It’s the age-old parenting question “How do I keep my child entertained this summer?” I have scoured the internet for the best summer activities for kids and read all the summer activities lists for fun things to do in the summer at home. This 101 fun summer activities for kids and parents list is the best of the best and is made up of things THAT PARENTS CAN ACTUALLY DO and things that they want to do! These fun summer activity ideas are here to help make summer fun and doable for everyone!
Our Summer Activity Ideas and Summer Bucket List
Going from a mom of 1 to 4 in a year and a half has rocked my world! Between having a new baby on his way this summer, living in a world recovering from Covid, teaching classes, and running this blog, this summer seems a little daunting. I am so excited to use this list and put together a summer bucket list with my kids. Planning some fun summer activities with my family ahead of time will help make this summer unforgettable and keep my kids entertained.
What Should You Put on Your Summer Bucket List?
These 101 ideas for summer activities at home are meant to be a springboard. Pick and choose what works for your family and your budget! If something sounds like a drag, or it doesn’t jive with your family, budget, or schedule. Take a pass!
How to Make a Summer Bucket List
- Use this fun summer activities for kids & parents list and sit down as a family to put together your ultimate summer family bucket list for an unforgettable summer.
- Try to mix some more expensive activities (a summer family vacation) with things that are free (playing in the sprinklers together). This will save your wallet and your sanity. It’s really important to get the kids involved and to pick activities that are fun and doable for all!
- Spend a night picking and choosing your family favorites from this summer activity list. It might surprise you what your kids choose. This also helps the kids buy into the activities and can give them some ideas on what to do on a boring summer day.
- Download Our Family Passport’s Summer Bucket List printable here if you want help organizing your list and want something to hang up and check off as you go!
How to Make a Well-Rounded Summer Bucket List
For a well-rounded bucket list, have a mix of different activities and categories. For example,
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- Make something new
- Do something new
- Go somewhere together
- Do an act of service
- Learn something new
- Have a quiet independent inside activity
- Have an outdoor event
101 Fun Summer Activities for Kids & Parents!
Again, take what you like from these summer ideas for kids and plug what works for you into your bucket list! Something else you can do is to just print this list and put it on your fridge to help give your kids some ideas when the summer boredom sets in.
- Build a fort
- Collect food for a local food shelter
- Color together – You can access the CUTEST world coloring pages here!
- Create a summer book club for your kiddos
- Create a summer music playlist together
- Create a travel bucket list for the next year!
- Dig for fossils
- DIY chalk bombs
- Do something you haven’t done in your hometown
- Doorbell ditch the neighbors with cookies
- Earn money for back to school clothes
- Egg drop contest
- Fingerpaint
- Fly a kite
- Get a shaved ice
- Get inexpensive cameras for each of the kids and create a “summer scrapbook”
- Go fishing
- Go golfing as a family
- Go on a service scavenger hunt
- Go on an aluminum can finding mission and then turn them into the recycling center for some cash
- Go to a baseball game
- Go to a movie in the middle of the day
- Go to a rodeo
- Go to the carnival
- Have “mommy and me” or “daddy and me” dates
- Have a “restaurant night”
- Have a “yes” day (more like a yes few hours)
- Have a backyard egg race
- Have a bake sale or set up a lemonade stand
- Have a bonfire
- Have a milkshake night
- Have a retro play night
- Have a summersalt contest
- Have a YouTube karaoke night
- Have an outdoor food fight
- Have s’mores
- Have the kids set up a car wash
- Help a neighbor mow their lawn
- Hike as a family
- Hold a neighborhood water fight
- Host a neighborhood night games tournament
- Host an outdoor movie night
- Kids dinner night
- Launch fireworks
- Learn about a destination together
- Learn about someone remarkable
- Learn something new together – could be a new game, juggling, pogo-stick
- Make a bird feeder
- Make a new friend
- Make a summer bucket list
- Make a volcano together
- Make Cotton Candy
- Make homemade lemonade
- Make homemade popsicles
- Make homemade slime
- Make keychains with shrinky dinks
- Make pickles together
- Make root beer floats
- Make tie-dye t-shirts
- Make windchimes
- Make your own pizza night
- Make your own water slide
- Night swim with glow sticks
- Paint rocks
- Pick, as a family, where you’ll visit for Fall Break and start planning!
- Picnic lunch with mom and dad between work
- Plan a BYOM BBQ and let the kids help!
- Plan and take a summer vacation together
- Plant a garden
- Play in the mud
- Play in the summer rain
- Play no bears are out tonight or ghost in the graveyard
- Play Simon Says together
- Read a family book together
- Scavenger hunt that kids create for parents
- Science experiments
- Set some summer goals together
- Sidewalk chalk mural competition
- Sit down a write a bucket list together for the next year
- Squirt gun painting
- Star Gazing
- Start a pen pal
- Staycation Vacation
- SWIM!
- Take a cooking class together
- Take a road trip
- Take an art class at a local museum
- Unplug for 24 hours! No computers, no electronics, no tv… Oh My!
- Visit a farmers market
- Visit a national park
- Visit a ropes course
- Visit a waterfall
- Visit a waterpark
- Visit an arcade
- Visit someone in need
- Visit the zoo
- Visit your local museum
- Watch a retro movie together
- Watch the sunrise one morning
- Water Balloon launcher game
- Write letters to grandparents
Don’t forget to pin these 101 fun summer activities so you can come back to them summer after summer!
Thank you for all the wonderful ideas!