Summer’s just around the corner and we LOVE summer vacation, but we get a little worried about entertaining kids for all hours of the day. We want to encourage our kids to unplug and go enjoy outdoor activities while the weather is so nice. I remember throwing water balloons back and forth as a kid with my whole family.
Just that simple time together was a great way to take advantage of the beautiful summer days at the local park. I also used to have so much fun at the water park, summer camp, going on nature trails, playing at the local playground, and even making mud pies in my own backyard.
To help you avoid that summer burnout (and us, too!), we rounded up 50 Outdoor Summer Activities just for kids that would be perfect to chase the bored blues away and keep the kids from turning into couch potatoes over the summer. The summer months can be hard, especially on a hot day.
These creative ideas are a fun way to encourage your older kids to spend time with the younger kids and keeps the entire family together during the summer break to have some outdoor fun.
Most of these fun summer activities can be done for free (or for pretty cheap). Just help the kids get set up with these activities and then let their imaginations run wild.
You could even turn this list into a family summer bucket list and check off activities as you do them. If you did one activity a day, it might get you through the middle of July.
After that, you are on your own! 🙂 This is the perfect way to keep kids of all ages entertaining and the best part is it gives the parents a break.
Follow these great ideas to keep your young kids enjoying their favorite summer activities all summer!
- Paint with frozen Paint (This is my son’s new favorite!)
- Have a car wash
- Make homemade bird feeders
- Have a read-a-thon outside (maybe in the shade if it’s really hot!)
- Make ice cream in a bag (pro tip: you probably have all the supplies at home!)
- Play a game of drip, drip, SPLASH (think duck, duck, goose for summer!)
- Make a bike obstacle course or games
- Play with sidewalk chalk (check out these fun games!)
- Fun activities with Hula Hoops.
- Make a DIY Giant Jenga set
- Clothesline art show – have the kids make the art, pass our invitations, and make it happen!
- Make a PVC Pipe Sprinkler aka “Kid wash“
- Play flashlight games (this is a great list!)
- Sidewalk chalk paint
- Paint the sidewalks with water.
- Play a game of Scatterball (a favorite for us growing up!)
- Go on a nature scavenger hunt (check out this cute printable)
- Make a quick and easy DIY sandbox
- Go on a bug hunt
-
Have a neighborhood parade. Dress up like princesses or firemen, decorate your bikes and wagons, even throw candy if you want! Invite all the neighbors to come and watch (This one’s great for social distancing!)
- Have a spoon race
- Buy some spray bottles and fill them with water for a water fight or add some washable paint to the bottles and spray large poster boards to make awesome art!
- Have some marble races
- Make a pirate map and hunt for treasure
- Wrap a piece of masking tape around each child’s wrist with the sticky side facing out. Go on a “Nature Walk” and collect items from nature (leaves, grass, small rocks, flowers, etc) and stick them on your masking tape “bracelet”. Come home and compare bracelets!
- Start a garden and let the kids do the planting, watering, and weeding.
- Make giant bubbles with a huge bubble wand
- Play frisbee tic tac toe
- Make a lemonade stand (or even a DOLE WHIP stand)
- Make a water balloon piñata
- Pool noodle outdoor games
- Ice block treasure hunt
- Play some outdoor glow stick games
- Make a sponge bullseye
- Paint with nature
- Paint rocks (check out this rock painting post for beginners)
- Find a local Farmer’s Market. Come home and prepare a meal with the food purchased from the market.
- DIY Outdoor Movie Night complete with concession stands and our favorite popcorn
- Make homemade popsicles and eat them on the lawn.
- Go park hopping (make a goal to play at a new park each week)
- Make textured leaf rubbings
- Play “parachute” with a large sheet or get this one on Amazon (just like the ones in elementary school!).
- Have a banana split party- provide the bananas and ice cream and asks guests to bring their favorite topping to share with everyone else
- Make your own stomp rockets (or you can buy one here)
- Go on a photo scavenger hunt
- Play in a water table (see how to make your own here)
- Make your own kites and fly them
- Play classic outdoor games from your childhood (red rover, red-light green-light, mother may I, or kick the can)
- Have a s’more party (check out these fun s’more variations)
- Play cornhole (you can even learn how to make your own set)
Do you have any other fun or cheap summer activities for kids? Leave a comment below, we’d love to keep growing this list and give everyone more ideas.
Need ideas for a 10 year old girl’s birthday party. Got a tropical theme in mind, but don’t know what activities would keep them interested. What Games??? It’s an overnight sleep-over party.
Hey Pat!
How about a Hula contest, complete with grass skirts? Or a limbo stick game? If you have a firepit, you could sing songs around it after dark.
Debbie
Thank you for the creative ideas! We have 2 more weeks of school but can’t wait to try these!
