Lemonade Stand

This activity is an absolute classic! For an added challenge (or side-by-side taste comparison), try making homemade lemonade with freshly-squeezed lemons.

Then give kids some cardboard boxes to decorate so they can set up a stand. Whether they sell to friends and neighbors for real money or just pretend to sell to each other, they’ll have an old-fashioned summer blast.

Ice Cream in a Bag

Use just a few supplies to make DIY ice cream, no machine required. 

• In a 1-quart resealable bag, combine ½ cup half-and-half, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla. Seal the bag, pushing out excess air as you do.
• Add 3 cups of crushed ice and ⅓ cup of rock salt to a 1-gallon resealable bag. Nestle the smaller bag with the ice cream ingredients inside it, and seal the larger bag.
• Now shake, shake, shake! Shake and squeeze the bag for 10-15 minutes. (It definitely helps to have a few friends or family members take turns during this step.)
• Open the bags carefully to check progress. When it looks thick and creamy, it’s time to dine!

Fruit Kabobs

Cut up chunks of whatever fruit your family loves best: strawberries, bananas, grapes, watermelon, pineapple, etc. Provide long wooden skewers, then invite kids to create their own kabobs, mixing the fruits however they like and being careful with the pointy ends of the skewers.

These make a great healthy snack, although you might consider indulging by dipping the kabobs in melted chocolate every once in a while!

Cookie Decorating

Bake plain sugar cookies (or buy them pre-made). Give kids bags of colored frosting with the corners snipped off, along with sprinkles, chocolate chips, and other cookie decorating goodies.

Let each child decorate their own cookie for a treat, and make some extras to share with family and friends.

Homemade Smoothies

Smoothies are so easy to make: combine 1 cup of the liquid of your choice, such as any type of milk or juice, with 1 cup crushed ice.

Then, add in any other ingredients you like: frozen fruit, nut butter, honey, spinach, carrots, rolled oats … the list goes on! Let kids experiment to find their own favorite recipe.

Older kids can learn to safely use a blender on their own, while younger ones will need some adult help with this activity. 

DIY Salad Bar

Harvest veggies from the garden or visit a produce stand together to pick out lots of colorful veggies and your favorite kinds of lettuce.

Kids can help wash and cut up the produce, laying it all out in separate dishes. Provide big bowls and your favorite salad dressings, then invite everyone to enjoy your at-home salad bar!

Mystery Ingredient

Write a selection of “mystery ingredients” on slips of paper and put them in a jar. Invite your child to draw one out, revealing that day’s choice.

Then, challenge your child to help you come up with a recipe or dish that uses that ingredient, and make it for everyone to enjoy. Here are some mystery ingredient possibilities: nut butter, honey, soy sauce, cornbread mix, spinach, pineapple slices, pickles, etc. 

Kids Cooking Show

If your child really loves to spend time in the kitchen, invite them to put on their own cooking show!

As they prepare a recipe, they can talk to the audience, explaining what they’re doing. You can even film them with your phone and share the video with their friends.

Herb Garden

As long as you have a sunny windowsill, you can grow your own herbs. Let kids pick out some seeds (options like basil, dill, chives, parsley, and oregano are easy to grow).

Buy some small pots and label stakes or signs for each one. Then, plant the seeds, watch them grow, and enjoy adding fresh herbs to the dishes you make together all summer long.

Farmer’s Market

Visit a farmer’s market together, then encourage your child to set up their own market at home.

They can offer toy or hand-drawn fruits and veggies, sculpt offerings from playdough or clay, or even sell real fresh produce from your own garden to neighbors (with permission first, of course)!

Obstacle Course

Here’s another classic summer activity, one that’s only limited by your imagination! Obstacle courses tend to include physical elements, of course, but you can incorporate other challenges too.

Consider adding stations where racers must stop and write out the alphabet backward, sing all the verses of a favorite song, or answer questions on a few flashcards before continuing. This gives all kinds of kids a chance to shine.

Outdoor Games

This is the season for epic games of Spud, freeze tag, sardines, and follow-the-leader!

Learn how to play all these games and many more here, with options for little ones, groups and teams, and more.

Check out our article Nature Activities for Preschoolers for 50 more outdoor ideas.

Shadow Tracing

You’ll need a bright sunny day and sidewalk chalk for this one. Take turns holding funny poses while a partner traces your shadow. This is especially fun to do several times throughout the day.

