The Ultimate List of Screen Free Summer Activities For Kids At Home.
Summer break is just around the corner. I have been looking forward to summer for weeks! I just love having my kids home with me and I always look forward to a more relaxed schedule full of fun family activities. There are so many fun summer activities for kids, and we love to take advantage of all of them!
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Outdoor Summer Kids Activities
One of our favorite parts of summer is getting to spend more time outside. I love exploring the outdoors, especially with my sweet kids!
Picnic at The Park
Enjoy some time outdoors with a picnic at the park. We love going to a new park each week and getting to explore different areas of our city. We bring these Rate The Park sheets with us and my kids love critiquing each park we attend.
- Get your free Park Rating Sheet Here
Play Frisbee
Another fun summer activity is to play frisbee in the backyard. Make sure to also check your local parks to see if they have a frisbee golf course you could play at.
Run Through the Sprinkler
Set a sprinkler outside and let your kids run through it in their swim suits. I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to run through the sprinkler without having fun. There is just something about this simple activity that brightens up the day.
“Paint” with Water
Get out a bucket of water and an old paintbrush. Let your kids use the water and brush to “paint” the sidewalk, house and anything else they want. It’s so fun for them to watch the color change as they paint.
Go on a Walk
Get outside and get moving with a nice walk. We love to walk around our neighborhood or try out a few of the walking paths in our city. Make a family goal to walk 100 miles over the summer and celebrate with a treat once accomplished.
- You can print my free 100 Miles Challenge Printable here.
Picnic in Backyard
Move the meal outside with a simple backyard picnic. Lay a blanket down in the shade and eat dinner outdoors enjoying nature.
Draw With Sidewalk Chalk
Get out some sidewalk chalk and draw pictures on your driveway. You could draw a hopscotch course or a road for your bikes to travel through. My kids also really love when I trace their bodies on the sidewalk and then let them color in their clothes and faces.
Draw on Sidewalk With Ice Cubes
Don’t have any side walk chalk? Draw with ice cubes instead! They will melt on the hot pavement as you are drawing your picture.
Go On A Bike Ride
One of my favorite summer activities is to go on a bike ride together. Get your family outside for a fun family bike ride. Make sure to log your bike miles on your 100 Miles Challenge printable.
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Give your kids a paper bag and a list of items to find out in nature. This might be a rock, pine cone, dandelion, etc. Have them go outside and collect their findings in their bag. When they get back let everyone show each other their new treasures. Such a fun way to get kids outside exploring.
Go On A Hike
Take your kids on an easy hike. Make sure everyone finds a hiking stick! Hiking sticks are always a necessity for our kids!
Plant A Garden
Work together with your kids to plant a garden together. They will be so proud when they harvest their veggies.
Jump On The Trampoline With Water Balloons
Another fun and cheap outdoor summer activity is to fill up a few water balloons with water and put them on the trampoline. The kids love jumping with them and the surprise of when they pop and spray out water.
Play Catch
Get out a ball and play catch together as a family. Try to see how many times you can catch the ball without letting it drop.
Blow Bubbles
How about having fun blowing bubbles together. You could try to see who can make the biggest bubble!
Go Geocaching
Have you ever been geocaching? Geocaching is a game similar to a treasure hunt. Community members hide geocaches in parts of the city and then give clues to help you and your family find it. You can learn more about it here. Each geocache contains little toys and trinkets. It’s such a fun way to explore new places, and the kids love finding the treasure!
Play Night Games With Flash Lights
Invite a group of friends over to play night games together. Our favorites to play are Ghost In The Graveyard and Kick The Can.
Catch Bugs
Kids love to catch bugs during the summertime! We usually keep them in a jar for an hour to watch and observe and then set them free again. One of the fun parts of catching bugs is to research them. It’s fun to find out information about each but, like what they like to eat, and teach these facts to your kids.
Star Gaze
Stay up late one night so you can watch the stars. Show your kids a few of the constellations and try to find a shooting star. Download a free star finder app to help you learn the constellations together.
Make a Fairy Garden
Use your creativity and put together a Fairy Garden in your back yard. Build a mini house out of twigs and decorate with twigs and flowers. We did this a few years ago and it was such a fun summer activity!
Give The Bikes a Wash
Set up a car wash, but for the bikes! All you need is a hose, some rags, a few buckets of soapy water and your bike wash is ready! Kids love giving each of the bikes a good wash while playing in the water.
Play Jump Rope
Get out a few jump ropes to play with. Try to see how many times you can jump over the rope before it stops or play a few games like Double Dutch.
Make An Obstacle Course
Use your backyard to make an obstacle course for your kids. Your obstacle course might include having the kids walk across a “balance beam” (a piece of wood or jump rope work great), run around all the cones (or chairs), jump on the trampoline three times, and then throw a ball. Use your imagination and get creative while setting it up. Use a timer to see how fast they can get through the course.
After the kids run through the obstacle course, let them set one up for you to try!
