Parentella

Summer Vacation Activities

As a parent who works from home part-time, I’m a bit apprehensive about summer vacation. My kids will attend a few sessions of day camp and though that will keep them busy for a few hours per day, there are still a lot of hours to be filled between now and September. I decided I needed to have some ideas in my pocket for the long days ahead, so I compiled a list of 60 fun activities to try in the coming months. Some are easy, some require more advanced planning, but even if you only get to a handful of them they should make for a pretty entertaining summer break!

Excursions

• Visit an amusement Park
• Look at art at an art museum.
• Play on a beach
• Take in a concert in a local park
• Go letterboxing
• Take a hike in a nature area or around your neighborhood
• On a really hot day visit a big store — book store, IKEA, Target — and wander the air-conditioned aisles.
• Learn about a program your library offers that you’ve never tried — a summer reading program, eBooks, or maybe a family sing-along.
• Cool off at a local splash park
• Take a dip at your neighborhood pool
• Get close to animals at a petting zoo
• Visit a farm where you can pick fruit
• Learn something new at a science museum
• Check out a local street festival; eat foods on sticks
• Visit a parent who works outside the home for lunch
• Try out a playground you’ve never been to before
• Spend a day at the zoo

Crafts

• Make LEGO minifigs (or other sculptures) with salt dough
• Cook up a batch of homemade playdough
• Create marshmallow catapults from shoe boxes and rubberbands
• Freeze food coloring and water and paint a picture with ice
• Paint with watercolors
• Construct a real life Angry Birds game
• Print, cut and assemble a paper toy such as R2-D2, Wonder Woman or Snoopy
• Assemble a terrarium with plants and small toys
• Tie dye a t-shirt
• Decorate a window with tie-dye art
• Make a tiny bow and arrows

Backyard

• Build something cool out of cardboard boxes
• Camp in the backyard
• Mix up a batch of cornstarch sidewalk paint and decorate the driveway
• Crank up some tunes and have a dance party
• Make a little money with a lemonade stand
• Freeze toys into a large block of ice; provide kids with hammers and squirt bottles and challenge them to get them out
• Make giant bubbles
• Go on a bug hunt
• Hold a garage sale
• Invite friends over to play tag
• Play in the pool and/or the sprinkler
• Play with squirt guns
• Ride bikes or scooters
• Set up a treasure hunt for friends or siblings
• Set up an obstacle course and race with friends or time yourself
• Smack balloons around the yard with a pool noodle
• Have a water balloon battle

Cooking

• Let your child choose ingredients for a smoothie by herself, then blend it with a grown-up’s help
• Make homemade butter with a mixer or by shaking cream in a jar
• Whip out a batch of homemade ice cream
• If ice cream seems like too much work, make homemade popsicles instead
• Have your child plan and make dinner for the family
• Make lunch using foods of every color of the rainbow
• Roast marshmallows over the grill or a fire

Any Time

• Build with LEGO bricks — If your child is stuck, issue a challenge!
• Do a puzzle
• Learn some new jokes
• Make a movie with a video camera
• Read a book
• Take photos of your favorite toys
• Write a letter
• Write or draw pictures in a journal

What fun activities are you planning for the summer?

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Wendy Copley writes about cooking, crafts, parenting and her obsession with lunch boxes at Wendolonia.