Are you looking for activities for hot summer days? If you’re searching for things your kids can do in the summer to keep the boredom at bay, you’ve come to the right place. Check out all my favorite fun summer activities for kids to get your summer adventure started.
These summer activities for kids and families are fun to do at home or in the classroom. Plus, these activity ideas are a great way to add learning fun to your summer. You can use these ideas to review skills before graduation, prevent learning loss over the summer, or prepare your kids for another school year.
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How I Entertain My Kids in the Summer
If you’re wondering how to keep your kids entertained this Summer, you definitely want to check out some of my favorite ideas for summer activities for kids. Traditionally, Summer is a time to take a break from organized lessons and activities and soak up the sun. But let’s face it, after a few weeks, your kids will be alternating between bouncing off the walls and the dreaded “I’m bored!” meltdowns. That’s when you’ll really need my Summer Activities.
If you’re not planning weeks of Summer camps (or even if you are) there are lots of fun summer activities for kids you can do at home. Summer activities at home can be lots of fun! There are all kinds of new discoveries and things to learn with activities for hot summer days. Check out some of my favorite ways to entertain my kids below.
Sandcastle Sensory Bin Activity
This summer activity for kids is perfect for a hot summer day when you can’t get to the beach. If you’re dreaming of waves and sand, but stuck in the house – this one is definitely for you. Kids of all ages can have a lot of fun with sensory bins.
Plus, sensory bins are a great way to provide a multisensory learning experience your kids will remember. In addition to supporting cognitive development, sensory activities provide new opportunities for kids to practice letters, numbers, and build fine motor skills too.
Create a sandcastle sensory bin summer activity for your kids with play sand or Kinetic Sand, seashells, plastic shovels, and other sand toys.
Encourage your kids to build their own sandcastles and get creative with my free seashell counting printables too! It’s a fun way to learn and play all summer long.
Try a Summer Reading Challenge
Encouraging your children to read through the summer with a summer reading list is a great way to help them retain knowledge and skills they have learned throughout the year. Kids who skip summer reading are missing opportunities to get ahead. Plus, it’s a great activity for a rainy day and an easy way to keep busy on road trips this Summer.
If your kids aren’t reading yet, reading a book aloud to them is a fun summer activity for kids with lots of awesome benefits too. Reading a book aloud to your kids this summer is a fun way to make memories, help them build vocabulary, and develop a love for reading at an early age. For more tips on reading aloud to your kids this Summer, check out Sarah Mackenzie’s Summer Reading List from Read Aloud Revival.
Are your kids reluctant readers? Then, I’ve got the perfect Summer Reading Challenge for you! It’s common for kids who don’t like to read to drop below their reading level over summer break. A few months spent avoiding books can really affect a kid’s academics. Check out my Summer Reading bucket list and favorite reading timers to encourage your kids this Summer.
Here are a few of our favorite Summer picture books you can share with your kids too:
- Sun, Sun by Brad Gray
- Summer Days and Nights by Wong Herbert Yee
- Watermelon Madness by Taghreed Najjar
- Wet Dog by Elise Broach
- Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy
Water Balloon Play Activities
Summer activities for kids to do indoors are awesome, but getting out in the sunshine this Summer is even better! Don’t be afraid to take your summer activities for kids outdoors. In fact, some summer activities, like water balloons, are perfect for those hot summer days.
Filling water balloons, manipulating them, and tossing them around are all great opportunities for sensory learning and building motor skills with your kids this Summer. Plus, a water balloon summer activity for kids is an excellent way to encourage healthy physical activity too.
To make it easier, check out these Bunch-O Balloons. With an easy-to-use straw system, you can fill hundreds of balloons at one time, making a giant water balloon battle easy to set up in your backyard this Summer.
Toss balloons at one another, targets, or whatever your heart desires for all kinds of summer fun with your family this year.
What Can Kids Do in the Summer When Bored?
Ok, it’s inevitable, at some point this summer you’re likely to hear the dreaded “I’m bored!” What can you do? This summer, you’ll be prepared with my printable Summer activities for kids to get you through.
These crafts, activities, and printables make it easy to entertain your kids and keep the learning going too. Check out my favorite literacy and numeracy summer activities for kids. Plus, get printables you can hand out quickly when the sun is hot and the kids are bored.
Size Sort Printable Summer Activity for Kids
This fun summer activity for kids includes several printables to help your early learners master sorting and classifying objects by size.
Each printable includes a colorful summer-themed background and fun objects like beach balls, sandcastles, and dolphins.
Printable Letter Summer Activities for Kids
You can use the summer before kindergarten to help your preschoolers practice their letters with my simple printable letter summer activities for kids. These easy worksheets include pages with letters trapped in bubbles.
Your kids can match the bubble letters to letter cards using the cute printable bubble bottles and wands or use your own letter flashcards instead.
Finally learn how to make bubbles with this fun tutorial.
Summer Subitizing Seeds Activity
Subitizing is a great early skill to practice over the summer. There are tons of real-world opportunities to practice this early counting skill with your kids. To help, I’ve created these cute watermelon Summer activities for kids to practice subitizing too.
Use real watermelon seeds after a fun snack or enjoy my cute printables in addition to reading one of our favorite books about watermelons: Watermelon Madness.
Free Playdough Mat Summer Activities for Kids
I just love playdough mats! I’ve put together a collection of free printable playdough mats you can use with your kids too. Check out my favorite playdough summer activities for kids to enjoy lots of fun molding, sculpting, and pre-writing with your kids this year.
Plus, playdough play is a great way to encourage your kids to get creative, build fine motor skills, and use their imaginations!