Hold the same pose each time and trace each shadow in a different color. At the end, you’ll have a rainbow array reflecting your shadow as it changes throughout the day.

Water Balloon Games

What kid doesn’t love a chance to play with water balloons?

Try the balloon toss: pairs of kids start out standing fairly close together, tossing their balloon from one to the other. After each toss, kids take a big step backward. Eventually, someone will miss their catch and get seriously wet!

Other ideas: water balloon piñata, water balloon dodgeball, or a water balloon throwing challenge: who can throw their balloon the farthest without it popping?

Backyard Fort

Haul out the old sheets and blankets and round up all the cardboard boxes you’ve got: it’s time to build the ultimate outdoor fort! (Just remember to watch for rain—a soggy fort isn’t quite as much fun.)

Toy Boat Race

If you’ve got a pool (even a kiddie pool) or access to another water source, toy boat races are so much fun!

You can use boats already on hand, or try building your own from materials like straws, wood craft sticks, twigs, bark, foil, and more. Of course, adults should be close by to keep an eye on children playing near water. 

Mini Garden

Also known as a fairy garden, a mini garden incorporates easy-care succulents with tiny accessories (fit for a fairy!).

You’ll find lots of mini fairy garden accessories for sale in the summer, or you can get creative and make your own. Old dollhouse furniture and accessories can also work in fairy gardens.

Bike Wash

Give kids some big sponges, buckets, gentle dish soap, and towels so they can set up their own neighborhood bike wash station.

You can even teach older kids how to wax the metal fittings. Once everyone has a nice shiny bike, decorate them with flowers and streamers and hold a bike parade!

Spray Bottle Tag

Fill spray bottles with water mixed with a few drops of washable paint (optional) in different colors.

Dress in old white t-shirts, then start the game! Give every player a different color, and see how long it takes each person to tag everybody else. 

Backyard Mini-Golf

Visiting the putt-putt course is fun, but the costs can add up.

Pick up an inexpensive toy golf set and invite kids to create their own creative mini-golf holes for the family to play together at home instead.

Ice Painting

Freeze a variety of colored ice cubes on wood craft sticks. Grab some blank paper and head outside on a warm day, then use the frozen paint “brushes” to create watercolor masterpieces as they melt. Learn more about this summer activity for kids here and check out our other summer craft ideas here.

Backyard Theater

Gather a few friends and put on a show to rival the best performances in town! Kids can make up their own skits or adapt one of their favorite summer stories into a play or puppet show for friends and family.

Tie Dye

This is a beloved activity that’s perfect for summer. It can get a bit messy, so that makes it the perfect craft to do outdoors.

Tip: If you’ve already got too many tie-dyed t-shirts, consider dying beach towels, hair bands, or socks instead.

Summer Poems

Invite young authors to compose their own poems about the sunny season. They can illustrate them and collect them together in a homemade book, or invite friends and family to join them in reciting their favorite summer poetry. Use this list of rhyming words to help get them started!

Silly Plant Hair

Kids love to plant things and watch them grow. Turn this activity into art by pasting a photo or drawing a picture of your face on a paper cup. Then, plant grass seeds inside, and watch the crazy hair sprout! Learn more about this creative summertime activity for kids here.

Backyard Museum

This is the perfect season to get out and explore, gathering interesting rocks, leaves, shells, and more. Turn each into an “exhibit” in the backyard, complete with explanatory signs. Then kids can act as tour guides to show others all their treasures.

Sidewalk Chalk Murals

Is it even summer if you don’t spend time drawing with sidewalk chalk? Find a big driveway, a brick wall, or a playground, then plan out and draw an enormous mural together.

For inspiration, look for a local chalk art festival near you to visit as a family.

Nature Painting

Choose a beautiful spot in nature, then set kids up with easels or sturdy-backed sketchbooks and some watercolors.

Whether they try to capture exactly what they see or create impressionist-style paintings instead, this is a fun and creative way to encourage young ones to study the world around them. Get more info on this activity idea here.

Rock Painting

Buy some smooth river rocks and use acrylic paints to decorate them however you like. Then, leave the painted rocks around town or at the playground to surprise and delight others in your neighborhood!

Nature Collage

Take a nature stroll and collect items like leaves, sticks, wildflowers … whatever catches your eye. Back at home, spend some time arranging the objects in interesting patterns, then glue them down to make a summer nature collage.

