50 Fun Things To Do With Your Kids This Summer

Summer is right around the corner! The month of May always sneaks up on me but the anticipation of summer days is in sight. For me, summer is that magical time of year to veer off the expected path with your kids — to meander, explore, or just laze around. To wander the world (or your local farmer’s market)…linger over dinner (or an ice cream cone)…float on the lake till your fingers are pruned (or the scent of dinner on the grill entices). I usually write a summer to-do list on the chalk wall in our kitchen as a fun reminder for all of us to enjoy the fleeting days of summer, especially with my kids. Bored? Pick something to do on the list! Need a weekend activity with friends? Let’s hit the drive-in or hear music at the park! Here are a few of our best ideas over the years as your family dives into the anticipation of summer with us head first:

1. Walk barefoot in your backyard or along the beach – or better yet, go the whole weekend without shoes!
2. Have an ice cream crawl – July is National Ice Cream Month!
3. Find a creek or stream to explore – pick up rocks to discover critters, count water striders, skip rocks, find frogs and tadpoles.
4. Have a watermelon seed spitting contest.
5. Head to your local farmer’s market and buy fruit and veggies for dinner & get to know your local farmers.
6. Go to an outdoor concert.
7. Do cartwheels and handstands with your kids (underwater totally counts).
8. Eat outside at least one meal every weekend.
9. Bring a picnic somewhere (a park, a festival, your backyard) – for lunch…dinner…even breakfast!
10. Find a fishing hole & perfect the art of exaggeration (My fish was THIS big).
11. Do a cannon ball at the pool or lake with & in front of your kids.
12. Get a snow cone.
13. Create a synchronized swimming routine with your kids – or sip a cocktail while they create a routine and perform it for you. (Our favorite summer cocktail is a Gin & Tonic with Corsair Barrel Aged Gin and cucumber slices!)
14. Body paint – we like to use washable Crayola paint…
15. After body painting, run through the sprinkler to wash it off!
16. Fête Bastille Day – Eat french food, talk with a french accent, practice french words and color a french flag or Eiffel tower.
17. Read a book out loud to your kids – no matter their age. Pick a good one to read together all summer.
18. Make popsicles.
19. Have a lemonade stand.
20. Participate in a summer reading program.
21. Have a random act of kindness day.
22. Play at outdoor fountains or a splash park.
23. Take a spontaneous (or loosely planned) road trip.
24. Go “muraling!“
25. Organize a summer book club with your kids, their friends & parents.
26. Have an all day board game competition – especially good for rainy or really hot summer days.
27. Bake something fun together and share it with your neighbors.
28. Go to an art museum or find a quirky hidden museum to explore!
29. Take your kids on a hike.
30. Try a new food every day for a week or more.
31. Go to a library program.
32. Make s’mores.
33. Cruise to the drive-in movie.
34. Find a Shakespeare Festival or Shakespeare in the park.
35. Stay up past bedtime catching or counting fireflies.
36. Have a dance party in the kitchen or in the backyard.
37. Go on a night hike.
38. Hang out at your favorite local bookstore.
39. Go camping – even just in your backyard.
40. Go somewhere in your town you’ve never been.
41. Have a water balloon fight.
42. Go to a baseball game.
43. Plant a garden (you can even get seeds from some libraries)
44. Make a fairy garden
45. Try food from another ethnicity or culture.
46. Create and go on a scavenger hunt.
47. Spend an afternoon writing handwritten letters to friends, family or pen pals in other cities.
48. Tie Dye.
49. Take lots of pictures and then create a book or poster at the end of the summer!
50. Ditch the kids, get a sitter & have a fun date night with your spouse or partner, ha. Aim for once a month this summer!Happy Summering!