35 Summer Fun Activities for Kids

We are already 2 weeks into summer here, I know some schools are still going but we are well into our summer plans. Devin spent the first week training for his lifeguard position, then helped with Special Olympics. He stopped at home for one day to wash clothes and work the opening day at the park before leaving for Boys State last week. He is now back home and back to work and football practice which will take up most of his summer.

Shaylee and I have spent a lot of time cleaning the house and started getting ready for a yard sale. She had a sleep over with her best friend and has plans for a one-day babysitting course and VBS this week. Next week she is going to band camp for the first time, she is beyond excited.

Our June is always busy with camps, VBS, vacation and other activities, but by the time July hits, the kids are bored and needing entertainment. I have done lots of things to keep the kids busy in past summers. I hope this list of inexpensive ‘summer fun’ activities help you to keep your kids busy this summer.

1. Vacation Bible School – my kids have always loved VBS and have done several each summer. When Shane was young, our church didn’t host a VBS so he went to some at other churches. One summer, I think he attended 9 different ones, but usually they go to 2-3 each summer. Around here, they are free and just require drop-off and pick-up each night. The kids have fun and you get a couple of hours each night to relax, run errands or get something done without kids underfoot.
2. Sleepovers – take turns with your kids friends for sleepovers. One week you host a sleepover and the next week, your child spends the night with the friend. Depending on the age of the children, provide appropriate toys and games and they can usually keep each other entertained pretty well.
3. Board games – games are great to keep kids busy and help them learn important life lessons. Learning to play fair, follow rules, and win or lose graciously. Some games help with reading and math skills as well. My daughter and her friend played 10 games of Life during their sleepover. Since neither of them had played the game before, I helped them figure out the rules during the first game and then they had a blast. We have found the classics – Connect Four, Checkers, Chess, Chinese Checkers and Twister have been our kids favorites over the years.
4. Card games – we love playing card games. There are all kinds of card games that kids can play, starting with card matching games and Go Fish, progressing through games like Crazy Eights and War. My kids are all old enough now to play all kinds of card games like Rummy, Spades, Rook, Phase 10, Progressive Rummy, and our favorite Tripoly is a combination of 3 different card games.
5. Playground – the neighborhood playground or even a play structure in your yard is great for letting the kids work off some extra energy. Think up some new games to make it fun again when they get bored. Count how many times they can swing before stopping, or who can swing highest. Grab a stopwatch and see how long it takes to climb the ladder and slide down the fire pole. Make up new rules like you can’t use the slide to get down or the ladder to get up.
6. Park – go explore a local park. We have a lot of city, county, and even a state park all within 15-45 minutes. Look around and see what you have available. There are playgrounds, swimming, fishing, hiking, paddle boats, and picnic areas which are either completely free or pretty cheap. One of our city parks has a splash park and skateboard park. Sometimes they have educational programs or day camps, these usually have a fee attached.
7. Nature Center – we have a great nature center ran by AR Game and Fish Commission. It includes a 3-story education and exhibit facility, 2.5 acre pond, and 100 acres of woodland. Everything is free to the public including special crafts and activities sessions for kids. Look around you may have something similar in within driving distance.
8. Museums – almost every city has some type of museum. Some have great exhibits or hands-on activities for kids. As the kids get older, they may be interested in exploring local museums and learning about their community. There are great children’s museums that are more like a huge playground where kids can learn how things work, these are great for all ages. They are not usually free, but may be reasonable especially if there is a family or season pass available.
9. Community Center – each community or recreation center will have different activities available. There may be a gym, exercise room, racquetball or tennis courts, swimming pool, exercise classes, swimming classes, walking trails and more. Some of these will be free and some may cost a small fee. Our community center has a small water park that costs $5 for a day of fun.
10. Library – the library is a great free option. They have a lot more than books these days. They have movies, audio books, magazines, CDs, computers and ours even has toys to play with while the kids are in the library. Most have a great summer program for kids with prizes for reading, storytime, movies, crafts and special programs like magicians and concerts.
11. Slip ‘n Slide – slip ‘n slides are great for kids of all ages. You can buy an inexpensive slide or you can make one easily. All it takes is a roll of plastic, baby shampoo and some water. The commercial slides are great for little kids, but as the kids get older they want a little more excitement. Add a hill and they will have a blast for the entire summer.