Set up a Lemonade Stand
Mix up some lemonade and sell it in front of your home. This is a fun way to socialize with the neighbors and help the kids learn about money.
Make a Nature Journal
Start a Nature Journal. This will be a place to save some of the fun things you find outside, draw pictures of the places you visit and write all about what you love about nature.
Indoor Summer Activities
Looking for a few fun summer activities that can be done indoors? Try one of these suggestions!
Make Play Dough
Whip up some homemade play dough for your kids to enjoy. This play dough recipe is so quick and easy (seriously failproof!). Or, if you want to try something different check out this Peanut Butter Play Dough recipe (it’s my kids favorite!).
Try A Science Experiment
Science experiments are always a fun summer activity for kids! We love this Magic Toothpick Experiment. It’s super quick and mess free (just the way this mamma likes it!)
Bake Cookies
Spend a few hours in the kitchen together baking your favorite cookies. We personally love chocolate chip cookies! This is also a great way to help kids learn how to read a recipe and measure ingredients.
- Need new recipes? Try Mel’s Home Cooking recipe ebook!
Make Up A Play
Encourage your kids to make up a play that they can perform. Set up a little stage area to help them feel official. Invite over a few grandparents to watch the big performance!
Build A Fort
Get out some blankets and build a big fort. You can drape them over the kitchen table or a few chairs. Once your fort is built you can cuddle up and read books together or watch a movie!
Make A Dream Catcher
If your kids enjoy crafting, make a dream catcher together. It’s a great craft for older kids who are able to sit still. I love this tutorial for making a dream catcher out of a paper plate, a perfect craft activity for kids!
Make Slime
Slime is all the rage in the kid crowd. It only requires a few ingredients and brings hours of fun play. Here’s a super easy slime recipe.
Play Hide-and-Seek or Sardines
Play a few family friendly games in the house. We love Hide And Seek or Sardines! For a fun change turn off all of the lights and play in the dark using flashlights!
Color Hot Rocks
Try out our favorite twist on painting rocks. All you need is a rock and some crayons! Find the tutorial here.
Write Letters To Friends or Family
Everyone loves to get an old fashioned letter in the mail, or at least I do! Spend an afternoon writing letters for friends or family.
Play Board Games
My daughters and I love spending an afternoon playing board games together. It’s such a fun way to pass the time and enjoy some friendly competition.
- Related: 20 Family Board Games, all Under $20
Make A Summer Scrapbook
Put together a summer scrapbook of your favorite summer memories. Include pictures and any special events.
Sing Karaoke
Find free karaoke songs on YouTube and have an old fashioned karaoke party. Here’s a highly rated karaoke machine your kids will love!
Make A Nature Bookmark
Preserve flowers you find on your nature walk by turn them into a Nature Bookmark.
Fold Origami
Learn how to fold origami. There are many easy tutorials on YouTube. I would start with a frog, they are my favorite!
Put On A Puppet Show
Make puppets out of brown paper bags and put on a puppet show for each other.
Make Homemade Butter
Teach your kids about life on the prairie by making homemade butter together. All you need is some cream and a jar! After you make the butter you can enjoy it on a piece of bread, so yummy!!!
Indoor Treasure Hunt
Put together a simple indoor treasure hunt for your kids to go on. You can hide different items around the house with clues to find each one. Don’t forget to leave a fun surprise treasure at the end!
Go To The Library
Visit your local library for a fun day out. We always set a goal to read 50 books in a summer, the library is the perfect place to get to that goal! Many libraries will offer summer reading program for the family, complete with prizes and activities.
- Related: 10 Free Things At The Library
Play Dress-Up
Get out a few dress up clothes for your kids to play with. See who can dress up in the funniest outfit. If you don’t have any dress up clothes, you could let them dress up in some of your clothing.
Have A Dance Party
Turn on some music and have a dance party in your living room! I have a playlist on my phone with all of our favorite dance tunes, it’s so fun and a great way to cut loose.
Put Together A Puzzle
Spend the day doing a puzzle together. It’s so relaxing and a great way to bring out some conversation. We love Eric Dowdle Puzzles!
Make Ice Cream In A Bag
Make homemade ice cream in a bag. It’s really easy to do and the perfect activity for a hot summers day!
Have An Impromptu Photo Shoot
Get dressed up and have an impromptu photo shoot. Let your kids choose the poses and locations. It’s always so fun to see what they come up with!
Learn Magic Tricks
Look up a few magic tricks on YouTube. Once you have a few tricks learned, put on a magic show for each other!
In Conclusion
There are so many fun kids summer activities out there, and many of them won’t cost you any money at all. Kids grow to fast! I hope you will use summer time as a way to reconnect and build lasting memories.
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Hi Mel, Unfortunately my children are grown up but I have 2 granddaughters in Nelson but I love on Vancouver Island. I love just going to a park and watch the kids play and mingle.
Parks are the best!