200 Screen-Free Summer Activities For Kids
Looking for things to do with your kids this summer? Today I’m sharing list of 200 screen free summer activities that you can reference to keep your kids busy playing, learning, and having fun all season long.
I love summer time. Being a homeschool mom, I find that I need the break just as much as my kids do.
So during the summer, we like to plan a few things to get us out of the house, away from screens, enjoying the weather, and having fun together.
…and a huge list of summer activities that I can reference when my kids get bored is just what I need.
200 Screen Free Summer Activities
With school on the back burner, summer is a great opportunity for kids to get way from the screens, get outside, discover new things, and really use their imagination. But lets be honest, sometimes kids need a little nudge in the right direction, or a suggestion that could launch a full afternoon of engrossed play.
Perhaps its setting up a sprinkler or taking a trip to the park. Either way, having an idea or a plan for the day can really go a long way to keeping the kids active while maintaining mom’s sanity.
And the best part is, you don’t have to spend a ton of money to have a good time, there are lots of free summer activities you can do.
Check out this list of 200 screen-free summer activities for kids and get started!
Screen-free Imaginative Play Summer Activities
Let’s start off this list with some good old-fashioned summer imaginative play. Usually all you have to do, is plant a little creative idea in your kid’s mind and they will take it from there. Here are some imaginative play ideas they could try:
1. Build a fort
2. Play dress up
4. Have an outdoor tea party
5. Write and act out a play
6. Put on an outdoor puppet show
7. Set up an outdoor mud kitchen
8. Build a bridge over imaginary hot lava
9. Make a treasure map
10. Act out a story
11. Make up a dance
12. Build a backyard cottage with cardboard
13. Build a marble run
14. Make story stones and tell the story
15. Build an outdoor race track
16. Make mud pies
17. Make a pet rock
Screen-Free Educational Summer Activities for Kids
Want to keep the learning alive in a fun way during the summer? Try a summer book challenge or some of these other educational summer activities!
18. Read books
19. Visit a museum
20. Take a trip to the library
21. Science experiments
22. Start a summer journal
23. Participate in a summer reading program
24. Do a summer unit together (like Ocean Animals, or Insects)
25. Learn about your town’s history
27. Make a sundial
28. Learn the names of the plants in your area
29. Learn how to repair something
31. Steam project
32. Read with a flashlight
33. Make a family tree
Screen-free Summer Art Activities
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Do your kids enjoy crafting? Summer is a great time to take the crafty mess outside and have a wonderful time creating. From painting rocks to making friendship bracelet the summer craft ideas are endless.
34. Paint rocks
35. Draw with sidewalk chalk
36. Friendship bracelets
39. Paper boats
40. Make a bird feeder
42. Try photography
43. Write your name with rocks
44. Paint outside
45. Flower crowns
46. Make a wind chime
48. Paint flowers with watercolor paint
49. Make a design using only nature
50. Draw around a shadow
51. Do a leaf rubbing collage
Food related Summer Activities for Kids
Do your kids enjoy working with food? Let them try some of these easy summer recipes to help keep cool during the summer months. (Our kid’s favorite is Ice Cream in a Bag.)
52. Make popsicles
54. Make your own pizza
55. Homemade lemonade
56. Watermelon pops
57. Try homemade snowcones
58. Make s’mores
59. Rootbeer floats
60. Fruit kabobs
61. Raspberry Fool
64. Sandwich kabobs
65. Make ice cream sundays
66. Have a BBQ
Screen-Free Outdoor Summer Activities for Kids
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We try to make it our goal to get outside everyday. From taking a walk to flying a kite, summer adventure is always there if you make yourself available to the outdoors.
68. Nature walk
69. Run a race with a friend or sibling
70. Walk to a park
71. Fly a kite
72. Go cloud watching
73. Make an obstacle course
74. Go star-gazing
75. Climb a tree
76. Play hide and seek
77. Blow bubbles
78. Hoola hoops
79. Nap in hammock
80. Pick a bouquet of wild flowers
81. Play with a neighborhood friend
82. Dig a hole
Summer Water Activities for Kids
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Kids love to play in the water (at least mine do). Here are some fun summer activities for kids that involve staying cool by getting wet.
83. Run in the sprinkler
84. Water balloons
85. Set up a slip and slide
86. Wet obstacle course
87. Go for a swim
88.Play with water beads
89. Squirt guns
90. Batting practice with water balloons
91. Water balloon volley ball
92. Skip rocks at a lake or pond
93. Play in a kiddie pool
94. Make a water table and play in it
95. Wet sponge toss
96. Toy boat races
Gardening Summer Activities for Kids
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Do plants and flowers get your kids excited? (Mine love gardening!) From planting flowers to harvesting sunflower seeds, there are lots of ways you can enjoy these things in your own backyard.