Outdoor Reading Nook

Take one of our top summer reads for kids outside and find a comfy place to read. A few of our favorite spots: under a big leafy tree, sitting in the kiddie pool on a hot summer day (protect those pages!), or in a backyard tent with a flashlight.

Nature Journal

Spend a few peaceful minutes each day drawing or writing about what you see in nature. Note the colors of the leaves, the clouds and weather, the flowers in blooms, or the birds and butterflies. At the end of the season, you’ll have a beautiful record of the whole summer!

Cloud-Watching

Lying on your back watching clouds might be one of the most calming activities there is. Have fun pointing out shapes and watching them change over time. You can even try sketching some of your sightings, or recreating them later with cotton balls and glue.

Stargazing

Give kids the treat of staying up past their bedtime to check out the planets and constellations visible in the summer. Use a basic pair of binoculars to see what details you can spot on the moon!

Tip: The Perseid meteor shower peaks in August, putting on an incredible nighttime show.

Origami

The web is full of easy origami tutorials for kids and adults alike. You can buy special origami paper or just use whatever you have on hand. You could even consider trying to fold 1000 paper cranes together as a family this summer!

Outdoor Yoga

This meditative stretching activity is even more soothing and relaxing when you try it outdoors in nature. Even little kids can easily master simple poses like downward-facing dog, cat pose, and star pose.

Listening Walk

Take a walk using your ears more than your eyes. Discuss the sounds you hear, noting just how many there really are when you stop to truly listen.

Bird Watching

Hang a bird feeder and watch for visitors to your yard. Learn to identify the common birds that drop by using free tools like Merlin Bird ID.

Kids will love using the sound ID feature, which identifies birds by listening for their calls!

Sidewalk Sensory Walk

Use chalk to create your own sensory walk along a sidewalk, driveway, or playground.

Include different ways to move along sections of the path (hopping on one foot, backwards, etc.), plus spots to stop for different activities, like touching your toes, smelling scents in the air, or listening for birds or just the breeze. 

Art Show

Invite everyone to bring a piece of their own artwork to display in a summer art show.

Kids can stand by their masterpieces, proudly explaining their work to others as they tour the displays.

Backyard Carnival

Carnivals and fairs are a favorite summer activity, but you don’t have to wait for one to come to your town—make your own instead.

Kids will have a blast making their own DIY ring toss, balloon pop, cake walk, bean bag throw, and other booths. Pick up some inexpensive prizes and invite others to step right up!

All-Ages Storytime

Ask older children to choose their favorite books to read to the younger ones in the group.

Finish with an adult-led storytime so every kid gets a chance to kick back and enjoy the tales.

Bubble Blowing Party

Blowing bubbles by yourself is fun, but when you get a whole group together, the fun multiplies!

Make this activity even more better with a bubble machine and music for the ultimate bubble dance party.

Scavenger Hunt

Kids of all ages love a good hunt. Create a list of items, break the group into teams, and see who can finish the list first (or bring back the most items in a set amount of time).

You can offer prizes, or simply compete for bragging rights.

Tip: Even though it’s not Earth Day, our Earth Day scavenger hunt still works great as an easy way to get started. 

Board Game Tournament

Even summer has rainy days. Fortunately, those are perfect for board game tournaments.

Pick a handful of favorites and rotate kids among them. If you like, you can award points to the winners, keeping track as you go along and crowning champions at the end.

Backyard Olympics

Decide on your events, keeping it simple and inclusive.

(Not all events need to be physical; include a puzzle contest or rhyming challenge amongst your running and jumping games.)

Divide the group into teams and assign each a country. Kids can make flags and learn national anthems as they compete for gold, silver, and bronze.

Talent Show

Everybody—yes, EVERYBODY!—has got talent. Hold a talent show that encourages participation from everyone, even if their talent is something silly like reciting the alphabet backward while standing on one foot!

Outdoor Movie Night

With a big white sheet and an inexpensive projector, you can hold a neighborhood movie night in your own backyard.

Pop some popcorn and stock up on sweet treats, then spread out some blankets and watch a flick under the stars.

Daytime Camp Out

Some kids might be a little too small for an overnight camp out, so hold one during the day instead!

Set up tents, roast marshmallows, tell campfire stories, and then take an afternoon nap under the canvas. This is just as much fun as an overnight but comes with the perk of fewer mosquitos!