12. Water slide – turn any slide into a water slide by adding a hose. When my kids were little, they loved it when I put the bottom of their plastic slide in a small pool. They would spend more time sliding into the water than playing in the water. We have also attached the hose to the slide on their play structure. You might want to put a tarp under the bottom of the slide to prevent a muddy mess.
13. Trampoline – trampolines are great for exercise. They loved jumping on the trampoline. They would come up with all kinds of games and contests. During the summer they loved to fix the water hose or a sprinkler on the edge of the trampoline or on the slide next to it so that the water arched over the trampoline. Then they could jump in the water spray for hours.
14. Water gun or water balloon fight – kids love water fighting in any way. You can give them a bucket of water to refill their water guns. There are easy fill adapters that make it easy to fill the water balloons, so they can do it themselves and a lot of the fun of having a water balloon fight is filling them up. This way they do the prep and the clean up and have fun in between.
15. Nerf war – boys love playing with Nerf guns, balls and Frisbees. My boys loved playing with Nerf guns, their friends would bring theirs with them when they came over and they would chase each other all through the house with the Nerf guns, I still find bullets occasionally when I move furniture. During the summer, I could send them outside with the Nerf guns and they kept themselves occupied for a long time. One year my son was invited to a Nerf gun war birthday party, they even had shirts made for the different teams. They had a blast, you could do the same thing but use headbands or solid color shirts to divide the teams.
16. Bubbles – little kids love bubbles. There are all kinds of bubble machines that you can buy, but nothing we have bought worked very long. The only specialty thing we bought that really worked out was the no-spill holders, I had a large one that held 3 different blower sticks and there are small hand-held ones for each kid. They won’t keep them from spilling any bubble liquid, but it will help them not to spill it all 2 seconds after you hand it to them. Bubbles are cheap, they sell them in the dollar stores for $1 or less.
17. Camping – camping is a great summer activity. Camping can be done in a lot of different ways. The simplest version is to camp out in your living room or backyard. If you have a tent, put it up and everyone or just the kids can sleep in it, if not just make a pallet in the floor. The kids don’t care, they just want to have fun. Most parks have camping spots, they usually cost something, but if you do your research you should be able to find some pretty inexpensively.
18. Roast marshmallows or make smores – making smores is popular right now. Sometimes the kids like roasting the marshmallows more than actually eating them, so be prepared to eat some extras. I don’t really like smores, but I do like roasted marshmallows. We have a gas stove, so I have let the kids roast marshmallows on a fork over the flame. At a party we attended, they used chafing fuel cans at their smores station, you could also use a small candle. No matter if you build a bonfire or use one of the small substitutes, watch closely to make sure the kids don’t get burned. There are also a lot of recipes for making the smores in the oven or on the grill if you don’t want the kids around any fire.
19. Build a fort – kids love to build forts. It is easy to build a fort, it just takes blankets and either a table or some chairs to drape the blankets over. We used to use the back of the couch and a couple of kitchen chairs for our fort when Shane was little. Some people just drape blankets over the dining room table. The fort could be a place to read, sleep, or play make-believe. It could be something different each day, one day it could be a dungeon, a house or a cave.
20. Scavenger hunt – a scavenger hunt can be elaborate or very simple. Depending on the age of the kids, if could be something as simple as find a rock, stick and a leaf, or as elaborate as clues to solve that lead to the next clue with a prize at the end. These can be done as a competition to see who can find the listed items faster, or they can be done as a team effort with a fun activity at the end. You could give each kid a list of items to look for on your walk and make a craft with them later. Just get creative and have fun, you could even do an eye-spy scavenger hunt, where everyone is looking for a red flower or a green frog. They don’t have to collect them just point them out.
21. Fly a kite – flying kites can be fun. Kites can be purchased inexpensively, sometimes they even have them at the dollar store. All that is required is wind and an open space to run and have fun. One year at our egg hunt at church, some of the prizes were kites. After the hunt was over, the kids that won kites spent another hour or two flying the kites. They all had fun taking turns flying the kites and it made for a great memory for all the kids and parents.
22. Movies – there are summer movie programs in most communities. Check with your local movie theater to see what is available. One of our theaters participates in the Kids Summer Film Fest every year. On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10 am, there is a different kids movie shown each week and it only costs $2 per person.
