72 Fun-Packed Activities to Keep Kids Entertained All Summer Long
Summer is finally here! Good-bye, homework. Good-bye, breakfast at 7am. Hello, beach on a Wednesday! Hello, water plays in our own backyard at 10am. The kiddos and I are so excited to see what adventures await us for the next three months.
Shifting from time-crunching schedules to relaxing routines, below is a list of 72 exciting activities that we are looking forward to doing. While some of these can be done any time of the year, summer is truly the best season to enjoy the outdoors.
So, put on your beach hat, slather on layers and layers of sunscreen, and get ready to dive into a summer filled with exploration and joy. Whether it’s a midweek beach trip, backyard adventures, or spontaneous water fights, every day is a new opportunity to make unforgettable memories. Let’s embrace the magic of summer together!
“This content features affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.”
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES & GAMES
You can’t get through summer without some water play toys. Get an inflatable pool or a sand and water table, and your kids can spend hours playing without bugging you. For older kids, a splash and slide or a splash pad can do the trick.
Hosting a party and need water games? Try a water balloon fight with self-sealing water balloons to save time and avoid sore fingers. Expand the fun with balloon toss, pass the water, or fill the buckets. If you already own Twister, try out their water splash version and challenge everyone to stay balanced on the slippery mat that shoots out water.
Have water guns? Besides shooting at each other, aim for ping pong balls or red-dotted targets to see who’s got the best shot and most water!
Instead of getting wet, stay dry but still have loads of fun (and a bit of sweat and dirt) with potato sack races, tug of war, and obstacle courses. These activities are perfect for family gatherings and large parties.
If you have a sturdy tree, consider building a rope swing for an activity kids can enjoy anytime, any season.
For parties that aren’t afraid to get messy, plan a watermelon-eating contest to cool off and satisfy thirst. No need to feed the winner as they’ll fill up on delicious, sweet watermelon.
Summer isn’t just about water. A picnic at a nearby park can be relaxing and exciting. Bring a large picnic mat, some foldable chairs, and wheeled devices like bikes, scooters, roller skates, or skateboards. Pack plenty of food in a cooler to keep it fresh on hot days.
ART / PAINTING
While you can paint any time of the year, there’s something special about doing it on sunny days with a gentle breeze, bringing relaxation and joy as you guide the little ones through each step.
From invisible painting with white oil-based crayons to tissue water dapping and watercolor painting with house salt, all of those masterpieces ended up proudly displayed on our walls or bookshelves.
For toddlers, consider creating a cardboard tent or setting up a slide for rolling paint outdoors to contain the mess.
Children love to draw on places they are not allowed to, especially toddlers. This time, allow them to ‘misbehave’ and go wild painting anything they desire on the windows. For this particular window art, make sure to use DIY washable tempera paint and prepare some chubby brushes for their masterpiece on the large window panes
We’ve also experimented with straw blowing and shaving cream marbled art. Although shaving cream can be a bit risky when kids mistake it for bubbles and try to spread it over chairs and tables, I’ve managed to prevent most mishaps with my eagle eyes.
If I have extra time, I’m eager to try DIY pendulum painting by Hello Wonderful—it looks like a blast! For all these projects, remember to cover the surfaces, like the table in our case, with canvas drop cloth or disposable table cloth to make cleanup easier.
Thankfully, most of these activities are safe for our carpet and upholstery, but for messier water-based activities, like stomp and smash in sandwich bags, squeegee paint, bubble blowing, and splattering spinning, we stick to the backyard where there’s plenty of space and no fear of making a mess.
Teaching kids about gravity with a paint drop activity is also fun and educational. They may know liquid goes downward, but it’s important to explain why—that’s gravity!
For large parties with adults and kids, consider a group art activity like balloon dart from Candy Jar Chronicles. It’s sure to be a memorable masterpiece.
For smaller parties with just kids, grab a few squirt guns and large watercolor paper for a fun watercolor blasting session.
Aside from water-based projects, we also love sidewalk chalk drawing. It’s surprisingly fun and can last for hours. We usually opt for the 50-piece pack instead of 12 to give the kids more color options, and don’t worry about chalk getting everywhere—it’s a sign of a good time! Check out some of the ideas by This Tiny Blue House, The Garden Glove, and Your Modern Family.