Sorry,it’s nice to make friend with you, please reply with me,
whats good
Your new look is simply A-DOR-ABLE! I love, love, love it! Um, could I also mention that I love it?! Ha! Congrats, sisters!
The new site looks fantastic! I have a summer bucket list group board I’m pinning this to, would love for you to join it if you want!
I love all of these ideas! I’ve done several of them with my boys and look forward to doing more this summer. Thanks for sharing! And I LOVE your new design!
Great ideas! Can’t wait to try these. Thanks.
This is one of the best,most creative lists I have seen for summer fun! Thanks for sharing. We can’t wait to try out a bunch of these ideas!
So much fun! Can’t wait to try some of these great ideas! Thank you for linking up at Family Fun Friday on HappyAndBlessedHome.com! Blessings!
some really cool ideas here! Thanks for linking to Simple Supper Tuesday.
So fun! I love this list – can’t wait to try some of these with my girls!
I just stumbled across this website tonight and I think it is absolutely awesome!! So many great ideas!! Makes me want to be a kid again!!!!!!!!
These ideas are brilliant. Every. single. one. of. them. I love the alphabet scavenger hunt. My son would really love that. Thanks for the ideas!
Aww, thank you so much for featuring our Chalk Dress Up dolls! 🙂
These are super ideas! I can’t wait to try some of them with my summer kids at the child care center! They could also be used when school starts back up in the Fall as well. Thanks for sharing!
wow ………………thx for da great ideas
Thanks for linking to our post about texture rubbings! This is a great list – makes me want to get outside!
Love all the ideas…the sprinkles are great!!!
I like you list lots of things to do and get the kids out side and to put down the i pads. I think number 40 is the best .
Tried number 25… Both kids thought poison ivy would be cute on the “bracelets”. Went home and compared rashes…
great,awsome ideas to enhance their developmental skills.
a job very very well done.
good luck six sisters stuff.
I will be entertaining four of my five grandchildren this summer. You may have just given me the path to sanity:)
6 Sisters! I cant even tell who is the oldest or youngest, you all look so stunning.
Marina, Cape Town
Thanks for the ideas . I will try a few of these this summer . A fun thing for kids is ” kick the can” home made ice cream . Need a large metal coffee can …and a small metal coffee can with lids . Mix your ice cream recipe…pour into the small can. Place can inside the larger can ….pour ice cream salt around into the space iside of the large can . Have children sit across from each other and roll can back and forth untill ice cream is ready . You can also let them roll it back and forth with their feet while watching a movie or doing a craft . You may also add fruit to this …
These are great ideas! So creative!
Great article! I linked to this from my blog for an article I wrote. Thanks for the ideas!
I love those ideas!!!! Hope some of them will make my 4 little monkeys busy..:-)
Thank you! Hopefully it’ll help keep them entertained!
Awesome list – I love that painting onto a plain sheet – it would then make a great piece of fabric to make your own teepee with!
I am a 12 year old girl soon to be 13 on July 11th. I was trying to make a Summer Bucket List for 2015 for my brother, sister, cousins and me of course. I could not think of anything but camping, swimming, fishing and planting flowers. I google searched Fun Summer Activities and found this website. Thank – You for all of your helpful ideas that are not very expensive and I got my Summer Bucket List for 2015 almost done. Thank – you so much again I will be showing this website to all of my friends and family so that they have lots of ideas for any summers they don’t have any ideas on what to do. – Heather Smith
I’m only 10 and I was looking for things that me and my brother could do, so thx for the ideas! We love the homemade sprinkler good way of recycling!
I’m 8 and I love these
I really like the idea of the outdoor scrabble game! Fun learning without my son knowing he is learning.
Great article. Summertime fun comes in all shapes and sizes. Whether at home or at the beach, try these games and activities to make a summer day special.
Swimming is fun! But it should have a well maintained, clean crystalized swimming pool! Kids would definitely love that idea?:)
wow! so clever though. a simple way for kids fun. I just love this idea. Such a creative thought. kids must love this idea. Thanks for such a good idea to share with us.
From a 60 year old stay at home dad raising a 9 year old girl, thank you ! All these ideas will help us immensely finish the summer with some more fun activities.
Way to be a great hands on dad! Best of luck with summer fun. Not many weeks left! You are amazing.
nice!
What a great list of summer activities are shared here. Kids will really have a lot of fun time enjoying these for long hours. We play many different activities with kids on weekend. I think, it is important to spend some quality with our loved ones. Your blog has definitely given me many interesting activities to enjoy them with my kids. Thanks for sharing this with us.
have your kids read to you i am nine years old and i LOVE IT
Im only 12 and my mom and little sister has been through alot this year with me so i went to this app and i found alot of cool things to do for our summer because last summer was crazy with covid but im here to say this is great things to do with your family 🙂
We hope you find a lot of fun things to do and have a terrific summer!!