50 Easy Kids Activities & Games for Summer
1. Penny Toss
Provide pennies and bowls, mark a shooting spot on the grass, every penny in the pot wins a prize. [from Having Fun with Kids by Marilee LeBon]
2. Penny a Weed
We did something similar with snails when I was younger! Two pence for a snail though, it’s a dirty job.
3. Peanut Hunt
Buy a pack of monkey nuts, mark some ‘winning’ nuts, and then hide all the nuts. Give prizes to any kids who find winning nuts. [from Having Fun with Kids by Marilee LeBon]
5. Face Painting
6. Bingo
7. Happy Sun Craft Project (Easy)
8. Short Tennis
You can buy children’s sets relatively cheaply. Get set up with some strawberries and cream and pretend you’re at Wimbledon.
9. Ripped Newspaper Art Project
10. Bike Rides
Pack a picnic and make it an all day outing.
11. Build Sandcastles
In a sandpit or on a beach, make flags from paper and straws for the top.
12. Make Homemade Birthday Cards
Most superstores have pre-packed sets for a few pounds/dollars, which usually include card, glue, stickers and glitter.
13. Make Chocolate Fondue
14. Day Camp
Set up a tent and provide picnic food, and have a day camp in the back garden
15. Karaoke Competition
Hold a karaoke competition, or go one further and host a ’stars in their eyes’ final with all the kids imitating pop stars.
16. Blind Taste Test
Blindfold each child in turn and provide a few different foodstuffs, mark down which ones they get right. Provide a small prize for the winner.
17. Play Hide and Seek
18. Ice Cream Picture Activity
19. Egg and Spoon Races
Use the plastic eggs from the toy kitchen, if you have one.
20. Visit a Science Museum
21. Put on a Play
Provide a good story book and get the children to choose parts and act it out.
22. Read-athon
Hold a read-a-thon, see how many books they can read in an alotted time.
24. Backyard Cookery Class
Hold a cookery class in your own back garden. Tailor recipes to the appropriate age, but perhaps homemade pizzas, fruit kebabs and fairy cakes would be a good place to start.
25. Visit a Farmers Market
Pick ingredients and make a homemade soup or ratatouille.
26. Sponge Painting
Provide a length of plain wallpaper, some sponges and some paint. Hey presto!
27. Sand Art
28. Colour-in Printouts
There are various sites to get print-outs, just search in google.
29. Stencilling with Doilies
30. Visit the Library
Try and arrange to go during story-telling time.
31. Model with Play-dough
32. Go Swimming
33. Make Chocolate Krispie Cakes
34. Build an Obstacle Course
Build an obstacle course in the back garden and time each other. Use and play equipment you have, ie tubes, climbing frame, bikes, hula hoops, skipping ropes with household items like sheets as scramble nets.
35. Chalk Drawing
Use white chalk on black paper, or the patio as a canvas!
36. Go Bark Rubbing
38. Jigsaw Puzzles
Do jigsaw puzzles and then try and make your own from card.
39. Water Play
Fill water balloons and pistols for older kids.
40. Make Homemade Musical Instruments
41. Sticker Picture
Provide stickers and plain card, it’s that easy!
42. Make Sock Puppets
43. Fondant Icing Characters
Provide a few different colours of fondant icing (colour with food colouring) and let your children make animals and characters from cartoons.
45. Listen to a Story CD
You can usually borrow these from the library.
46. Make Painted Pasta Jewellery
47. Make an Alphabet Scrapbook
Use a page for each letter and find magazine cut outs of the letter to stick in, great activity for preschoolers.
48. Play Card Games
Uno, snap and pairs can provide a couple of hours of fun.
49. Photography
Buy them a disposable camera to practice taking photos of wildlife and scenery.
50. Summer Scrapbook
Make a scrapbook with photos, pictures and comments on everything you’ve done over the holidays.
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I'm a 27 year old mum to 4 year old Erin. We live just outside Edinburgh in a small village. I've been blogging for four years and write about anything and everything that takes my fancy.
Themocracy
Hi, I love the penny idea. Not sure about the way you are going to play it but am going to teach my kids. I figure it’ll teach math as well as coordination and skills. Have them take so many steps back and try making it in the pot/bowl. Whoever makes it gets the money in the bowl and so forth. Kids love prizes, especially when it is money they earn.You’ve got many wonderful games here. Thank you.
Ahhh, winning the money in the pot is a much better idea than a prize – this would be a great birthday party game too
Great ideas!
Great list.
I’ll be coming back to visit it time and time again.
Roll on the summer holidays.
Thanks Jo, your welcome any time!!
Thanks for these – like the idea of day camp in back garden. Looking forward to The Bean being old enough to enjoy these. Talking of Farmers’ Markets, I keep meaning to check out the one in Castle Terrace in Edinburgh one weekend soon.
MaL – It’s good, we’ve been a few times. We’ll need to catch up soon
Thank you for this wonderful list of ideas. The children will love to do quite a number of these.
What a great list–I’ll have to bookmark this
Thanks for the link love!
[...] Douglas presents 50 Easy Kids Activities & Games for Summer posted at [...]
Great ideas! Where to start? Hmmm…
(seen on Carnival of Family Life)
[...] 50 Easy Kids Activities & Games for Summer posted at LittleMummy.Com. Lots of fantastic ideas there. I’m thinking sock puppets as the answer to tomorrow’s, “What are we going to do today, Mom?!?!” question. [...]
[...] you are desperate for ideas to entertain the kids this rainy summer holidays, pay a visit to Little Mummy who has 50 great [...]
Another activity my kids really enjoy is coloring. There are several sites like http://www.freecoloring.org offering free coloring pages that kids can enjoy.