What keeps kids busy for hours?

Sensory bins are great for kids to learn and explore. Start by filling a box, storage bin or large Tupperware container with dried rice, beans or even water. Then give them some small toys or utensils to play with—measuring cups, funnels, or a toy tea set are all great options.

Why is my 13 year old bored all the time?

“It's important to remember that a child saying that they are bored doesn't really mean that they have run out of fun things to do,” Yares says. “It means that what they see in front of them isn't stimulating or interesting . It may also be a sign that they just need some adult attention.”

What should a 12 year old girl do in her free time?

Free time and activities with you You could go to a movie or concert, cook a meal together, go for a walk, look through family photos, or work together on a project like redecorating your child's room. It just depends on what interests you and your child. These activities might not happen spontaneously.

What to do on a sleepover with your bff age 12?

Make your own fun by building a fort, baking dessert, creating art, or throwing a dance party . Or, set up an at-home salon and paint each other's nails, do your hair, or pamper yourselves with face masks. Alternatively, play some games. Play tag, make a scavenger hunt, or have a classic pillow fight.

How can I make my child busy at home?

Make mundane chores feel special for your kids. Start their day off with a daily task, such as folding laundry, arranging sandwiches for lunch, making sure the living room pillows are tidy, or that all the beds in the house are made. Before they start their task, communicate why they are being asked to do it.

How do I keep my child on a summer schedule?

Creating a Summer Routine Try to keep times consistent , for example having lunch every day at 12:00, nap time every day at 2:00, etc. Include chores alongside fun activities on the schedule. Letting your child know what you expect is critical to your relationship.

BOREDOM BUSTERS - 90 fun activities for kids to do over the summer

READY OR NOT, IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN! Whether you can’t wait for these slow lazy days OF SUMMER, or they make you QUAKE in your boots a little bit, one thing I know for sure is that you want this TO BE THE BEST SUMMER for you and your kids.

One of the biggest challenges our family faces during Summer Vacation is the dreaded ‘B’ word (BOREDOM). I’ve found that even just a small amount of intentional time spent with my kids at the beginning of the day can set the tone for the rest of the day to be joyful, successful, and restful.

That being said, I’ve created a list of 90 fun activities to do with your kids over the Summer. One for each day of Summer Vacation. Most of these ideas are easy, low cost, and technology free. I hope reading this list will kickstart you into having YOUR best Summer yet!

So without further ado, here are 90 fun activities to do with your kids over the Summer.

1. Go Berry Picking

Strawberries! Blueberries! There are so many different things in season over the summer. Do a simple online search, and see what’s ripening around your area.

2. Make Beaded Buddies

This is such a fun craft for all ages. As a bonus, the kids will have a fun little pet to play with when they are finished. If you aren’t familiar with Beaded buddies, you can watch this tutorial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bozQHrHS1GA

3. Bring books to a local coffee shop and read

My older kids love this one, and would be content for an hour or two sipping their London Fog and reading a few chapters of a book. Our local Barnes and Nobles has both a coffee shop, and a little play area for younger kids to entertain themselves as well.

4. Geo Caching

If you haven’t been Geo Caching before, you have to check it out! It’s such a cool community activity. You can read about it here.

https://www.geocaching.com/play

5. Make a dinosaur dig out of ice

http://parentingchaos.com/excavating-dinosaurs-ice/

6. Build a fort out of boxes

You could go all out and make a giant fort using X-Large furniture boxes, or keep it simple and make a house for a doll or stuffed animal using a small box.

7. Have a picnic by a lake (don’t forget to save some bread crumbs to to feed the fish)

8. Go on a Family Adventure Day Trip

One of our favorite family activities, and one that takes a bit more intentionality, is taking a day trip to a nearby city to explore. You can read more about it in my blog post below.

9. Go on a progressive dinner and discover local restaurants in your community

Grab an appetizer at the first restaurant, dinner at the second, and dessert at the last.

10. Build something together out of wood

This could be a big project, or a small one. But some of my kids, especially my boys, love getting to work together using tools.

https://cutthewood.com/inspiration/woodworking-projects-kids

11. Bake cookies for the neighbors, and deliver them with a note

12. Sign up for a VBS camp

Where we live, there are so many Vacation Bible School’s offered over the Summer at local churches. They are a drop off camp that will usually run for a week, about 4 hours a day. The best part? They are free!

13. Make bath bombs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OSM7M0Zm48

14. Make slime

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9B3bsUDoRo

15. Play ‘School’

Costco has fun workbooks for K -3rd grade, to help keep your kids fresh over the summer. Add in a little imagination -You’re the ‘Teacher’, they’re the ‘Students’, turns this activity into a game.

16. Allow them to use some educational tech

Some Technology that we have found usueful and educational over the Summer are the app Duolingo, and the educational websites Prodigy Math, and ABCmouse.com

https://www.prodigygame.com/

https://www.abcmouse.com/abt/homepage?8a08850bc2=T415607038.1559916830.5358

17. Make ‘street art’ with chalk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgC_KU0ce4A

18. Learn Macrame

There are some simple plans out there that older kids could easily pick up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaeUZP1zP3w

19. Paint By Number

20. Learn how to finger knit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsZsUBYU0qU

21. Make a ‘movie’

Download iMovie, and let them act out a play or script. They could even make their own commercial.

