24 Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy This Summer

Eager to find ways to keep your kids entertained — even actively learning — while holding on to your own sanity this summer? We’ve got you covered.

By: Chelsey Bowen and Erin Gifford

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Bust Boredom This Summer

Kids are home for the *entire* summer — a situation that's equally as fun for kids as it is daunting for parents. Summer break equals a lot of days to fill with activities to avoid hearing the dreaded, “I’m bored.” No need to rack your brain for moment-filling ideas; keep reading for our best kid-tested party ideas, entertaining games and fun crafts.

See More Photos: 30 Outdoor Activities for Kids

Set Up a Lemonade Stand

Encourage your kiddos' entrepreneurial spirit by letting them set up a lemonade stand or other make-and-sell endeavor. It can be a fun way to raise money, whether for a new video game or for a charitable cause. Pick up a copy of The Lemonade Stand Cookbook, which includes plenty of ideas for foods, drinks and crafts your kids can make and sell. It also includes tips on how to set up a stand and success stories from kids.

Learn More: How to Build a Perfectly Portable Lemonade Stand

Sign Up for a Summer Reading Program

Start with your local public library to see if they offer a summer-long program to encourage kids to read. Many libraries offer fun learning activities as part of their program, like storytimes, science shows and author meet-ups. Some even give away prizes for completing reading-oriented activities. Barnes & Noble has a nationwide summer reading program that lets kids earn a free book when they complete a reading journal. Half Price Books also has a Feed Your Brain summer reading program that encourages kids to read 15 minutes a day. And don't forget to download books to your kid's tablet for on-the-go reading.

Learn More: The 7 Best Tablets for Kids

Throw a Summer Party

Host a kid-friendly gathering that’s as entertaining for your little ones as it is for the grown-ups. Invite over neighbors, family and friends — reach out to some of the kids they haven’t seen since the last day of school for a fun get-together. Our handy guide, below, walks you through easy-to-craft decorations, yummy foods and activities that’ll keep everyone entertained for hours.

See More Photos: Throw the Ultimate Summer Party for Kids With These Tips

Create a Summer Fun Bucket List

Help your kiddos create their own summer fun bucket list. Make it checklist style so your kids can tick off each item they complete, like "fly a kite" or "create chalk art." The items should be both easy to complete and fun to do. Aim for at least 50 bucket-list items. Encourage your kids to review the list each morning to see what they can check off that day. Blogger Jody Arsenault of Mommy Moment has created a sample summer bucket list to help get you started.

Plan a Sleepover

Long days and lazy mornings make summer the perfect time to invite friends over to spend the night. Amp up their next sleepover with cozy handmade sleeping pods — all you need are basic sewing skills and a collection of pillowcases and pillows. Simplify snacking with a kid-friendly charcuterie board with crackers, grapes, cheese and mandarin oranges, as well as a dessert version with cookies, fruit snacks and candy.

get the how-to: Turn Pillows Into Cozy, Kids' Sleeping Pods

Host an Outdoor Movie Night

An outdoor movie night is the perfect sleepover activity. Have the kids grab their sleeping pods and head outside to watch a movie under the stars. Project a favorite film onto your garage door or an exterior wall or even make an easy DIY movie screen; then pop popcorn and fill an outdoor cooler with single-serve drinks. For a true theater experience, pick up a variety of boxed candy at your local dollar store.

Learn More: The 8 Best Outdoor Projectors

Get Kids in the Kitchen

Get an assist from the kiddos in the kitchen. In addition to letting them be creative, cooking is a great way to teach them about measurements, planning meals, how to cut food safely and so much more. Start with simple snacks, like sticking chocolate chips in raspberries, and let them work their way up to sous chef status.

See More Photos: Awesome Kitchen Gear for the Tiny Chef in Your Life

Boost Your Pool Time

Hot summer days call for a watery cool-down. Turn pool time into game time with one of our easy-to-create dollar store pool games: water word find, slippery sponge toss and nautical noodle race. Learn how to create them, below.

Learn More: Get Your Pool Party Poppin' With These Dollar Store Pool Game DIYs

Camp Out in the Backyard

Pitch a tent in the backyard, and your kids can have camp-outs all summer long. It’s like a staycation, only more fun. Plus, there’s no need to pack and unpack the car, wonder whether you thought to bring lanterns or worry about the weather. At night, kids can roast marshmallows and play flashlight tag, then lay back for an evening of stargazing. During the day, the tent makes a perfect reading nook or quiet nap spot.

See More Photos: 12 Stress-Free Tips for Camping With Kids

Pull Out the Sidewalk Chalk

Let their artistic energy fly with a container of sidewalk chalk. For older children, encourage them to come up with their own storyboard they can literally step into, like this imaginative journey flying on butterflies.

See More Photos: Sidewalk Chalk Project for Kids

Have a Photo Scavenger Hunt

A photo scavenger hunt is a fun way to get kids outside while engaging their curiosity. Create a checklist of items kids need to photograph, either with a camera or a smartphone, like flowers, street signs or sand castles, as well as group shots, like the family eating snow cones. Pull together a short list of items for an activity that can last a few hours or create a long list that'll take them all summer to complete.

Learn More: The Best Photo Storage Boxes for Organizing Your Favorite Memories

Plant a Garden

Whether you want to create a small herb garden on your kitchen countertop or grow a bumper crop of veggies in your backyard, gardening is a fun activity that can keep kids busy all summer long. It’s also a great project that will get kids involved in all aspects of the garden — from choosing what to grow to learning how to care for plants.

