I have noticed that summers are different for kids than they used to be.  Younger kids have their days filled up with camps and other strucutured activities whilst their parents are working, so there aren’t a lot of kids at the pool or  out in the neighborhood during the day.  Many younger teens are not outside either, and many older teens are not getting jobs, so I am wondering what children and teens are doing all day in their homes.  I thought maybe parents would like a list of some activities to do to help their children through the summer!

• Chores and work- Summer can be a great time to clean things out, donate things, deep clean, paint a teen’s bedroom and change the decor
• Thrift store shopping – can be fun with changing decor or finding motors and small appliances to take apart
• Pool, lake, beach swimming (some teens may go through a phase where they don’t want to go to the pool or lake because it’s “boring”; some teens go through a phase where don’t want to be in a bathing suit)
• Sewing, knitting, and other projects – keep a stash of yarn, fabric remnants, buttons, and more around
• Painting, drawing, modeling
• Encourage your children to write and put on a play
• Backyard water fun – sprinklers, basins of water, the hose
• Baking
• Building projects – could be large scale outside building or Lego’s or building blocks or boxes!
• Making tents from old blankets/sheets/blankets indoors or outside
• Backyward camping
• Create music together; sing together
• Gardening
• Create collages or other multi-media art together
• Board games and puzzles
• Stacks of books from the library
• Model airplanes, model building
• Older teens can work for money – babysitting, pet sitting
• Volunteer work
• Observing nature; nature journaling; catching and releasing frogs, toads, salamanders, lizards, insects
• Train your dog, your horse, your hamster, your chicken!

For smaller children:

• Chalk
• Jump rope, hopscotch, bubbles, sandbox, swing
• Tea parties
• Doll play
• Dress-up clothes
• Use something like a sit n’ spin or a mini trampoline
• Play kitchen – you can create one
• Play dough
• Face painting
• Balloon play – volleyball or baseball with balloons
• Cover a table with a blanket – instant fort
• Lacing and beading

Field Trips for the Family:

• Hiking
• Trip to beach or lake or river
• Theaters
• Puppet shows
• Fire stations and police stations
• Zoos or aquariums or animal rehabilitation centers
• Historical Sites
• Mini-golf
• Bakery trip
• State and National Parks
• Horseback Riding on trails
• Berry Picking