Parents Magazine has put together a list of a variety of summer activities that parents and kids can do together. They highly recommend that everyone involved use sunscreen and bug spray.
Nature Related Summer Activities for Kids:
Go bird watching. Take photos and keep track of your sightings. Then, use an app or guidebook to identify feathered friends.
Look for shapes in the clouds. Put a blanket in the grass and stare up at the sky. Then, take turns talking about what you see in the clouds.
Make a bird feeder. Watch birds visit your years and add to your list of bird sightings.
Plant a butterfly or hummingbird garden. Create a backyard wildlife habitat and watch these fascinating creatures enjoy it all summer.
Rainy Day Activities For Summer
Break out your movie collection or use Netflix. Have a movie marathon complete with popcorn. Be sure to get in plenty of snuggles.
Build a fort. Put pillows in the living room or cardboard boxes in the yard to create a hideaway of your child’s dreams.
Build a Lego castle. Clear off a table and make Lego castle-building a family project. You can even add to it or work on it all summer.
Camp In. Put sleeping bags on the floor and have a family slumber party.
Local Sites for Families to Visit
Find a free concert near you. Kick back, enjoy some tunes, and nurture their love of music
Go to a flea market or garage sale. See if the kids are better negotiators than you.
Go to a local carnival or county fair. Not only should you enjoy the rides and entertainment, but you also should eat cotton candy, elephant ears, or something rally sugary at least once this summer.
See a matinee. Find a bargain movie house and enjoy an afternoon at the movies.
Summer Activities for Kids that Exercise Their Brains
Join a Summer Reading Club at your library: Or create your own reading club, keeping a list of all the books read over the summer. It’s a great way to nurture a love of reading.
Get the Summer Homework Done: Not exactly fun, but you’ll be happy to get these assignments out of the way.
Have a puzzle race: Use 100-piece puzzles and see who finishes first.
Write in a journal each day: Allow older teens to create a bullet journal if they prefer. Then, at the end of the summer, share entries with each other about the highlights of summer.