98 Days of Summer Fun: Ideas for the Whole Summer!
There are 98 sweet summer days between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Summer is a busy time for all but hopefully you’ve left some spots for spontaneous fun! Here are 50+ great ideas for fun!
1. Make binoculars from toilet paper rolls and go on a “Safari”. Pretend you’re being chased by the hippos, rhinos and elephants!
2. Visit museums! All across America you’ll find local museums – train museums, fire museums, space museums, nature centers, children’s museums, etc. Many of them have a certain day when admission is free too!
3. Trade a toy or a book with a buddy for a week.
4. Have a Summer Art Show. Make invitations. Invite friends over for a tour and snacks.
5. Make Recycled Robots out of almost anything in the house. Favorites are old pasta boxes, paper towel rolls, straws and tape rolls.
6. Freeze bananas for a chilly snack.
7. Make your own finger paints.
8. Run through the sprinklers. Yes, you too Moms and Dads!
9. Make your own crayons – let them melt in the sun on a hot day or take your broken crayons and melt them in a muffin tray in the oven.
10. Make Kings Crowns from plates
11. Tape a big roll of paper to the floor and trace your child; let her make a self-portrait by coloring it in.
12. Have a tea party!
13. Play Miniature golf!! We find 2- and 3-year olds have fun, but don’t fully get it. 4s, and 5s have a blast, as do older kids and parents.
14. Hit the puddles with rain boots or Crocs!
15. Grab two cans and string and make an old fashioned phone!
16. Paint with yogurt or shaving cream. Don’t forget to add some color!
17. Let the kids be king of a dirt mountain!
18. Make your own Play Dough.
19. Turn a white sheet into a spray canvas with washable watercolor paint and a squirt bottle.
20. Invite friends to a make and top your own Pizza Playdate party!
21. Catch fireflies. Put them in your nature house and really take a good look at them.
22. Play flashlight tag
23. Roast S’mores
24. Camp out in the yard.
25. Run through the stream with your nets.
26. Water paint on the chalk board, flagstones and sidewalk.
27. Picnic at a local park at least once a week.
28. Have an outdoor concert. Let the kids dress up. Make microphones from paper towel rolls and tin foil. Add a pots and pans drum-set.
29. Play catch with a ball.
30. Turn a sheet into a parachute. Have a parachute playdate.
31. Make chalk and spend hours creating on the flagstones or sidewalks.
32. Head to the Zoo.
33. Blow bubbles and sing a song that includes your child’s name in it.
34. Go to a pick-your-own farm! http://www.pickyourown.org/statelist.htm
35. Make a bird feeder and make some feathered friends!
36. Take a bus ride to anywhere! Even better, take a ferry ride!
37. Go to a minor league or semipro sports game. Young kids love even Little League games.
38. Fly a kite.
39. Have a puppet show!!
40. Face paint a fish on your face and hit the aquarium!
41. Homemade bowling: use a small ball and some empty water bottles.
42. Play restaurant at home. Create a visual menu and all the rest of the fun.
43. Set up a lemonade stand.
44. Make a magazine collage that spells “FUN”.
45. Go bowling, for real!
46. Pet party! Take a twist on the tea party and celebrate your dog’s or cat’s birthday!
47. Play tag with your kids!
48. Take a walk after dinner– you’ll all sleep better!
49. Cardboard box creations– paint, color, cut. The possibilities are endless.
50. Take a bike ride. Put air in the tires and feel the breeze on your face!
51. Break out the blocks and build, build, build! Blocks are about the best toy ever, so don’t let them sit in a bin! Build high, build long, build intricately
52. Visit non-museum institutions like fire stations, airports, even recycling centers. Many airports – especially the smaller ones – have observation decks.
53. Read, read, and read more! Books were here before screens, and they still rule!
54. Take a train or bus ride to nowhere– especially you car-driving suburbanites! We sometimes go a few stops and then catch a train back to where we started, and it’s always a loved adventure.