22. Organize a neighborhood 5k

23. Learn magic tricks with a deck of cards

23. Go to a pottery painting class

24. Tie Dye t-shirts together.

25. Make a tree swing

26. Play Sardines

https://www.icebreakers.ws/medium-group/sardines-reverse-hide-and-seek.html

27. Make a Thunder cake

Based off the Book Thunder Cake from Patricia Polocco. Make sure to read the book together first, and when the next Summer storm rolls in, get ready to build your Thunder Cake. I recently did this with my daughter and the timing ended up being absolutely perfect, just like the book, I nearly cried with joy. It was pure magic.

28. Sign up for MasterClass and let them learn a new skill from a ‘Master’

https://www.masterclass.com/?utm_source=Paid&utm_medium=AdWords&utm_campaign=MC&utm_content=Brand-{keyword}-US_EM&utm_term=Aq-Prospecting&gclid=CjwKCAjwlujnBRBlEiwAuWx4LQzj6JhkPt_Gh07SnB5WjE8WYkJ93i8kQ9elLI30xbGKJ3v-_0U4GhoCDqkQAvD_BwE

29. Face Painting

30. Learn how to make balloon animals together

31. Make pins together

Always wanted a pin with Grandma’s face on it?

https://www.amazon.com/Package-pieces-Design-Button-Plastic/dp/B001685KSM/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=customizable+pins&qid=1559917388&s=gateway&sr=8-6

32. Learn how to play the cup song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZf_joR1Srk

33. Visit a farmers market and get familiar with local produce

34. Learn how to braid hair

35. Give a lesson on proper table setting

36. Easter egg hunt

My toddler age kids LOVED doing an Easter Egg hunt in the Summer. I’d simply fill the plastic eggs with little treats like fruit snacks, or even their tiny toys, and hide them around the house.

37. Visit a community pool

38. Plant a garden

39. Play games with the garden hose or sprinkler

40. Build a bug house

41. Play hopscotch

42. Make a giant bubble wand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGvw0-sWJRw

43. Play a favorite or new board game

Some of our favorites are The Game of Things, Ticket to Ride, and Settlers of Catan

44. Make a bonfire (don’t forget those marshmallows)

45. Play in a slip and slide

46. Bring an ENO or another hammock to the park

47. Play ‘the floor is lava’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_floor_is_lava

48. Play a neighborhood game of bigger and better

https://www.thegamegal.com/2016/01/07/bigger-or-better-scavenger-hunt/

49. Join a summer book reading club

A local library would be a good place to sign up, but some book stores offer book clubs as well (Barnes and Noble is one). When you kids have completed their chosen amount of reading, they get a free book.

50. Join a summer fitness club

51. Get involved in a community treasure hunt

Similar to Geo Caching, but .more organic. See if you can find one by searching online, or create your own as a family.

52. Visit an afternoon Movie matinee

53. Go camping in the backyard

54. Go on a nature scavenger hunt

55. Create a stuffed animal pet shop

My daughter would play this all day everyday, so I thought it be a good one to put on the list. Set up all the stuffed animals as a pet shop, and then let her come in and shop.

56. Catch fireflies

57. Make a car track on the floor using duct tape

https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/17823/build-a-track/

58. Go on a hike

60. Make a lemonade stand

61. Find a new park to explore

62. Throw a garage sale together

63. Make a special dinner for the family together

Go all out, light some candles, add some music, and pull out your best serving wear

64. Learn how to knit

This is a little harder than finger-knitting, but my 8 year old recently picked it up, and it’s kept his mind and fingers busy for hours already this summer.

65. Go iceskating

66. Play in a splash pad

67. Have a water fight

68. Visit a Children’s Museum, Zoo, or Aquarium

69. Sew a quilt together

70. see a show at a community theatre

71. Throw a dance party

72. Get a job (pet sitter, baby sitter, simple lawn care like raking leaves)

73.Volunteer together at a local animal shelter or food bank

74. Put a sprinkler under the trampoline

Add some dishsoap to the top of the trampoline if you dare.

75. Backyard games like Badminton, Four Square, or Wiggle Ball

76. Play with Playdough, Moonsand, or Sensory Sand

77. Make your own popsicles

https://www.jessicagavin.com/make-your-own-homemade-fruit-popsicles/

78. Make little ‘bugs’ by painting rocks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuqJXJLMCQ8

79. Create an ‘Art Room’ for the summer

80. Play dress up and have a fashion show

81. Visit a farm or petting zoo

82. Invite the neighborhood crew over for some organized backyard games

83. Learn how to make String Figures, like Cat’s Cradle and Jacob’s Ladder

https://www.amazon.com/Klutz-9781878257536-Cats-Cradle-Book/dp/1878257536/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ETPNGDAZR2OP&keywords=cat%27s+in+the+cradle&qid=1559919614&s=gateway&sprefix=cat%27s+in+the+%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1

84. Do a puzzle together

85. Write a letter to a distant relative or friend

86. Make a fort out of sheets

Bonus, let them have a sleepover in it!

87. Build a tee-pee or fort outdoors

88. Make paper airplanes

We sometimes draw little people, cut them out, and let them ‘ride’ in the airplane. The little ones love that.

89. Learn to Jumprope

90. DIY Foam Paint

https://thetiptoefairy.com/diy-sidewalk-foam-paint/

I hope this list has given you some great ideas of how to spend time with your kids over the Summer. I’ve been trying to choose one activity a day with our kids, and so far, this truly has been our best Summer yet!
Did this list make you think of some more summer activities? What where some things you loved to do as a kid? Drop me a line below! I’m always looking for new ideas!

BOREDOM BUSTERS - 90 fun activities for kids to do over the summer — house on a sugar hill (2024)