Add fun to this summer activity for kids by encouraging your kids to build the biggest playdough watermelon ever or sculpt their very own ocean animal from the dough. Try to make your creations as realistic as possible or get silly and invent stories about your imaginative playdough creations.
Free Ocean Counting Mats
Practice counting and recognizing numbers up to 20 with these fun and free ocean themed counting mats.
Use mini erasers, pom poms, or gummy sharks to place the correct number of ocean animals on each counting mat for a fun way to learn this summer.
More Ocean Themed Fun
Continue the ocean theme with these adorable fish letter mats.
Discover the wonders of the deep, blue ocean and learn the letters of the alphabet at the same time with this low prep printable.
Summer Color by Code pages
Color by code printables are always so much fun. Grab these adorable summer themed coloring pages for your chance to keep the learning going all season long.
Summer Pirate themed Activities
Pirate and mermaid activities are fun for kids of all ages. Plus, it’s a great preschool theme to have during the summer months! Check out my favorite pirate themed activities for easy print and go resources.
Build a Beard Activity
Counting has never been more fun. Grab this printable build a beard activity and have fun recognizing numbers and counting this summer!
Pirate Shapes
Teach shapes with a fun treasure map and gold coin printable. Your little learners can practice identifying 2D shapes or even play a fun memory game with this pirate shape activity.
Pirate Counting Coins
This free counting coins activity is great for teaching how to recognize numbers and counting practice, pirate style.
Pirate Color by Code
Color by code printables are my favorite grab and go activity. This pirate themed coloring page is perfect for teaching numbers, letters, colors, and subitizing on a hot, summer day.
Pirate Playdough Mats
What kid doesn’t like playing with Playdough? These pirate playdough mats will help build fine motor strength and are loads of fun!
Grab the free pirate themed playdough mats today!
Crafty Summer Activities for Kids
There are all kinds of fun summer activities for kids you can use to get crafty with your kids at home this summer. Crafts are a great way to help kids practice cutting, pasting, and encourage creativity over the summer. Here are a few of my favorite summer crafts:
Fathers Day Craft for Kids
Need a cute and funny Fathers Day craft for your kids to create this summer? Try my Nacho Average Dad craft.
Not only does this Fathers Day printable come with an adorable craft, it also comes with 3 different writing pages.
Pirate Crafts for Kids
Spice up your summer learning with this easy pirate craft for kids. Kids love learning in a fun pirates and mermaid preschool theme and will enjoy creating a boy and girl pirate craft as they learn.
This easy cut and paste craft of a pirate comes with a boy and girl pirate craft template and a pirate themed coloring page with an added handwriting component.
Watermelon Craft
This watermelon craft is an easy summer craft for kids to create. Make a simple watermelon craft or turn it into a fun math activity with my watermelon printables.
Count and create a 10 frame or 20 frame with the watermelon seeds and then follow up the summer craft and activity with a fun watermelon coloring page for kids.
Patriotic Handprint Craft
This patriotic handprint craft is perfect for celebrating the 4th of July at home with your kids. It’s a special keepsake you’ll treasure. Plus, you can use this craft to begin talking all about the flag and what it means with your kids this summer.
Explore the colors in the flag, build fine motor skills tracing hands and cutting them out, and learn a little history as you explore and create with this cute patriotic summer activity for kids.
Then, check out even more activities for Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and the 4th of July that you can explore with your kids this summer.
Firework Craft for the 4th of July
One of our favorite traditions to do on Fourth of July is to set off fireworks. These fire cracker crafts are the next best thing to do when celebrating the 4th of July.
These firework crafts would also be great to create on New Years Eve too!
Popsicle Crafts for kids
Looking for a yummy treat to create on a hot summer day? Try these 4 adorable popsicle crafts for kids. These easy popsicle and snow cone crafts are just too cute to pass up.
They even come with a popsicle and snow cone coloring page with an added handwriting section. If you’d like to get even more fine motor work in, you can try any of the included 6 writing pages too.
These make the perfect summer or back to school writing craftivities.
Camping Crafts for Kids
What better way to kick off summer than to take the family camping. Create memories inside this summer too with this easy camping craft for kids.
Create a boy and girl camper with my cute tent craft as well as an adorable Smores craft.
Fireflies in a Jar Craft
Catching lightning bugs is always so much fun. After catching your own fireflies in a jar, complete this adorable summer craft and the matching firefly and lightning bug coloring pages.
Ocean Crafts for Kids
Want more easy printable cut and paste crafts you can do with your kids this summer? These summer activities are easy for moms and teachers, but tons of fun for kids! Use these ocean animals to decorate your child’s room or make a fantastic summer bulletin board.
In this printable summer activities bundle, you’ll get all kinds of great ocean animals to learn about and enjoy! Check out what’s included:
- Shark
- Turtle
- Lobster
- Crab
- Dolphin
- Whale
- Octopus
- Jellyfish
Plus, I’ve included boy and girl snorkelers, mermaids, and more! Use them with writing prompts story time or just a fun rainy day activity for your little beach bums.
End of Year Craft
Float into summer with this adorable end of year craft for kids. Write about summer plans or what you’re excited to learn in the next grade level with this fun summer craft for kids.
Free Summer Activities for Kids
I know you’ve worked hard all year so to help keep the learning momentum going, I’ve partnered up with some amazing teacher authors to bring you TWO bundles ofover 130 free summer activities!
Special thanks to Alexa with Perfectly Purple Classroom for organizing these bundles for everyone each season!
In Conclusion
I hope you’re filled with ideas about fun summer activities for kids to keep the boredom blues at bay and fill your summer with learning fun for everyone! Share your favorite fun activities to do on a hot summer day in the comments. I can’t wait to try some of your ideas with my kids too!
