Must Do Summer Activities for Little Kids
Looking for some fun ideas to keep you and your little kids busy and learning this summer while it’s super hot and sweaty outside? Haha! Check out this big list of fun ideas! :)
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Chalk is a classic! It’s great on the sidewalk, it’s great on black paper, and it’s so cheap and easy to clean up too. Drawing and coloring with chalk is a great way to practice fine motor skills and express creativity.
THIS BUCKET is our favorite kind currently, but you can usually grab some super inexpensive stuff from Target or Walmart too.
A Busy Box is a really engaging way for your little ones to play and learn about summer time! The printable activities in this box are for learning about summer and they fit perfectly into photo boxes to keep them all in one spot. They’re great for toddlers, preschoolers, and other young kids learning all about different things they’ll see during summer!
3. Water painting.
Grab some paintbrushes and water and let your kids go at it! They’ll just dunk their paintbrush in the water and paint on the sidewalk, bricks, rocks, or whatever other outdoor surface that they can find. Easy and fun!
4. Bubbles.
This might seem like an obvious one, but bubbles are such an easy way to play! I saw a tip that if you tape the bubble container to a wall or something stable outside, then your little ones can dunk the bubble wand in and blow bubbles by themselves without spilling the whole bottle. Genius! :)
You can turn any sensory bin into a learning activity by tossing in some cards and practicing a skill. Just fill a bin with beans, water beads, or summer mini erasers and then add in some cards to practice a skill like sorting, counting, or any other skill you might find a sensory bin activity for.
We love these summer sensory bins and these summer toddler centers
Speaking of water beads, have you tried playing with these yet?! Water beads are a super fun sensory play thing! They’re squishy and wet-ish and super colorful. Here are the ones we use and love, but there are tons of brands and different kinds.
Busy books are a super fun way to play and learn inside this summer! This busy book is packed with 9 activities for you to create two different kinds of books about summer. You can create a one-use book with all black and white printables that you attach the the book's pages. OR, you can create a multiple-use book by printing out the colored pages, laminating each one, and allowing learners to match up cards, use dry erase markers, play dough, and mini-erasers to play with these activities. Whichever you decide to create, it’ll be a really fun way for your kids to learn about summertime in a hands-on way.
8. Flower soup.
Making “flower soup” is a new favorite around here! We pick some flowers (or leaves or whatever), drop them into a water-proof pot (plastic container), and use a medicine dropper to add “broth” (WATER!) to the flower soup. My little guy mixes it around, we pretend to eat some, and then he starts over again. Such a fun way to practice pretending while staying a little bit cool by spilling water once in awhile! Haha. :)
9. Go bowling.
Take your kids bowling. It’s a really fun, air conditioned thing to do together that is probably new enough to be really exciting and entertaining for your kiddos.
Oh, playing in the water table! Bust out your cups, scoopers, droppers, squirt guns…pull out whatever fun water toys you have lying around and let your kiddos get messy. You can use an actual water table, like THIS ONE, or just fill up a big plastic tub with water. Whatever is best for your kiddo!
Two words: BOOM CARDS. Summer time is a time when screen time definitely hops up, so, make that screen time meaningful and academic with Boom cards! These ones are all summer themed and practice a whole bunch of basic literacy skills, like letter recognition and sight words. Check them out if your kids need some fun learning activities to do on a tablet or computer!
12. Visit the library!
Going to the library to explore new books about new things is a really nice way to keep reading and literacy practice new and fresh. Grab a quick breakfast together and then spend the morning finding and reading new books about your kids’ favorite topics for as long as you want.
Have you seen these self-filling, self-tying water balloons?! It makes water balloon fights so much simpler than they’ve been before! This is a fun activity for your kids and kids around the neighborhood to play together this summer. Just remind those kiddos to pick up the trash when the fun is done! :)
Squirt guns are a super fun way to play together outside and stay cool too! Have a squirt gun fight or grab enough for your kids and the neighborhood kids and have a full out water war. Haha!
