You know summer is just around the corner when the air starts to feel warmer, people are getting their barbeque stands ready, students are rejoicing the end of school, and everyone is making plans for a vacation. Everyone loves summer. However, during this 3-month vacation, kids tend to get unproductive and lazy because there are not enough things to do, and this is something no parent wants. We want it to be fruitful and exciting for our kids instead of turning them into couch potatoes. So, here are a few ideas and tips on how you can make it the best vacation with these fun summer activities for kids.

1. Swimming and Water Games

When the heat kicks in, and everyone’s eager to do something fun, cool down with some swimming! Don’t worry if you’re not a good swimmer because there’s always floaties you can use to have a good time in the pool. Let’s not forget the exciting pool games you can play like water Volleyball, Marco Polo, Horseshoe Hunt and several others. These summer activities for kids are enjoyable for everyone and guarantees a day of relaxation and fun.

2. Water Balloon Fights

This classic fun summer activity never gets old. It involves running around in the heat but also being cooled down with a splash of water from your opponents. Children like to be very active and engage in energetic games, so this is a perfect go-to game when boredom strikes.

Place little treasures all over the backyard and let the children go on an adventure to find them. Make a competition out of it by giving a prize to the person with the most finds.

4. Sandcastles

Just like how winter calls for building snowmen, summer calls for building sandcastles. Kids just love making things and feeling proud of their creation afterward. This activity is best for the beach, but if you don’t live near a beach then worry not. You can easily make a sandbox in your backyard and place smooth sand into it, and there you have it, your very own beachside vibe. So, grab your mini shovels and water buckets and get moving!

5. Backyard Camping

Isn’t it nice to have some outdoorsy family fun right in the comfort of your own home? So why not do a backyard campout with the family? It’s safe for the kids but still gives them the experience of a night out in the bushes under the open starry sky. Give it your best effort to make it feel as if they’re in the bushes by setting up tents, and not allowing any devices or foods that you wouldn’t normally take camping. You can even go the extra mile by building a little campfire between making s’mores and telling ghost stories. I cannot think of a better way to promote some family bonding!

6. Traditional Summer Activities for Kids

This is some old-fashioned fun that basically involves all the fun summer activities you grew up playing. Hide and seek, tag, hopscotch, holla hoop and well, you know the rest! Even if kids get bored of the same games sometimes, they always run back them eventually because nothing beats old traditions.

7. Art on the Lawn

Create some fun art by placing a huge plain sheet on the lawn and let the kids go crazy with their own designs and hand prints. This can later be kept as a keepsake to look back at years from now.

8. Lemonade Stand

Beat the heat with some lemonade. Putting up a lemonade stand by your house and selling them is a fun way to keep the kids occupied. They can spend some time decorating their stand to their own liking and sell lemonade to passersby who are in need of a quick refreshment. It’s always pleasant to see children taking an initiative to do something out of the ordinary.

9. Go to the Park

If you’re looking for some time away from the house while feeling the fresh summer breeze, then go to the park. It has everything a child needs to have fun and also gives them a refreshing feeling of being somewhere other than the backyard.

10. Catch Butterflies

In the summer there are plenty of butterflies swarming around in gardens or parks. A nice activity would be to catch pretty little butterflies with a net and collect them in a little glass container, (make sure it has holes). Then set them free at the end of the day and watch them fly away with their colorful wings.

11. Picnic

Gather your family and friends for a pleasant afternoon picnic. Everyone should be asked to bring one dish to make it easier, and the kids can spend the day eating snacks, telling stories and enjoying the summer sky.

12. Jumping Castle Water Slide

This idea is simply renting a big jumping castle and hosing it down with soapy water in the backyard. So, instead of the ordinary jumping castle, you will have one you can use a water slide which is definitely more suitable for the summer.

13. Sidewalk Chalk Mural

One of my favorite summer activities for kids is a sidewalk mural. This is simply taking some colored chalk and drawing all along the sidewalk. Anyone in the neighborhood can join in and add their own drawings to make one huge mural. It’s very heart-warming to see children cooperating together to make wonderful art, and of course, it’s such a simple idea to kill time.

14. Treehouse

I think every child deserves a treehouse so they can go wild with imagination and pretend it’s their own pirate ship or spaceship. So, if you don’t already have one, bring together all the kids to build a treehouse. Make sure they aren’t doing any of the heavy liftings but give them simple tasks like painting the wood.

15. Gardening

Give the children something more productive to do like easy gardening. Help them plant flowers in the backyard and guide them along the process of nurturing the flowers. It will be a very beautiful outcome of a fun activity.

Most of the kids these days have smartphones and spend enormous amounts of time looking at them. It is our responsibility to prepare themselves for the competitive world. There are many needs in our communities such as picking up trash along streets and highways, caring for elderly and homeless or visiting shut-in elderly. Anything that will toughen kids, help them be able to survive new situations. The above ideas about summer activities for kids can be a good starting point.