10 Fun Summer Activities to Enjoy With Your Kids

Are you dealing with bored kids lounging around the house complaining they have nothing to do? Then pull out some fun summer activities to keep your kids entertained and on the move for summer! Plus, these activities are a great way to reconnect with your kids.

Give your children the gift of a memorable summer with simple and fun activities. You don’t need to spend a fortune or travel all over the country to have a fabulous summer with your family.

1. Host a Field Day

Invite a bunch of your friends over to your house and host a field day. The idea behind a field day is that you have a series of fun competitions that people of all ages can enjoy.

Your friends and family can join as many or as few competitions as they desire. Anyone who’s not competing can cheer on the contestants.

Head to a dollar store to pick up some fun prizes or make ribbons at home to give to the winners.

Here are a few ideas for fun competitions:

Potato sack races
Carry an egg on a spoon relay
Bobbing for apples
Tie dying
Wheelbarrow races
Create a designer homemade ice cream

2. Fun Summer Activity: Go Fishing

Have your children ever gone fishing? It’s a fun summer activity that’s a great way to spend time together even if you don’t have fish.

Pick up a couple of fishing rods and fishing licenses for older kids or adults, and head to your local lake. You can set up on a dock or head out onto the water with a rowboat or canoe.

Catching a fish for dinner is great! Even better is the quiet time spent in each other’s company.

3. Be a Tourist at Home

How many of the local sites and events have you gone to see?

Most areas have historical places, museums, and activities for tourists, but most locals have never taken the opportunity to check the places out. I know for myself they’re places I’d like to go someday. But someday has yet to arrive.

So instead of traveling across the country, grab your kids and head to your local tourist sites. You’ll learn more about your area, see new places, and enjoy a vacation without the expense of hotels and car rentals!

4. Go Hiking With Friends as a Fun Summer Activity

Spend the summer checking out the hiking trails within a day’s driving of your home. You can make this a daily affair or hike one afternoon a week.

Your kids will love hiking every Friday afternoon, especially if you invite a few friends to join you on the trails.

If you haven’t gone hiking in a while, start with the shorter trails at the beginning of summer. Hiking regularly will prepare you to hit the challenging trails in August.

So pull out a map of all the hiking trails in your area, choose a day, and start hiking!

5. Make Homemade Ice Cream

A fun activity to enjoy during the summer is making homemade ice cream. There’s nothing as good as a cold treat on a hot summer day. And making ice cream is an activity your kids will be begging to do again!

While you can pick up an ice cream maker, you can also make ice cream in plastic bags. Pick up the supplies and a variety of flavors.

Then let your kids put together their ice cream and knead the flavors into a tasty treat to enjoy in the yard.

Don’t be surprised if all the neighborhood kids pop by to taste-test your ice cream!

6. Picnic at the Park

When was the last time you enjoyed a simple picnic at the park? It’s been a while, hasn’t it! So make a point of taking your kids for a picnic at the park on a regular basis.

Make sandwiches or pick up some fried chicken. Toss some chips and drinks into the basket as well. You’ll also want to include a blanket to lay on the ground.

Then head to your favorite park and spend a lazy summer afternoon enjoying a picnic while your children run around, play, and eat their lunch.

7. Host a Bonfire Party

Set up a bonfire in your yard and host a bonfire party! Have everyone bring chairs and a potluck dish while you roast hot dogs and make smores.

Be sure to have a large selection of long straight sticks to use for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.

Kids and adults alike will love gathering around the fire, chatting, and enjoying treats with family and friends.

8. Head Out to Local U Picks

Summer is the season to head outside and pick berries, fruits, and vegetables with your children. Often our kids only see food sold inside grocery stores and don’t realize that the supermarket is only the last step of the process.

So head out of your neighborhood and take your kids out to the country to a local U pick.

If your kids are anything like mine, they’ll start munching on the produce the minute you get into the car. I try to reserve some, especially some of the berries, to freeze or make jams for the winter.

There’s nothing like spreading homemade strawberry jam on your toast on a cold winter morning!

9. Water Balloon Fight

Fill a kiddie pool with water balloons, set up a sprinkler, and invite all the kids you know for a water balloon fight.

Kids will run all over the yard throwing water balloons at each other, screaming, and jumping through the sprinkler.

It’s the perfect activity for a hot summer day! And your kids will be talking about the excitement for years to come.

10. Backyard Camping

Go backyard camping instead of fighting for a spot at a campground.

You can set up tents in your backyard, roast marshmallows over a campfire, and tell spooky stories when the sun goes down.

Another option is to skip the tents and spread sleeping bags on the grass instead. Then lay down, watch the stars, and see how many constellations you can find.

If the kids have trouble sleeping, suggest they try counting the stars!

Fun Summer Activities

A summer at home shouldn’t mean that the kids sit around the house twiddling their thumbs all day, waiting for fall and school activities to arrive.

Instead, think about what type of summer you’d like your kids to enjoy this year. Ask them to help you brainstorm a few activities.

You and your family will enjoy a fabulous summer at home while making beautiful memories of time spent together.

Author
Recent Posts

Sara Dennis

Sara Dennis is a veteran homeschool mom of six. She's still homeschooling her younger two kids after the older four kids have graduated, entered college, and moved on to adult life. In her free time, she blogs at Classically Homeschooling.