15. Find a store to play in.
Obviously, Target is our favorite one. Haha! We’re there at least once or twice a week to “run errands”, which is really just time to walk around and let Target tell us what we need. :) But, during that time, my preschooler loves to browse the toys, check out all the new buttons, rock a baby doll or two, and see what other new things catch his eye.
We don’t buy something every time, but he enjoys just playing with all the fun toys while we browse the store and it gives us some calm time in the AC too. Everyone wins!
16. Inside or outside choice boards.
Many kids thrive with some structure. You can give your kids the choice of what sounds fun to do too! These choice boards add structure to your activities at home and are great for allowing visual choices for kids to make. All the activity names on each board are editable too!
These editable choice boards are a great way to give your kids the structure of WHAT the options are while giving them the power to choose WHICH option they want. Giving kids the power to choose is a really simple way to help them take ownership of the activity, which we definitely want.
There are 4 different choice board options for literacy, math, science, inside activities, outside activities, and just for fun. Each board includes 4 choices, 6 choices, and 8 choices. Click here to check them out!
17. Indoor play place.
We’re lucky enough to have a bunch of indoor play places that are air-conditioned, clean, and safe spaces for kids to play. If you type “indoor play place” into Google, you may just find some fun hiding just around the corner!
18. Splash pad!
DUH. Find a splash pad, sunscreen up, and get out there and play!
19. Daily summer activity choices.
There are a BUNCH of daily summer activities included here! There are 4 pages with pre-filled activity options and 4 editable pages for you to type in your own activity ideas, making them perfect for elementary students of any age! Each page has 20-25 activity options included.
Kiddos will simply choose one (or more) of the activities to complete each day and color in the picture with that activity written on it when it's complete. Simple and fun learning for the whole summer in only 4 pages!
20. Indoor picnic.
Eating on a blanket on the floor with your favorite people is so much fun. It makes a normal thing like “lunch” feel new and fresh and fun again. I like to put together some simple “finger foods” like
21. Build a fort.
Building a fort in the living room is always a fun idea for an indoor day! It’s fun to watch movies from a fort, read books using a flashlight, or even just snack while hanging out in a fort. It’s also a really simple way to encourage your child’s creativity and problem-solving skills as they build their own fort. So, grab some pillows and blankets and create a little indoor adventure!
Playdough play is AWESOME for hand strength, fine motor skills, and creativity! Encourage your kids to find new ways to create a picture or learn how to pretend by making “lollipops” or “ice cream”? Or create some letters, learn letter sounds, or even retell stories using playdough! The sky is really the limit when it comes to playdough, friends. Haha!
I love to encourage reading together forever and always, but summertime reading can be super special because it’s a nice way to “go on vacation” without really going anywhere. :) I’ve pulled together a list of some fun summer-themed books for little kids HERE if you need some ideas.
24. Make popsicles.
Making popsicles together with your little kids is a fun way to spend time together and make a yummy, healthy snack too. For some simple, delicious recipes to try, click the links below!
25 MORE Great Popsicle Recipes
25. Blow up balloons!
This is the SIMPLEST entertainment you’ve ever heard of. Just blow up a balloon or two and play “keepy uppy” (you’ve seen this Bluey episode, right?!). My little guy will play around the living room, bopping the balloon all around, for such a long time! Super easy way to get your kiddos moving indoors.
26. Go swimming.
Self explanatory…go play in the pool together! Pool time is really good for gross motor skills, learning water safety, and playing together. Remember the sunscreen!
Worksheets can be a really fun way for some kids to learn and play! These standards-aligned worksheets for your little kids are great for practicing foundational academic skills! These printables are a fun, engaging way to review concepts they’ve already learned or learn something new.
And, with lots of coloring, cutting, and gluing involved, these printables are a really engaging way to learn all summer long!
Wishing you a summer full of together time and LOTS of learning through play!
Cheering you on!
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