Summer is here! My favorite season of the year. There are so many summer ideas for family fun. It’s the perfect time of the year to have family fun. I am blessed that I just work part time. I relish this time of year when we can swim and read and stay up late. No school schedules or homework. We have time to explore and read. And with flip flops and bathing suit season we always have less laundry. What’s not to love?
Our family doesn’t always have a vacation or some place exciting to go. It’s just not in our budget. But we can make the most of our summer, like Phineas and Ferb, by brainstorming summer ideas to bring our family closer together. We may not be able to take our kids on a cruise, but we can make homemade bread and jam and build reading forts. I love finding adventure in the simple things.
And remember the point of this list is to encourage summer fun ideas and strengthen families. Not to make you feel like you aren’t doing enough. I never do everything on my summer fun list. And that’s okay. It’s a great way to have ideas ready to go for when you want to have some fun. Or to get your kids excited about new things. And remember this will give them ideas to create their own games they can play by themselves. In addition to swimming this summer I also have to get my home organized and complete projects I need to do. Independent play is a must in our house.
Summer Ideas for Family Fun:
- Make Popsicle’s
- Swim. Swim. And more swimming. (Yay for a new home with a pool!)
- Tide pools (when we visit California)
- Picnic
- Hikes (Be sure to remember to review Leave No Trace with your kids)
- Visit the Gilbert Riparian Preserve or other nature center
- Scrapbook Draco’s 1st year with Project Life. And have him help me.
- Celebrate Harry Potter’s Birthday July 31st.
- Roast Marshmallows (We love using the printables from this kit)
- Puzzles. (Click here on fun ways to switch up puzzles with your kids)
- Just Dance. Dance Parties are a must.
- More Musical Mania! (Last year we started watching musicals and making foods together to get our kids excited about musicals. Totally working!)
- Library Trips weekly!
- Lego Free Play. (Dad is the best at this)
- Pizza Party! Let everyone make their own pizza one night.
- Outdoor Movie Night. Perfect for when we finish reading the book first.
- Painting! Watercolor painting, painting with our toes, squirt gun painting, etc.
- Scavenger Hunts
- Sewing together. We can make pillowcases or this cool weighted blanket.
- Write Fan Mail. Excited to see who everyone chooses. Maybe we will get something back.
- Family Service. Feed my Starving Children is a great organization in the Phoenix area. Or check out Just Serve for ideas near you.
- Lemonade Stand
- Visit Temple Visitor Center or other religious center. There are so many neat interactive displays.
- Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest
- Bike Rides (I’m loving my new Basket Liner!)
- Make a new recipe as a family
- Nerf Gun Battle
- Camping as a family (Must have Camping Kit)
- Craft with kids.
- Marble Run
- Visit the beach
- Make Strawberry jam as a family
- Play-doh
- Family game of Quidditch
- Build a reading fort
- Balloon Ping Pong
- Visit Sedona
- Ninja Training
- Work on cub scouts and boy scouts advancements (Or girl scouts)
- Popcorn Movie Night
- Make bread
- Board Games! Some of our favorites here
- Chick-fil-a Cow Appreciation. Costume Ideas here. We love free meals.
- Yard Games
- Eating at Waffle Love
- Star gazing
- Lego Rock Band with friends
- Reading Programs (Check out your local Library)
- Science Experiments
- Lagoon with cousins
- Make and fly a kite
- Origami
- Make a new ice cream flavor each week. We are loving this Churro flavor
- Indoor golf
- Shadow Puppets
- Make a Sundial
- Paper Airplanes
- Acts of Kindness
- Book Crafts
- Splash Pad
- Visit Dad at work and have lunch with him
- Visit Parks (Later in the day or early morning here in Arizona)
- Museums
- Pokémon tournament
- Bird Walk
Summer is the best time for our family to spend time together. I am so excited for these summer fun ideas for our family this year. You can find more activities, like Lego games or science experiments, on my Kids Activities Board. You can check out our progress on Instagram. We will be using the hashtag #Kerrazysummerfun to keep track of our amazing summer. Be sure to invite family and friends to join you with your activities! Life is more fun with friends. Especially if any of your mom friends have to keep working. I’m sure they would love to have their kids join you. You can find last year’s Summer Fun List here in case you need more ideas.
And check out this post with easy and fun ways to squeeze in quality family time, even for working parents!
What’s your favorite summer activity? Leave a comment below and share your favorite idea…
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