97. Plant a garden
99. Make a fairy garden
101. Harvest sunflower seeds
102. Grow strawberries
103. Make garden stepping stones
104. Plant an herb
105. Make plant markers
106. Pick a bouquet of flowers for your house
107. Make a honeybee watering station
108. Learn how to compost
109. Save seeds
110. Plant a succulent garden
111. Decorate a plant pot
112. Pull weeds
113. Water flowers
Screen-Free Animal-Related Summer Activities
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Do your kids love animals? Find some animal-related summer activities that you know your kids will enjoy! From taking a trip to your local zoo to visiting the ducks at your local park, there are lots of ways you can give your kids their animal fix this summer. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
114. Visit ducks at your local park
115. Petting zoo
116. Zoo
117. Go bird watching
118. Visit a farm
119. Do a butterfly kit
120. Visit a fish hatchery
121. Study the animal habitats
122. Maintain an ant farm
123. Visit an aquarium
124. Search for animal tracks/scat
125. Set up a bird bath
126. Go horseback riding
127. Catch fireflies
128. Study the frog life cycle
129. Set out bird seed
130. Find tadpoles at a pond
Screen-free physical Summer Activities and Games
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Do your kids have extra energy to burn? Or do they love outdoor sports? Why not start a game of frisbee with the neighborhood kids, or a jumprope competition between cousins? Here are some physical summer games your kids are sure to enjoy:
131. Frisbee
132. Softball
133. Soccer
134. Four square
135. Wall ball
136. Jump on a trampoline
137. Jumprope
138. Walk to a neighborhood park
139. Ride bikes
140. Roller blading
141. Hopscotch
142. Cornhole
143. Kick ball
144. Freeze tag
145. Four legged race
Screen-Free Family Summer Activities for Kids
Looking to make some memories with your family this summer? Summertime offers a lot of wonderful and very affordable things you can do with your family. Research your area and see what all is available. Here are some local activities you could be searching for:
146. Concert in a park
147. Go hiking
148. Visit an orchard
149. Go to the county fair
150. Visit a water park
151. Go to an amusement park
152. Day trip
153. Go to a splash pad
154. Mini golf
155. Go bowling
156. Visit an aquarium
157. Go to the beach
158. Go to a sports game
159. Check out your farmers market
160. Go berry picking
161. Have a bonfire
162. Camp out in the backyard
163. Have a picnic
164. Visit a national or state park
165. Wash the car
Kindness-Based Summer Activities for kids
Want to encourage your kids to think of others this summer? From helping your neighbor with yard work to hosting an ice cream party, here are some kindness-based summer activities you could try!
166. Visit grandma
167. Bake cookies for someone you know
168. Do yard work for a neighbor
169. Host a block ice cream party
170. Walk a dog
171. Help with a baby or small child
172. Spend time with someone new
173. Send a post card to someone you love
174. Donate some gently used toys or books
175. Sweep a porch for someone
176. Invite a friend over for Rootbeer floats
177. Recycle
178. Pick up litter around your neighborhood
179. Paint kind messages on rocks and leave them for people to find
180. Take fresh flowers to someone who is sick
181. Make cards for a fire fighter or police officer
182. Help a sibling with an outdoor task
183. Leave a kind note in a library book
184. Volunteer your time
185. Visit the elderly
Responsibility-Building Summer Activities for Kids
Wanting to foster a good work-ethic in your kids this summer? Or perhaps you have a child who is an entrepreneur at heart? Here are some fun ways you can help your kids build these skills this summer:
186. Set up a lemonade stand
187. Have a garage sale
188. Make crafts to sell
189. Do daily chores
190. Help clean out the garage
191. Wash windows
192. Earn extra money by doing a special job
193. Make a schedule and follow it
194. Babysit a friend or neighbors pet
195. Help host a dinner party
196. Make a meal for your family
197. Read out loud to someone
198. Set up give, save, and spend money accounts
199. Reorganize your room
200. Learn how to use a planner
How to Have a Summer Full of Fun
One of the reasons kids (and parents) love summer is that the schedule is more open and the routine is usually more relaxed. On the other hand, it can lend itself to our kid’s favorite summer phrase, “I’M BORED.” or “I have NOTHING to do!”
In my opinion, a healthy balance between planned summer activities and a little boredom that leads to creativity is a great place to be.
Never underestimate a little boredom. I can’t count how many amazing summer days we have had that started in boredom and ended with a full afternoon of fort building or crafting outside.
So, look over this list or your favorite summer bucket list with your kids and pick a few things things that sound fun for everyone. Then keep a few of these activities or suggestions in your back pocket for those moments that your kids need a little creative prompting.
And whatever you do, have a great time! Enjoy the wonderful weather, and the precious time you get to spend with your kids!
What are your favorite screen-free summer activities for kids?
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