50 Activities for Summer | Jodi Byrnes Photography

Now that school is out and the long summer days are on their way, I’m sure many of moms out there are thinking “now what?”.

I love the school season. We’re on a schedule, everyone knows we leave the house at 8:15 (on a good day) and we pick up after lunch. It’s great. The kids have a schedule and I know I have a small window where I can get business stuff done.

But now that school is out, our schedules have dramatically changed. Last summer was kind of lazy and really unorganized on my part. While we had activities to do, it wasn’t very intentional, if you know what I mean.

This summer I have purposed to creating an environment of intentional activities and teaching my children new skills.

In my search for such a routine, I have come across many suggested summer activities for the kids and families. Here are my top 50 summer activities for kids. Did I leave some out? Leave me a comment and let me know what your go-to activities are.

1. See a movie at the park
2. Play tag
3. Go to a theme park
4. Visit the beach and build sandcastles
5. Pick in season berries
6. Buy your favorite ice-cream from a local ice-cream truck
7. Make lemonade from scratch
8. Visit your local farmer’s market
9. Make a picnic in the park or your backyard
10. Lay out at night and watch fireflys
11. Drive up to the mountains and watch the sunset
12. Attend an outdoor concert
13. Play with sidewalk chalk, draw racetracks for cars or draw your dream house
14. Ride bikes on the local trails
15. Go hiking at your state parks
16. Go camping in your backyard
17. Go fishing
18. Play outside in the rain
19. Attend a local ball game
20. Play at a splash pad or local water park
21. Set up the sprinkler in the backyard
22. Create a scavenger hunt
23. Have a water balloon fight
24. Visit a local museum
25. Play kickball or whiffle ball
26. Do a fun craft, make necklaces, paint pottery, paint suncatchers
27. Visit the zoo
28. Build a fort out of couch cushions or go outside
29. Fly a kite
30. Join the library’s summer reading club
31. Let the kids plan dinner
32. Play flashlight tag
33. Shop at a flea market
34. Make a meal for a neighbor
35. Visit the aquarium
36. Create a summer bucket list
37. Plan play dates
38. Make a photo journal of your summer adventures
39. Make a meal together
40. Set up a car wash for the neighborhood
41. Make Dixie cup popsicles with fruit juice
42. Stage your own summer Olympics
43. Visit a nearby town for the day
44. Attend a fireworks show
45. Have a game night with all the favorites
46. Watch old movies
47. Act out your favorite book or movie
48. Attend Vacation Bible School
49. Enroll in local summer camps
50. Go phone free for the day