5 Fun Summer Activities for Kids

Summer is here, but it will be gone before you know it. If you have school age kids, they are probably already complaining to you that they are bored. Maybe you've been hearing the whine of, "There's nothing for us to do!" I know it's tempting to simply hand them a list of chores, and I agree that your list should be part of their summer. However, to be the advocate for your kids, I have a list of 5 fun summer activities that will not require them to wash dishes or dust the house.

Those same children, who could not wait for their summer vacation, are fully expecting you to entertain them all summer. However, my 5 ideas can be accomplished by the kids, with or without mom and dad doing it for them or participating in the fun. You are allowed to join in the fun of course, but it is not mandatory here.

5 Fun Things for Your Kids to do This Summer:

*Have a picnic! The kids can have a picnic in their own back yard, or even the living room if they choose. Get a picnic basket for them, and let them do the rest. Unless they are very young, they can make their own sandwiches and lemonade or kool-aid. Maybe you make them a dessert, or simply toss some watermelon and ding dong's their way. All they need after that is a blanket and they can head outside. Now I know how hot it can get, so I say let them really have some fun and give them squirt guns or water balloons to cool down after the picnic. My siblings and I did this all the time while growing up, and it left me with fond memories to look back on.

*Speaking of being outside, how about a camp out in the back yard? This was another one of my favorite summer time memories. We usually invited a couple of neighborhood friends over to join us. We made our own snacks and took our cooler outside with our sleeping bags. It's fun if the kids have a tent to set up, like the small ones I bought for my niece and nephew. However, even without a tent, the kids can make their own fort with sheets or blankets, and some chairs or boxes to prop it up. We didn't have tent money growing up, but I made the best forts on the block! Make sure they have flashlights and a way to get back into the house if they get scared in the middle of the night. It's been known to happen after ghost stories have been told!

*Something that the smaller kids seem to really enjoy is the sidewalk chalk. You can buy a bucket of multi-colored sidewalk chalk for $5-10. Encourage the kids to show their artistic side and maybe even have a little neighborhood art contest. Kids like to show off their work, and since the chalk can be washed off easily, the kids can do that too. To conserve water I would give them only a bucket of water to wash off their work, rather than a water hose. It won't take long for the sun to dry it out, and they then have a new blank canvass for more art.

*I played a lot of musical instruments as a kid, none of them well! Still, my friends and I would put on the occasional concert for our parents or other friends. I say encourage your children to make up a concert this summer. If music is not their thing, they can have an art show of all their drawings, or maybe make up a play to perform for the rest of the family. My acting skills were not top notch, but as a kid I did enjoy pilfering my older sibling's closets to play dress-up. We use to bring out old Halloween costumes for summer fashion shows. We dressed up as police officer's, cowboys, and a multitude of other interesting styles. With the passing of Farrah Fawcett recently, it reminded me of my time with my older sister. She gave me the Farrah hairstyle, complete with way too much make-up and my green bell bottom pants, to show that I too could be one of Charlie's Angels! Granted, this was the 1970's, so today's kids will likely choose Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers to duplicate their styles.

*Last but not least, have a Scavenger Hunt or a Treasure Hunt this summer! You can make up the list of items for the kids to find, or they can take turns making up a list their selves. Give them a list of 10 different purple items, or 15 things a spy might need to do his job. You can pick any theme and change them up day to day, or let them do it themselves. With a treasure hunt, leave notes as clues until they find the treasure. Maybe the treasure is a new baseball, or an IOU for a trip to the local ice cream parlor. You can make the treasure be whatever reflects your child's interest. I'll give you a hint though, most kids I know, love disposable cameras.

Again I say, don't worry parents, school will be back in session soon and you will have a little more free time. In the meantime, you have a new list of fun things your kids can do this summer, with or without mom and dad. Just maybe you won't have to hear, "I'm bored", again the rest of the summer.

Sources: http://www.blisstree.com/articles/fun-summer-activities-for-kids-2/
Writers personal experience from childhood.