Summer Fun

We have just about 5 weeks before L returns to school 4 mornings a week. Last summer, I went all super-Mom and made theme weeks, with fun and educational activities planned to fill the summer. I made it about halfway before running out of steam, but at least I gave it a hearty try. This summer got off to a rough start. My Grandmother was sick and we spent an unexpected 2 weeks away from home, dealing with the stresses of her illness, and ultimately her death. It was stressful on me, stressful on the boys, and very tiring. I feel like it took me a couple weeks to recover from the time away from home, and I don't think our summer really got started until after the July 4th holiday.

In an attempt to make a fun and memorable summer for the boys, and to enjoy my time with L before he goes back to preschool, I began a list of ideas and inspiration for activities, with the notion that together we would choose 1 or 2 each day. So far, we haven't gotten through much on the list, but I'm trying to look ahead rather than behind. The list is full of ideas, and hopefully I can add to the list over time, making it my go-to resource for great ideas for fun, in any season.

Here is the list, should you be interested:

Summer Activities & Ideas

*CLICK FOR LINKS TO TUTORIALS*

OUTDOOR FUN

Nature walk / scavenger hunt

Garden

Make a raft & sail it in the pool

Make bark boats or paper boats

Build a fort

Water balloon fight

Outdoor play “cooking”

Compost

Go on a bug hunt

Make a wormery

Make an aqua scope

Make nature crowns & cuffs

Make summer pod & bud prints

Start a fairy garden

Backyard picnic

Watermelon seed spitting contest

Start a bug collection (dead)

Obstacle course

Make leaf crowns

Bury treasures in the sandbox

Ice play

Make walking sticks

Build train track outside

Water play

Make a terrarium

Make & fly a kite (or here)

Outdoor painting w/ tabletop easel

Nature words

ARTS & CRAFTS

Make glue batik shirts

Paper plate weaving

Finger painting

Recycled rocket

Hand-drawn dolls

Garden wish flags

Paint garden rocks

String painting

Make paper cloth

Yarn embroidery

Flower still lifes

Flying fish windsock

Make peg people

Favorite things collage

Make nature pendants

Make pinwheels

“Hole” paintings

Garden art

Jello paintings

Marble painting

Melted crayon art

Make watercolors

Tye Dye

Disc sculptures

Puff paint pictures

Resist paintings

MUSIC

Make a banging wall

Make drums & shakers

BUILDING / DADDY PROJECTS

Make tree blocks

Giant bubble wands

Toddler stilts

Build a summer pavilion

Build a rope swing

Make homemade hoops

Giant homemade chalkboards

Make a bean teepee

COOKING / IN THE KITCHEN

Lots of cooking ideas here

Giant cookies

PB Banana Cups

Mini berry pies

Homemade ice cream

Frozen ice jewels

Homemade bread & butter

Homemade popsicles

Rainbow jello

Rainbow cookies

Colorful pancakes

INDOOR / RAINY DAY IDEAS

Make balancing butterflies

Cardboard box shadow theater

Beginning sewing

Treasure hunt/mapping

Tin can telephones

Dress-up/pretend play

Themed movie marathon

Puppet show

Cereal box marble run

Super spy day

Make a paper city

Make a bed board

Make animals masks

Roll-a-Die monsters

Put on a play or puppet show

Write a story

Fun with colored water

Make pop-pom sheep

Have a costume party picnic

Start a collaborative journal

Invent a silly holiday

Make an indoor racetrack for matchbox cars

Construct a catapult and target

Dr. Seuss day

Build with straws

Make special pictures for loved ones

OTHER RESOURCES FOR IDEAS

Make and Takes

The Crafty Crow

What do we do all day?

A Magical Childhood