DO-IT-YOURSELF CRAFTS
Start the summer with a fun family project by tie-dyeing white shirts. Or, better yet, go wild and try tie-dyeing white shoes, hats, dresses, or even tote bags. When we did our first round of tie-dye, we received so many compliments and envious remarks for creating something together. My husband and I had just as much fun as our little ones.
My five-year-old daughter loves anything mermaid-themed, so we followed the instructions on Crafts by Amanda and made our own mason jar aquarium with blue gravel, plants, seashells, and, of course, mermaids. Using remote-controlled LED lights was a great idea—it makes it much easier to control without opening the lid and risking spilling out everything inside.
If your kids love bubbles, try making your own geometric bubble wands with pipe cleaners and beads. It’s a simple and creative project that adds a personal touch to bubble-blowing fun.
For a cosmic adventure, try the galaxy painting project by Crafts by Courtney. Using embroidery hoops, wax paper, and touches of glitter paint, you and your kids can create your own beautiful galaxy art.
Don’t miss the delicious artistry by Barley & Birch. Let your imagination run wild creating paper mache food—it’s a fun and quirky project that can also double as play food for your kids.
Have an empty cereal box and some time? Make a firefly light-up box with battery-operated fairy lights. This project takes some time to complete, as you need to wait for the acrylic paint to dry before installing the lights, but the result is totally worth it.
For another creative reuse project, make a camping lantern using plastic bottles and leftover tissue paper. It’s a great way to teach kids about recycling while crafting something useful.
Among the many suncatcher ideas out there, the one from One Little Project with glass beads is a must-try. The colorful beads brighten up the room as the sun shines through them. Just make sure to buy translucent plastic or glass beads as instructed for the best effect.
Lastly, try making rainbow soaps from Art Bar. This project is rather tedious and requires full coordination from an adult, but my kids were thrilled to see the final pieces the next day and loved the citrus scent we added.
These activities not only provide hours of fun but also create lasting memories and beautiful keepsakes. Enjoy your creative summer!
STEM / SCIENCE
When planning summer activities, I try to incorporate educational and fun ideas that can teach my kids something new, especially my eight-year-old. These activities don’t have to be serious and dull—in fact, they can be full of nonstop giggles and excitement.
Since it’s summer, you can’t miss out on water play. Start with a leak-proof bag with pencils to teach them about polymers that create a seal around the pencils. Check out Gift of Curiosity where Katie walks through the steps and explains the science behind it. Or, follow Mama Papa Bubba and freeze a few toy sea animals and have the kids ‘rescue’ them using colored salt water.
A water bottle fountain is another great DIY science project that demonstrates the presence of air. Learn with Play at Home features a detailed explanation by Deb on each step and the reason behind it.
If your kids enjoy water boats, try making boats with pool noodles, sponges, twigs, juice boxes, or jar lids. Use a large storage container or a sand and water table, fill it halfway with water, and see which boat reaches the other side first.
If you have Alka-Seltzer at home, try the rocket ship experiment with film canisters. The bubbles and fizz from the Alka-Seltzer and the closed lid will blast off the canisters like rocket ships. Add a few drops of tempera paint in each canister, place a piece of paper underneath, and you’ll get a beautiful piece of artwork after a few takeoffs.
If you are planning to go to the beach, experience exploding volcano with all of the materials above.
To make things even messier, get hydrogen peroxide, yeast, and dish soap, and voilà, there’s the elephant toothpaste that’ll spread all over your grass. My kids love this, and we repeat doing the same thing over and over until a massive chunk of our backyard is filled with various colors of ‘toothpaste’. Follow the steps on Childhood Magic, except we did it with mason jars instead of plastic bottles. Make the paste much wider.
Another fun activity with fizzy bubbles is the rainbow pop with Mentos and soda. Make sure to do this outside because it can get extremely messy and sticky.
For a less explosive project that can keep younger children entertained for hours, combine baking soda and vinegar. This is great for practicing motor skills while creating colorful fizzy powders they can touch and explore.
