We’re in the throes of summer and whether you signed your kids up for summer camps or not, they’re home for the next few months. It can be tough to balance any kind of schedule and come up with ways to keep them active during the hot summer months and away from screens. As a pediatric chiropractor, we see a lot of stressed moms trying to figure out what the best activities are to do with their little ones for the summer. We did the research so you don’t have to – here are 99 activities to do with your kids this summer to keep them having a blast and minimizing their time in front of screens:
Summer Activities
1. Make a collage
2. Sew something with fabric
3. Create a giant paper airplane
4. Play dress up
5. Do a random act of kindness for a family member
6. Turn on music and have a dance party
7. Stack cups and knock them down
9. Tell or write a story
10. Make sock puppets
11. Write a poem
12. Have a sleepover with your friends or family
13. Record a video
14. Play farm
15. Paint with sponges
16. Build a structure with playing cards
17. Use craft supplies to create animals
18. Draw a picture of a person and give it to them
19. Cut out paper snowflakes
20. Play school
21. Put on a puppet show
22. Play zoo
23. Make something with pipe cleaners
24. Make bookmarks and hide them in library books
25. Play 20 questions
26. Create something from a large box
27. Design your own board game and play it
28. Build with blocks
29. Create an art gallery featuring your artwork
30. Read a book
31. Read a magazine
32. Create a secret code
33. Play with Legos
34. Make popsicles
35. Cook a meal
36. Leave friendly notes or gifts in neighbor’s mailboxes
37. Do a blind taste test of different foods or drinks
38. Solve a crossword puzzle
39. Make an eruption with baking soda and vinegar
40. Create and bury a time capsule
41. Paint rocks and hide them around town
42. Put a puzzle together
43. Make shadow puppets
44. Line up dominos and watch them fall
45. Play with shaving cream and food coloring
46. Create a sculpture from recycled materials
47. Play string games (Cats in the Cradle)
48. Build a fort with couch cushions
49. Create a design with popsicle sticks and glue
50. Bake Brownies
51. Make nice cream with frozen bananas
52. Make play dough sculptures
53. Make slime
54. Make a necklace out of beads or pasta
55. Write down your dreams in a journal first thing in the morning
56. Choreograph a dance
57. Plan and perform a play
58. Play a card game
59. Play a board game
60. Have paper airplane races
61. Create an indoor obstacle course
62. Plan an indoor scavenger hunt
63. Write letters to family or friends
64. Design cards for your friends
65. Make your own play dough
66. Build a mini-fort for your dolls or superheroes with sticks
67. Start a garden
68. Have an outdoor (or indoor) picnic
69. Go for a walk or hike
70. Have fun geocaching
71. Gather frogs, lizards, butterflies or other bugs (and then set them free)
72. Try to identify bird songs
73. Have a water balloon fight (with eco-friendly balloons)
74. Go camping
75. Go fishing
76. Set up sprinklers and a slip and slide
77. Climb a tree
78. Play an outdoor sport
79. Ride bikes
80. Kayak or Canoe
81. Hide and seek
82. Berry picking
83. Visit a park
84. Chalk art
85. Finger painting or watercolors
86. Create jewelry with beads
87. Make your own friendship bracelets
88. Learn to sew
89. Learn photography
90. Make a Clay Sculpture
91. Make something cool out of a stack of Amazon boxes
92. Make things from the recycling
93. Draw things you see outside.
94. Play with bubbles
95. Play capture the flag
96. Play red light / green light
97. Play hopscotch
98. Play Freeze Tag
99. Play Charades
While it’s possible not all of these activities are accessible for you and your little ones, we think that this list is a great foundation to get you started with ideas to keep your little ones active and having fun over the next few months of summer.
Don’t forget to keep your kids in alignment after all these fun activities by taking them to your pediatric chiropractor!