23. Bowling – there is also a summer program for bowling. When you register your child, they receive 2 free games of bowling each day of the Kids Bowl Free Program all summer long at select bowling centers and schools around the country. Go to kidsbowlfree.com to see if there is a participating location near you.
24. Fish hatchery – the fish hatcheries are educational and fun for the kids to see the different types of fish at different stages and sizes.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services oversees 70 National Fish Hatcheries, 7 Fish Technology Centers and 9 Fish Health Centers.  They are located around the country and there are also additional hatcheries ran by state wildlife programs. The ones we have visited have been free to the public, but you will need to check to see what is available in your area.
25. Fishing – taking kids fishing can be fun. All that is required is a fishing pole and some bait and you might get supper out of the trip. Each state has different rules for fishing licenses so be sure to find out who is required to purchase one, here in AR kids under 16 are not required to purchase a license. Most parks that have lakes allow fishing for free, and some of the stock them with fish so that the kids have a better chance of catching a fish.
26. Swimming – most kids love water and swimming of any kind. My daughter would go swimming everyday if she could. A small pool in the backyard is great for little kids and as the kids get older it may be just as cheap to put in a larger pool if you have to pay every time you go to the local pool, especially if you have several children. Sometimes there is a community pool available that is free for use of the residents, or you can buy a family membership that would be cheaper than individual trips. Just look around and find the least expensive option available. There are a lot of swimming areas at lakes or rivers that are free, just make sure you are not on private property without permission.
27. Crafts – making crafts does not have to be expensive. There are a lot of crafts that can be made out of things that you would throw away normally. Glue and paint do not cost much and many times the kids get their unused supplies sent home from school, so use them up over the summer. There are all kinds of inexpensive craft ideas on the internet for all ages. I remember making a Santa out of a Reader’s Digest when I was in 5th grade, my daughter had to make a music instrument out of trash one time, milk jugs and chip cans can be used for all kinds of crafts. We made a farm silo out of an oatmeal container one year at VBS, old Cds can be used to make window decorations or spinners hanging in trees.
28. Play dough – kids love making things out of play dough. It is cheap to buy and kept my kids entertained for a long time. We have a couple of play dough sets that my kids played with, but they can have a lot of fun with just a round stick to roll it out and a plastic knife to cut it. We still have the same play sets that I bought for Shane, one was a gift and the other was bought at a yard sale. All 3 kids have played with them and Shaylee still does occasionally, she got a few new play dough packages in her Easter basket.
29. Sidewalk chalk – it is fun for kids to draw on the sidewalk or driveway. Even little ones can use sidewalk chalk, they may not do anything buy scribble, but it is the beginning of drawing and writing. Older kids can practice their drawing, math and writing and all it takes is a little water to have a new clean slate to create a whole new work of art.
30. Lemonade stand – make lemonade and have a lemonade stand. Not only does this keep the kids occupied, it helps teach them some lessons about money. It is never too early to start learning about money and how business works.
31. Yard sale – have a yard sale. This is a great way to encourage kids to clean out some old toys that they have outgrown. You could use the money made at the yard sale to pay for a fun adventure. You can also go to yard sales. It is a great way to find some new inexpensive toys, activities, or crafts. My kids have always loved going to yard sales.
32. Garden – plant a garden. Teach kids how to make a garden, you can plant flowers or vegetables or both. You can work up a big garden spot or start out small with container gardening. It doesn’t matter how you do it, they will love the experience of seeing their plants grow and bloom. If you grow vegetables, they may be more likely to eat them if they see them grow and help harvest and cook them.
33. Picnic – pack a picnic. You can take it to the park or just to the backyard. Kids love doing things that are different than what they are used to. Eating outside or at the park is fun. Take a blanket to sit on or find a picnic table if you prefer.
34. Bird Feeder – help the kids make a bird feeder. If you are good at woodworking, go all out, use some scraps and make a nice wood feeder and let them paint it. If not, get creative and make one out of a tin can, pine cone, or toilet paper tube. We have done all of these over the years.
35. Ice cream – making ice cream is so much fun. It is easy to make homemade ice cream. We use an electric ice cream maker, but there are lots of recipes that don’t require one. My kids love homemade ice cream, we like putting strawberries in ours.

I hope this list helps you make it though the summer without the ‘bored’ word being used too often. Here are a few other family related posts you might enjoy – Creative Family Vacations and Spring Break without the Crowds.

Do you have some great inexpensive summer activities that your kids love? Leave a comment and let us know what I missed.

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