Older kids can enjoy melting colored ice cubes with squirt bottles, a fun way to spend some time. The fizzy bath dough from Tried & True is another wonderful experiment they can take into their bath.
Speaking of rainbows, try creating rainbow art with nail polish for different results each time. The kids can also observe how salt melts ice in the rainbow ice pack project, learning about primary and secondary colors as explained on Babble Dabble Do.
If the kids prefer to watch rather than get hands-on, bottle tornadoes would be a great idea to keep them amused.
Similar to the effect of salt mentioned above, the acidity from lemons can also change the pigments of colors on paper. Check out this lemon and watercolor activity from Friends Art Lab. Make sure to keep an eye on how the lemon juice drops onto the paper and observe how quickly the colors change.
Do you know you can make ice cream while having fun at it? With only four ingredients plus the ice, your child can make their own ice cream in ten minutes while doing some little shaking and running. Who wants to try? Me!
Origami airplanes are also a fun activity to play with in an open field, as well as the balloon rocket experiment. These activities combine fun and learning, making summer both enjoyable and educational for your kids.
NATURE / EARTH
Here are some ideas of activities you can do with the kids to help them connect with nature.
Planting flowers or vegetables with the little ones is a fantastic way to create lasting memories and teach them about responsibility, patience, and the joy of nurturing living things. This year, we’ve planted tomatoes and strawberries from seeds and soil. Every day, my daughter is responsible for watering the plants and checking for worms. For a five-year-old, I’m happy to see that she takes this rather seriously.
If starting a garden from scratch feels daunting, check out growing kits that come with everything you need, like Paint and Plant, Back to the Roots, and Window Garden. We also have a root viewer kit with a transparent box, allowing the kids to observe how roots grow underneath the soil.
In summer, we see many more birds in our neighborhood. To get a closer look, we started checking out DIY bird feeders and placed them around our backyard. All the materials are everyday supplies like paper cups, wooden chopsticks, colorful popsicle sticks, and used juice cartons.
There are also feeders that can be attached to windows with suction cups, allowing you to observe birds without going outside and potentially scaring them away before you can take a closer look.
Plan nature walks near your neighborhood or parks. Ask the kids to observe their surroundings and listen to the sounds. This is a great way to disconnect from electronics and reconnect with nature. As you walk, pick up leaves, flowers, and rocks that you can use for crafts with ideas below.
Other than flowers, my kids love bugs! The more, the merrier, that’s my impression. So, to go along with their passion, I would schedule a nature scavenger hunt for, well, you guessed it, bugs! I really like this printable created by Barley & Birch. The drawings are detailed and absolutely beautiful. The list includes some of my kids’ favorite bugs: butterfly, snail, ladybug, and slug. (I’m sweating here…)
With the flowers, you can make bookmarks and suncatchers using cardstock and contact paper. You can also make suncatchers without popsicle sticks, to blend in with the transparent glass of windows. If dandelions are available, try this flower crushing DIY paint project.
Do spray paint or rubbing art with the leaves you’ve collected. If your kids are like mine and obsessed with different shapes of rocks, get some washable tempera paint, brushes, or sponges, and create your own special rock art. Better yet, get a kit that already comes with various rocks and paints.
If you’ve picked up twigs, dried leaves, or foliage, try this DIY bird nest from Nature Inspired Learning. You’ll need to make a couple and firmly place them in trees or on rooftops. We haven’t had much luck attracting birds, so hopefully, you’ll have better luck than us.
If you don’t mind getting messy, let the kids play with mud by making mud paint and mud pies. Just make sure they don’t put their hands in their mouths.
You can also combine nature activities with science projects. If you’re making water boats as mentioned earlier, incorporate a project of creating a long river with mud and flowers. This will be the perfect passageway for a boat race, flowing down the stream.
For the sea animal ice cube rescue, add shells, rocks, small toys, and paper to a big bin with water. Teach the children about keeping our oceans clean and protecting Earth, the planet we all live on.
Here are 75 ideas to try for the next 3 months. May your family have just as much fun as we did. Cherish every moment spent together and enjoy every bit of laughter, mess, and chaos. Have a wonderful summer!