See More Photos: 10 Ways to Foster Your Kid’s Interest in Gardening

Turn Your Backyard Into a Water Park

No boring backyard this summer. Transform your outdoors into a mini water park, complete with an obstacle course, wet-sponge corn hole and water balloon piñatas. Grab everything you need the next time you’re at a big-box store or place a quick online order, along with some freezer pops for mid-play break.

See More Photos: Summer Backyard Water Games for Kids

Create an Indoor Playhouse

This easy no-sew project, below, turns your dining room table into a kid-sized hideaway. When it’s play time, pull out the adorable tablecloth, then when it’s dinnertime, quickly stow it away. Since it’s such an easy project, include your kids in the craft so they can truly make it their own.

get the how-to: How to Make a No-Sew Tablecloth Playhouse

Create a Craft Station

Set aside an area in your home, like the dining room table, for a craft station that you can leave up all summer long. Lay out everything your kids might need to make fun summer crafts, like glitter, scissors, construction paper, feathers and crayons. Look to recycled materials, too, like toilet paper rolls, cereal boxes and milk cartons. Get our best kid craft ideas, below.

See More Photos: 60 Fun and Easy Kids' Crafts

Help Kids Discover a Fun Project

Chat with your kid about what project they’d love to create this summer. Maybe the idea of a fairy garden brings light to your child’s eye, maybe they’ve been asking for an aquarium forever or they want to turn their bedroom into the ultimate bookworm’s haven. Learn what their current passion is and embrace it with them.

See More Photos: How to Create a Magical Backyard Fairy Ring

Turn Pool Noodles Into a Bowling Alley

Give kids the chance to practice their bowling skills even when not at the local alley. Design an at-home bowling alley with a yoga mat, pool noodles and chip cans, letting everyone play in rain or shine.

get the how-to: Turn Pool Noodles Into a Backyard Bowling Alley for Kids

Plan a Family Road Trip

Summer is for family road trips, so why not let your kids plan out a family vacation? They'll love having a say in the destination and activities, even where to eat during the road trip. Give them a paper map (though you may need to show them how to use one) and some guidance on how to find things to do and places to eat (e.g., TripAdvisor, Yelp). Checking out travel books at the library is another way to help them plan.

Learn More: 10 Best Car Games for Kids

Start the Day With Writing Prompts

The summer brain drain can come on quickly, so start each day with a summer writing prompt, like “If I could travel to the future I would ..." or “I love to read books about ...” It’s a great way to get little minds moving before they’re preoccupied with cartoons and swim team practice. Blogger Melanie Edwards of ModernMami.com has created a list of 60 summer writing prompts that you can print out or use to generate ideas for your own writing prompts.

See More Photos: 10 Ways Your Kids Can Make Someone Smile This Summer

Paint Rocks

Give your kids the chance to fill your flower beds with color and pattern. First, take kiddos on a hunt for flat rocks and gather up paint supplies. We recommend using paint markers, which are easier for little hands to hold and not as messy, but you can also use up any paints you have leftover from other projects. Encourage them to paint fun themes, like their favorite characters from movies or books. Learn more, below.

get the how-to: Kid-Approved, Farmhouse-Themed Painted Story Rocks

Train for a Fun Race

In summer, you’ll find plenty of fun runs and obstacle courses that kids can participate in for exercise and prizes. Two fun races to check out are The Color Run, which will leave your kids bright and colorful, and Bubble Run, which will have your kids running through loads of wet, soapy bubbles. For athletic kids looking for a challenge, check out Kids Adventure Games, which is a weekend-long adventure course that includes biking, hiking, rappelling and zip lining.

See More Photos: How to Make Exercise Fun for Kids

Create Barnyard Balloon Animals

This combo of farm animals and balloons is guaranteed to be a hit this summer. Let your kids help you cut out the free printable designs, below, and attach the animal faces with double-sided tape. In no time, you’ll have an entire barnyard of animals — from cows and horses to dogs and sheep.

Learn More: Calling All Party Animals! DIY Farm-Themed Balloon Animals

Create a Summer Scrapbook

To preserve summer memories, help kids create a scrapbook filled with photos, journal entries, museum brochures and souvenirs, even scraps of paper maps identifying places you visited during the summer break. It’s a great way to capture the fun of summer in a book they can flip through again and again. Let them personalize their summer scrapbook with stickers, markers or paint pens.

See More Photos: 50 At-Home Kids' Activities to Banish Boredom

Hunt for Hidden Treasure

Your kids can hunt for hidden treasure over the summer, thanks to Brain Chase. The popular once-a-year online adventure game lasts six weeks starting in early June, encouraging kids to complete weekly challenges that both inspire learning and put them one step closer to finding a real-life treasure. As part of the quest, kids read 15 minutes a day, write weekly journal entries, solve math problems and even learn one of 30 different languages.

Learn More: A Guide to Wonder Hunts for Kids

24 Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy This Summer

Related To:

Shop This Look

Bust Boredom This Summer

Set Up a Lemonade Stand

Sign Up for a Summer Reading Program

Throw a Summer Party

Create a Summer Fun Bucket List

Plan a Sleepover

Host an Outdoor Movie Night

Get Kids in the Kitchen

Boost Your Pool Time

Camp Out in the Backyard

Pull Out the Sidewalk Chalk

Have a Photo Scavenger Hunt

Plant a Garden

Turn Your Backyard Into a Water Park

Create an Indoor Playhouse

Create a Craft Station

Help Kids Discover a Fun Project

Turn Pool Noodles Into a Bowling Alley

Plan a Family Road Trip

Start the Day With Writing Prompts

Paint Rocks

Train for a Fun Race

Create Barnyard Balloon Animals

Create a Summer Scrapbook

Hunt for Hidden Treasure

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