepover. Let them stay up late, watch movies, play games and have fun.
• Encourage your child to go to the playground or pool with friends. Teach your child to do this regularly to strengthen the friendship between them.
• If grandparents live in another city, call them on Skype with the whole family. Tell me about how your summer is going.

Cook food together

In summer, children have more free time. You can take advantage of this and teach your child how to cook.

• Bake pizza with your child. The child will like to choose the ingredients for the filling himself. At first, you can give your child simple tasks: wash mushrooms, grate cheese, cut vegetables, etc.
• Let your child prepare dinner for the whole family. If the child is still small, look after him. Teenagers can already do it on their own.
• Make lemonade or iced tea to keep yourself and your kid fresh in hot weather.
• Make ice cream at home.
• Teach your child how to cook his favorite dessert. Let him add any ingredient of his choice.