We are officially on summer break! I am starting to think about ways to add some simple activities while providing learning experiences on the way. I do not like to plan every day out, because I like our schedule to be a little more free and open in the summer.
So, how do I pick an activity? I, personally, like to choose spontaneously based on how I feel that day. I’ve got my list of simple activities I enjoy putting together in my head. As the day rolls along, I pick and choose the perfect one for that day.
The reason I love a good activity list like this is because I love having one small, NEW thing to look forward to each day. It adds some excitement for my children and it makes each day fun in its own way. I’ve been living this “one-new-thing” motto for a while now, and have loved it. It’s easy to plan, and it can be as big or as little of an activity as you want.
I constantly have ideas running around in my head, but I thought to myself that it might be neat to come up with an idea for every day of the summer. This does not mean that every day needs an activity. There are days when boredom and rest is welcomed and even encouraged! I just wanted to have a list for people to refer to. So, I’m counting the average summer (June and July) with 5 days a week. So, let’s do it: 40 simple activities for your summer!
Save this post or download the list FREE below, and pick one activity each day. It’s your “one-new-thing” for the day. Some will be super low-key, and some will require some planning. If you have fun with one of the ideas, do it again! You can do multiple activities in one day. There are no rules here.
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1. Sprinkler and Popsicles
2. Puzzle
Complete a big puzzle or do a bunch of little ones. Once, we took all of our wooden puzzle pieces and put them in a pile next to all the empty boards. It was so fun – a scramble to get them all back together! You could also time it for a little racing excitement!
3. Book Basket
Pick a selection of books from your shelves that follow a theme: animals, weather, nature, superheros, princesses…it can be anything. Leave that basket in a new spot in your house and read through it that day or even throughout the week. This is a great one to keep going throughout the whole summer.
You can also use your library.Think of a topic your children are interested in OR just ask them. When they come up with a topic, visit your local library website and choose as many books as you can about that topic. When you pick them up, it’s like Christmas!
Place the books somewhere they can easily be grabbed and read. I promise you, the learning opportunities will explode. I’ll explain….the other day I checked out a bunch of ocean books. We poured them out on the floor and dove in.
One of the books came with a song, so we learned a song about a beluga whale. It was so cute! Next, we read tons of crazy facts about interesting animals in the ocean. My oldest couldn’t stop! She was so intrigued.
I found a couple of sea animal crafts that worked with our supplies. We also found an ocean documentary from Disney that was really good!
See how one set of books can take you many places? I bet questions will come up as you read. Research! Watch videos…read more books…write about it…find a coloring page…there are so many ways to extend the learning about the topic your children CHOSE to learn about. This process of interest-led learning is exciting!
4. Start a new Read Aloud
Simply start a new book together. Don’t think your kids are too little to read chapter books. I’ve been reading out loud to my bigger kids while some of mine were babies. It gets really fun when they are around 3-4 years! If you’re interested in taking it further, check out my free Read Aloud Experience.
I have two free units. Mrs. Piggle Wiggle is short, funny, and easy to complete. The Secret Garden is a bit longer but it is absolutely beautiful. Each unit comes with discussion questions and simple activities to do along with each chapter. No required book/supply list!
Click here to download the Secret Garden Read Aloud Experience.
Click here to download the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Read Aloud Experience.
5. Water Table
I purchased a water table about 5 years ago, and it’s still going strong. I’m always tempted to get a new one, but they really don’t care about the bells and whistles. All my kids want to do is play and splash in the water. So, if you don’t have a water table, save yourself some money and just purchase a giant plastic container. It will provide hours of fun.
Change up the water table on a different day to mix it up. Here are some ways we have tried:
- bubbles (use tear free soap to protect eyes)
- ice cubes
- shaving cream
- water beads
- toy theme: animals, princesses, superheros, cars – any type of toy you are ok with getting wet.
- Barbie/Doll bath OR car wash
- spoons, ladles, measuring cups
The water table is definitely my favorite because it’s usually an easy clean-up and it entertains all my children, no matter their age.
6. Watercolors
If you’ve never tried watercolor paper, it’s a game changer. It turns a sloppy puddle of paint into some really cool art!
7. Nature Walk
Walk in your neighborhood or pick a nearby trail.
8. Scavenger Hunt
Take it indoors or outdoors. You could also hide flashcards or task cards around your house. (Check out this post for more flashcard games) Hiding puzzle pieces is another fun option – just don’t forget where you put them!
Check out this neighborhood scavenger hunt.
Here’s another site with a few different free scavenger hunt printables.
9. Park Trip
10. Splash Pad
11. Paper Plate Craft
I love having paper plates at my house as a regular craft supply item. There are so many different things you can do with them. You could choose something intentional to make with the paper plate, or just choose something fun and random.
Click here for some different animal choices.
You can find more paper plate craft ideas in this post.
If you go on Pinterest and type in “Paper Plate Craft”, your choices are endless!
12. Board Games
Pick one or make a whole day of it! Our favorites right now are Eye Found It, Fairytale, and Hedbanz.
13. Lego Challenge
This one is great if you have a variety of legos at home. This link I’m sharing with you is a calendar with a lego challenge a day for 30 days! WOW! Pick one or do them all. Have a lego challenge day! Have fun with it!
