Summer Activities for Kids: 75+ Ideas for Keeping Kids Busy This Summer!

Summer is here, which means kids are home from school for the next 2-3 months! As parents, we want our kids to keep learning, exploring, and of course, have fun during the summer. If you’re looking for summer activities for kids (especially if you don’t plan to enroll your kids in summer camp), then check out this list full of ideas for keeping kids busy this summer!

Summer Activities for Kids: 75+ Ideas for Keeping Kids Busy This Summer!

1. Create a summer learning and fun kit.
2. Check out free e-books from your local library, if available.
3. Plant a flower garden in a planter, like this one my daughter and I planted.
4. Enjoy a 4th of July themed yogurt parfait!
5. Visit your local library to check out books and participate in story time or other kid activities.
6. Sign up for a summer reading program – check your local library, try this Latino-themed summer reading program by our friends at Latinas 4 Latino Literature, explore e-books via the Arbordale Publishing summer program, or sign up for one of these many free summer reading programs from national stores and restaurants!
7. Have fun with an outdoors scavenger hunt!
8. Learn about ice and water with this ice block rescue activity.
9. Let your kids write poems and have a poetry reading café in your own home!
10. Have a water balloon fight.
11. Create a water splash park in your backyard.
12. Play board games.
13. Create a summer activity bucket full of ideas for the kids!
14. Make your own outdoor chalkboard the kids can play with.
15. Let the kids make tissue paper flowers for their friends!
16. Search for bugs in your yard with a magnifying glass or a bug hunt kit!
17. Make lemonade or your favorite ice cold drink.
18. Have fun making these adorable toilet paper roll bunnies to play with!
19. Create a 4th of July banner to decorate the backyard or house for Independence Day.
20. Mail a handmade card to someone special.
21. Help the kids create and decorate their own DIY writing journal they can use to write about their summer adventures!
22. Buy inexpensive craft activity kits the kids can use to paint, create, and have fun with their hands.
23. Create a fun crafty Tic Tac Toe game!
24. Practice math with one of these fun math fact games.
25. Give geocaching a try.
26. Go on a nature walk – even in the suburbs!
27. Let them get creative and make pom pom animals.
28. Go on a shape hunt around the neighborhood.
29. Create art using non-traditional tools.
30. If you’re in an area where this is available (and you have the budget), consider swimming with dolphins!
31. Go to the beach and build sand castles.
32. Take advantage of many free summer activities from nationwide stores, museums, and parks!
33. Have a picnic lunch at the park (or in your own yard). Check our tips for a fun picnic with kids!
34. Go swimming at your local community pool.
35. Watch a free or low-cost movie – many movie theaters offer them over the summer!
36. Visit a local museum.
37. Go bowling – many bowling centers offer free bowling over the summer!
38. Have fun with sidewalk chalk or even try making your own sidewalk chalk paint.
39. Build a fort or play tent using blankets or old cardboard boxes.
40. Have fun playing with shaving cream!
41. Let the kids be entrepreneurs with a lemonade stand (or whatever they’d like to sell).
42. Play classic games like tag, red light, green light, hide-and-seek, and hopscotch.
43. Have a dance party in your living room!
44. Make a birdhouse and bird feeder.
45. Create your own puppets.
46. Do good deeds and/or volunteer in your community.
47. Collect rocks – you can also paint them and create a rock garden!
48. Go cloud watching.
49. Create artwork using DIY watercolor sheets.
50. Host a puppet show.
51. Blow bubbles.
52. Make your own popsicles, like these delicious homemade coconut popsicles.
53. Go roller skating.
54. Search for treasure with a sandbox sifting activity.
55. Play age-appropriate online games.
56. Print out free printable activity and coloring sheets.
57. Enjoy a fun balloon bounce game – you can even make your own paddle for it!
58. Dress up and host a fashion show!
59. Go camping right in your own backyard.
60. Make your own play salt dough and have fun creating with it.
61. Enjoy a fun treat, like these sinfully delicious Pop-Tarts Cookies & Creme Ice Cream Sandwiches!
62. Go bike riding.
63. Have a refreshing fruit smoothie – give these Tropical BananaBerry or Pineapple Mango smoothie recipes a try!
64. Make fun, festive pinwheels for the 4th of July!
65. Enjoy a little backyard summer fun!
66. Do a little gardening with your kids!
67. Take an afternoon to paint your own suncatchers. This makes a great rainy day activity!
68. Learn a little about other countries with this easy country flags craft that’s perfect for preschoolers!
69. Have a fun tea party – check out this idea for a DIY kids’ garden tea party!
70. Learn about a new culture through crafts and music! Try making our Puerto Rican güiro craft or Day of the Dead calaveras to expose kids to Latino culture. Or check out our simple Year of the Goat kids craft for a fun talk about the Chinese Zodiac calendar!
71. Follow our edible slime recipe for a grotesquely fun time with the kids!
72. Put together a themed movie night (or day) with a great kid-friendly movie, snacks, and activities to accompany! See what we did for our Annie movie night!
73. Introduce your kids to comic books! Check out our ideas for how to easily do so!
74. Keep kids thinking and writing with these 60 summer writing prompts for kids!
75. Get your kids in the kitchen to help them learn basic cooking skills!
76. Work on learning a new language with your kids!