8 Backyard Summer-Camp Themes With Plenty of Activities

If you’re running out of ideas for keeping your kids busy this summer, we’ve got several theme-based activities to keep them excited and engaged. Choose a theme for a week or just a few days, and focus all your activities, games and even snacks on that theme. Involve other parents and see what activities you can do together, even if it’s virtually. The key to staying on-task is to create a daily schedule just like at regular summer camps — exercise at 8:30, breakfast at 9:00, outside activity 9:30-11:30, etc. Make sure to leave a little extra time for transitioning and cleaning up between activities. Schedule field trips to parks, beaches and nature preserves for mornings when those places are less likely to be crowded and too hot.

Pro Tip: If you need ideas on electronic games, books, movies and podcasts, go to CommonSenseMedia.org. They provide independent age-based ratings and reviews on thousands of titles for the K-12 audience.

Get outside and discover the ecosystem in your backyard. Start by creating a nature journal and have the kids list and draw pictures of all they see in your yard — squirrels, birds, worms, ants, etc. Talk about where these animals live in your yard — underground, high in the trees or hidden in the shrubs. Get a bug catcher so you can capture a few specimens and spend some time studying them. Go to a park or nature preserve. Before you go, make a scavenger hunt list of things you’re likely to find — common trees, birds, critters and bugs as well as fun items like smelliest plant or the ugliest bug. Don’t limit your outdoor activities to daytime, as some of the best bugs come out at night; find a place to go stargazing or on an owl prowl. Call the park before you head out — they may have educational materials you can use. If your kids are older, a scavenger hunt may sound silly to them. Get them interested in a roundabout way with beginner’s guide books to birding or bugs. Learn about being a science citizen; the annual bird count takes place in February but there may be other ongoing activities in your area.

Make one of these nature projects or crafts: Bug hotel, terrarium, leaf prints, pressed flowers, birdhouse or a birdfeeder.

Start a garden. Even if you’ve only got a windowsill, you still grow plants by using vegetable scraps. It’s easy and doesn’t take a long time to see results.

Have the kids create a performance then use a teleconference program like Zoom or Google Hangout to show it to friends and family at the end of the week. Try a puppet show, sing-along or play. Even if their friends can’t be physically in the play, they can be virtually present. Just have your kids and their friends perform different acts of a play from their home or have each child act out their favorite nursery rhyme. Having friends involved will keep your kids interested. And as a bonus, conference call software like Zoom can record it all for you. If the kids are old enough, they can write the play. Provide them with simple ideas so they don’t spend too much agonizing over a storyline. If they’re younger, have them act out a familiar play, story or their favorite book.

Introduce older kids to some different film styles like silent movies or musicals. Download a few apps – stop-motion, green screen, special effects or sound effects – and let them create their own movie.

Allocate time to create props, costumes and the stage. During the week, play virtual games of charades or karaoke with friends to sharpen their acting and singing skills.

Create a neighborhood scavenger hunt and include the neighborhood kids, too. If you have kids of various age groups, make a few versions of the hunt. For little ones, keep it simple: for example, “find a green mailbox or a blue door.” For the older set, make it a bit more complicated. Have the kids mark the house numbers on their scavenger hunt scorecard.

Play detective. Start with a riddle — preferably one with a secret code — to find a common object around the house, then plant a chain of clues until they solve the mystery and uncover the prize. Then reverse the roles and have them create a detective game that you have to solve.

Create laser mazes in a hallway or playroom using crepe paper streamers and painter’s tape. Award prizes for maneuvering the maze without touching one laser, best belly crawl and most unique maneuvers. For tweens and teens, try an at-home escape room game. There are many virtual escape rooms with themes like Minecraft or Harry Potter. Some are by subscription and others are free.

Try an online game like Brain Chase, a six-week treasure hunt game where the kids do weekly math and reading challenges based on their difficulty level. Kids also submit journal entries that receive personalized feedback from teachers. The cost is about $100 and it takes about 5 to 6 hours per week.