14. Walk a new trail
15. Art Study
We did this throughout our school year and it’s really a lot of fun. Choose an artist. Look for YouTube videos about that artist. You can even check out books from your library. Then, try to recreate a piece of work created by that artist.
When we did this at home we studied Van Gogh. I’ll share the link to the video we watched here. I’ll also share the two books we read that were very good and paired well with our study:
We re-created Starry Night after learning from the videos and books. This was a great activity to do together and I look forward to another art study like this again.
16. Bake a treat
17. Bike Ride
18. Water Balloons
If you’ve never tried Bunch O’ Balloons, you’re missing out! I remember trying to fill up water balloons as a kid by hand. They were slippery, they popped, and it took forever. Whoever invented these is a genius – it’s practically zero effort and fast! Be sure to teach your kiddos how to clean up all the balloon pieces too 😉
19. Make a puppet and have a show!
20. Bake bread
So, I’m a huge fan of Paul Hollywood and the Great British Baking Show. I have a few of his cookbooks. Paul Hollywood’s Bread is my favorite cookbook of his because it has step by step photos.
If you don’t know where to start, soda bread is a great one to try because it’s quick. Homemade pizza dough is another fun one and it’s so delicious! Make the dough and add whatever you like to it! If you want to go big and try the whole kneading and rising process, check out the bread loaf recipe. There’s nothing like the smell of homemade bread.
21. Ice Cream Sundaes
22. Documentary Day
There are so many great documentaries on streaming channels right now. Disney+ has a Disney Nature series that’s great.
Planet Earth is another fantastic series that is so interesting to watch!
23. Card Games
Play with regular cards or try different games like Uno Attack and Phase 10.
24. Lemonade Stand
If you are uncomfortable doing this in your neighborhood, or if you just want to keep it simple, consider hosting a lemonade stand for family and friends. The next time you invite people over for dinner, set up a lemonade stand and have your child sell to family. Add fresh baked cookies or brownies. Let your guests know it’s coming so they can bring change 🙂
25. Play Dough
Play with the store bought kind or make your own! Find a recipe here:
26. Shaving Cream
Slap some shaving cream on your table and let your children rub their hands in it. Write words, numbers, pictures…anything you want! Get the shaving cream from the dollar store.
The best way I found to clean up is to wipe with a wet wash cloth, rinse and repeat. It takes a few times, but it works. Once your finished, the room will smell nice and clean!
27. Movie and Popcorn
28. Cookie Decorating
We have a set of cookie cutters that make cookie decorating so fun. There’s a shape for every holiday! It even comes with letters and numbers. Our set was a gift, so the one linked is not the exact same, but it is very similar!
29. Field Trip
30. Minute to Win it
These are so fun, and you could definitely make a day out of this. It would be perfect if you’re stuck inside because of rain (or sometimes heat!). Check out this blog post that explains what these games are, and it lists 20 games you can put together in your house. Pick and choose what works for you.
31. Tie Dye
We recently used a kit just like the one below. I was terrified to do it, but it really wasn’t that bad. My advice would be to get everything ready and do it all in one swoop. Once you mix the dye, you can’t save it. So go big and tie dye all the items you want. Then, clean up and be done! 🙂
32. Squirt Gun Painting
Go to the dollar store and get a few squirt guns (you could also just use a squirt bottle, if you prefer). Fill them with some different colored watered down paints. Next, I suggest taping giant paper or cardboard to your fence. You could also hang it on a line. Squirt the paint and create a masterpiece.
Here’s an article explaining the process using liquid watercolors.
33. Picnic
34. Escape Room
This one might be best for kids that are just a little bit older. However, I did look at Teacher’s Pay Teacher’s for escape rooms and found some great ones for as young as kindergarten. Younger siblings could definitely tag along and participate in the action.
Check out Teresa Kwant on TPT. She has TONS of escape rooms categorized by age from first grade through sixth. Escape Rooms require quite a bit of prep so keep that in mind as you choose when you want to do this.
35. Sidewalk Chalk
36. Simple Science Experiment
Simply complete a science experiment, OR you can also practice recording and analyzing data. Make a chart or just grab a pencil and notebook. Have fun with it! Here’s a couple links to some simple experiments you can do at home:
10 Science Experiments at Home for Kids
15 Very Simple Science Experiments
37. Build a fort
38. Tea Party
39. Send a letter/picture to a friend
40. STEM Challenge
If you are not familiar with STEM, it stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. STEM challenges provide opportunities for kids to get creative and accomplish a goal set before them. These can get really fun if you like a little competition. You can even participate yourself!
These challenges can easily be found by searching for “STEM Challenges”, but here’s a link to a blog post that has a few links listed for you.
Well, there you have it – 40 simple activities for every day this summer!
I don’t know about you, but I’m pumped. I haven’t decided which ones I’ll do, or even if I’ll do them all. But, it’s nice to have this go-to list to get me started. Keep in mind, these activities are not meant to be “out-of-this-world” or things you’ve never heard of. I only hope for the list to be a simple way for you to enjoy time together with your family!
Let me know if you try some of these! Comment below or send me an email. Follow me on social media and tag me in a photo! Sign up and receive the FREE list pictured below. Put it on your fridge for an easy checklist to refer to this summer.
