Last Updated on March 21, 2024
Hey there, Jenn, I got your “hint, hint” loud and clear! You asked for some ideas of fun activities over the summer, so here you go. And some of you out there are probably recognizing that summer is here and your children are already saying, “I’m bored.” What’s a mom to do?
As far as I’m concerned, summer time means no agenda. We drag our children from task to task during the school year, so for me summer is not so much about what we do, it’s about who decides what we do!
In our home I try to approach summer days by asking my daughter and son what they’d like to do. Usually they have an idea, if not I throw out some suggestions.
Now realize, Mom, you’re opening yourself up to having to do something that may not sound so thrilling to you. But hey, since you usually set the agenda, turn off the to-do list part of your brain and let them choose. It’s actually fun to see what they come up with!
Here are a dozen examples of how we’ve spent some summer hours.
Easy ideas for passing the time on summer break
- Prepare something yummy—cookies, bread, homemade popsicles. (Deliver some to a neighbor or friend!)
- Trip to the local park with a football, Frisbee, and Blaze (our dog) and enjoy random fun.
- Bike riding, horseback riding, go-cart riding, dirt bike riding. (Yeah, we like “riding.”)
- Marathon game-playing day. (We take turns choosing the game to play.)
- Creativity with Play-Doh and cookie cutters. (Yes, mine still love Play-Doh!)
- Play loud music and perform for each other. (Hair brush mic optional. Warning: “old” dance moves will get you laughed at … big time.)
- Enjoy a lazy pajama/movie/popcorn day. (This is a gift to mom, you HAVE to do nothing with them—WAY cool!)
- Pull out paints/pastels/pencils/crayons and produce masterpieces. (Grandparents are VERY happy to receive summer surprises in the mail!)
- Library day choosing books, audio books, and videos.
- Outdoor play—wiffleball, kickball, four square or pickleball tournament. (If you don’t know pickleball, learn about this amazing game. It is great fun no matter how unathletic you are!)
- Water gun/water balloon fight. (Mom gets to pull out the hose if she’s losing!)
- Stroll shopping…go to the sports store, farm equipment store, electronic store, and wander aimlessly looking at all the cool stuff. (No purchasing, just strolling and looking—it can be done!)
The idea is not to pack a lot into one day, these fun-filled hours were spread out over time!
What I have learned is that children just get plain old sick and tired of always having to do what we want, so the joy of summer for my children are the days that they get to do what they want.
Even when it’s unglamorous and boring to me, I change my attitude and choose to enjoy the adventure and end up getting into it and we have some serious fun together—it’s about creating memories and having no agenda!
Our local college opens up its Olympic size pool during the summer and for a couple of dollars you can go swim laps. They have kick boards etc. so even young swimmers can join the family fun. We go and swim for an hour and just enjoy the cool morning before it gets to hot. Then everyone is kind of in lazy mode for the rest of the day.
We take the big clear painters drop cloth plastic, fold in half, and seal the edges with a hot iron all the way around except for a couple of inches. Then fill the whole thing with water! Makes a wonderfully “cool” water bed for the kids to roll around on and get a little slippery when you wet the top! Giggles galore!