Welcome to the final part of my How to Make the Most of Summer series! In this series, I’m sharing EVERYTHING you need to make this summer your BEST summer yet! From being more intentional with your time to summer schedules, bucket lists and ideas of what to do, you’ll be enjoying an epic summer before you know it. This final post is all about how to come up with ideas for great summer activities for kids. Are you ready to find out more?! Let’s dive in!
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Great summer activities for kids…
In the first post of this series, I talked about how to be more intentional with the time you have. And in my last post, I shared a few ways to come up with a summer schedule that makes sure you tick things off your summer bucket list. But just what should go on your bucket list? What great summer activities can you do together to make sure you make the most of summer?
To help you come up with as many ideas for great summer activities as possible, I reached out to some of my fellow blogging buddies for advice. Here’s what they had to say, together with a couple of top tips of my own too!
On having fun experiences together, Emily from Hunny I’m Home says:
“Be creative! Your kids will remember the effort you put into creating fun activities more than the activities themselves. The things you do with your kids don’t need to cost a ton of money or involve a lot of planning and effort. Just take a few minutes to create a fun experience for them – they’ll appreciate it! We spend the day making all kinds of different bubbles using things I already had in my kitchen cabinets, and my kids had a blast. I didn’t spend any extra money, and we spent the entire afternoon making memories with each other.”
On being present, Amanda from Simple Life of a Frugal Wife says:
“As long as you spend time with your kids they will remember summer as something special. Kids love it when their parents hang out with them, so just make a point to do some activities with your kids and you are bound to have a great summer. Try some budget-friendly activities too – my favourite is sponges and water…as long as kids have sponges and water, they are happy!”
On having fun at home, Christine from ChristineAHoward.com says:
“Organise play dates in the back garden. A paddling pool, a water table and a good stock of icy treats is a great way to take the pressure off occupying younger children. Have your friends over and it can be a welcome break for you to have some adult conversation while the kids play.”
On having your own waterpark at home, Lauren from Simply Well Balanced says:
“Summers should be full of family, fun and water…lots and lots of water! During the summer my kids used to beg me every day to go to the local waterpark. Ugh – it was so much work to load up everything we needed for the day! And super stressful to deal with the crowds. It was also CRAZY expensive! Last year we decided to turn our backyard into our own private waterpark with an amazing and affordable blow-up slide. My kids play for hours and I can relax and enjoy watching them play in my own backyard. I don’t even have to shave my legs! It’s been one of the best purchases we’ve ever made and my kids are making wonderful summer memories.”
On reading more books together, Kristin from Big Books Little Ears says:
“Summer is a wonderful time to read aloud as a family. There’s nothing like a shared chapter book to bring everyone together. If your kids need a little more incentive to read, get everyone involved in a summer reading challenge. Your local library probably has a challenge or chart for the summer. Make it a big deal as they complete their charts. Load up on audio books for the long road trips. Pick up the books you didn’t have time to read during the school year and get reading together.”
For having as many days out as possible without breaking the bank:
Consider signing up for an annual pass to an attraction near you. My youngest and I have an annual pass to the local zoo. We only need to visit twice a year to get our money’s worth, but we’ve been four times already and each time we’ve seen something different. We also have family memberships for National Trust and English Heritage. Incredibly cost-effective, once you’ve visited a couple of places, every entry thereafter is free. With hundreds of historic places, houses and gardens at our disposal, it makes for a cheap day out. All you need is some fuel for the car, a picnic and money for an obligatory ice cream or two!
Related: Make the Most of Your Summer Break in Five Easy Steps
On connecting more with nature, Gail from Growing Healthy Kids says:
“Get outdoors and connect with nature by starting a nature journal. Add something new every day. We draw pictures, add photos and stick in pressed flowers and feathers.”
On doing things other than screen-time, Toni Ann from Real Happy Mom says:
“Keep the electronics away as much as possible by having games and activities available. My little ones are currently 5 and 2 so I have to have lots of fun things to do. My favourite is playing outside with chalk, putting with the kids’ golf clubs or going to the neighbourhood playground. There are also activities like going to the beach or pool, visiting a museum or spending some quality time together.”
Related: How to Have a Happier Family Life
On making the most of where you live:
Try being a tourist in your own town (or the town nearest you) for the day. Think where you would go and what you would see or do if you were holidaying there rather than being a resident. Take a look at what’s going on in your area and what free activities there are. See what museums or places there are you’ve not yet visited that would make a great day out. You may even surprise yourself and discover something new you never knew about!
On making road trips more fun, Missy from Party Through the USA says:
“Turn your plain, ordinary, boring road trip into a fun, epic road trip by giving it a theme! With party foods, themed toys, activities, movies, music, audiobooks and costumes, you can easily create an amazing and memorable party on wheels!”
On making all those great summer activities happen, Brenda from Brenda Loves Sharing says:
“We have a summer schedule. It includes time for indoor/outdoor fun, getting chores done, reading for the summer library program and a little time for workbooks so they’re ready when school starts back.”
Related: The Ultimate Summer Schedule
Great summer activities with your kids…
There are literally hundreds of great summer activities you can do with your kids. Use the ideas suggested here as a starting point and watch them spark a ton of other ideas too. Whatever you choose to do this summer, remember it’s the time you spend together that matters – not how grand the places are you take them. Like Emily from Hunny I’m Home says, you don’t need to spend a fortune to make your summer epic. All your kids want is to spend time with you. Give them that and they’ll be happy!
That’s it for this post and my How to Make the Most of Summer series! If you like what you’ve read, be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter. As a bonus, you’ll also gain EXCLUSIVE access to my FREE Resource Library. With tons of printables, cheatsheets, checklists, workbooks and ebooks, you’ll find EVERYTHING you need to make family life LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable!
Don’t let this summer slip you by…
And if you don’t want to let this summer slip you by, be sure to sign up for my FREE Five Days to an EPIC Summer with Kids challenge. You’ll be enjoying your BEST summer yet before you know it!
Did you like this series? What’s your top tip for having an epic summer? Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time…
Liked this post? You’ll LOVE these too!
- How to Make the Most of Summer
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- How to Never Run Out of Ideas for Days Out with Your Kids
