50 Summer Activities for Kids

You guys! I am SO excited for today’s post because I’m sharing 50 summer activities for kids. I’ve been working on this for a while and it’s actually been a lot of fun to put together. I have fun ideas for little ones and older kiddos too, so hopefully this helps if you’re looking for things to do this summer. And several of these ideas came from a poll I did over on IG, so there’s an awesome mix here. I have lots to share, including a quick recipe for the best homemade play dough ever, but first I wanted to start with a few of my kids’ favorite activities right now!

50 Easy Summer Activties for Kids

Kinetic Sand

I don’t know why it took me so long to get kinetic sand for my kiddos, but it’s AMAZING. If you haven’t tried it yet I highly recommend it. I keep ours stored in large plastic tubs with a few little sand toys and each kid get their own box. This sand is an amazing quiet time activity and it generally keeps my kids entertained for a long time.

Coloring Books

In this world of technology everything, I feel like we’ve forgotten about good ol’ fashioned coloring books! But coloring was always one of my favorite summer activities when I was growing up and I want my kids to enjoy it too. Each of them gets to pick out their own coloring book for summer and their own set of crayons. I try to make time every day for them to color and listen to music.

Plus Plus Blocks

My kids have been loving plus plus blocks for a while now. We had them last summer too and they’re a great quiet time activity. These blocks can be used to create hundreds of different shapes and designs.

TEGU Magnetic Blocks

We just discovered these TEGU Magnetic Blocks recently and they’re AWESOME. All three of my kids enjoy playing with these. Again, these can be used to make tons of different creations and they are a great independent play activity. I ordered the larger set and it was definitely worth the money.

Homemade Playdough + Recipe

My kids LOVE playing with play dough– it’s one of those activities they go back to over and over again. My mom actually has the BEST homemade play dough recipe too:

Playdough Recipe:

Combine 3 cups flour, 1.5 cup salt, 6 tablespoons baby oil and 3 teaspoons cream of tarter in a boil. Mix thoroughly, then add 3 cups of water. Once combined, put in saucepan at medium heat and stir constantly. When hot, add food coloring of choice. Stir until everything lumps together then remove from heat (don’t over cook!). Put on cutting board and knead while hot. Enjoy!

Ok let’s get to the list of ideas! Many of these are quiet time activities, some are fun experiments or water activities, and many are just cool things from Amazon that will keeps kids busy for hours this summer!

50 Summer Activities for Kids

1. Do Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube
2. Make a music dance hour in the afternoon where everyone dances and listens to music.
3. Make activity boxes for different days of the week.
4. KiwiCo subscription boxes are great for older kiddos.
5. Do a science experiment by mixing baking soda, food coloring, and vinegar in a cup. Lots of fun!
6. Magna-Tiles! Keeps kids busy for hours.
7. Water Beads--great for little ones and older kids too!
8. Alex Discover Button Art. This is an awesome quiet time activity.
9. H20GO Splash Blobz Mat Pad
10. Get a small box and magnifying glass, then send kids outside to hunt bugs.
11. Sidewalk chalk--always a win for all ages!
12. Make a castle out of a large box.
13. Bubble Machine–what kid doesn’t love running through bubbles?
14. Water table for little ones.
15. Freeze tiny toys in ice cube trays and let kids “break” them out with a spoon.
16. Grab a few sponges and dish soap and let kids wash their toys outside.
17. Paint rocks and then play hide and seek with the rocks. Here’s a great rock painting activity kit to get started.
18. Do a scavenger hunt.
19. Buy a small ant farm.
20. Turn music on and do “play dough hour”. It’s more fun with shape and mold cutters.
21. Plant a miniature garden in a pot.
22. Go to a new park every week.
23. Paint by sticker books.
24. Build a sandbox or fill up a sand table with sand. This turtle sandbox is cute too. Keeps them busy for hours!
25. Banzai Sprinkle Splash Pad–great for little ones!
26. Magic Water Drawing Book
27. Color by Numbers books
28. Fly a kite.
29. Melissa and Doug Wow Activity Books–great for road trips!
30. Get involved with library reading programs.
31. Give them a bottle of shaving cream outside & a few toys!
32. PlusPlus blocks–these are a great quiet time activity.
33. Make an outdoor fort.
34. Make driveway “paint” made from sidewalk chalk. Messy but fun!
35. Jigsaw puzzles–always a fun activity for older kiddos. We love this dinosaur puzzle.
36. Get a butterfly growing kit and watch butterflies grow!
37. Create an obstacle course in the backyard.
38. Water balloon fights.
39. Do cooking classes for kids.
40. One afternoon a week we do board games–my kids love Bingo and it teaches little ones numbers too!
41. Get a Children’s Museum summer pass.
42. Make homemade ice cream and let the kids help.
43. Get bingo dot markers for artwork. These are so fun!
44. Rock block stacking blocks.
45. Make pinecone bird feeders.
46. Make paper mache art outside.
47. Get a tree swing for a fun reading spot in the afternoon.
48. TEGU magnetic blocks are amazing for older kiddos and younger ones too.
49. Cut and paste books are great for toddlers. My four year old loves to cut things out!
50. Make old fashioned mud pies with dirt and water. Encourage your kids to get creative!

Well I hope this list of 50 easy summer activities for kids gives you some great ideas for fun things to do at home with your kids this summer. Also, make sure to pin it so you can come back to it later! xo

Toys Mentioned: