Day 1- Kids Summer Fun {Ideas & Activities}
Summer Bucket List by The Pinning Mama
To see ALL 31 kids ideas click here!
SEE MY 2016 SUMMER BUCKET LIST HERE
Each year when May rolls around we start thinking about summer and what we will do to keep busy! I have fun going through ideas with the kids and we work together until we put together our ultimate list of what we want to do during our summer vacation. We add it all to a list and call it our Summer Bucket List! We add easy things and some more complicated and our goal is to check off each one before summer ends. The kids love to have fun with it and see how fast they can start checking boxes. I love it because it always keeps us busy with fun activities at our finger tips!
Each year since 2013 I have shared my list with you and gotten some GREAT comments and emails about how much you enjoy working through the list too! It is something I love to share and I would love you to play along with your family! You can find links to exactly how to do the activities and either print off our list or the blank copy to make your own personalized list at the bottom. Also, you can follow along with the fun by posting your pics with the hashtag #TPMSummerBucketList on Instagram or watch our fun on the TPM Instagram here. There is a Summer Bucket List Pinterest board you can follow that has links to many of the projects we try and I update throughout the summer with new fun ideas as well.
2015 Summer Bucket List for Kids
- Giant Bubbles – We don’t want just any bubbles this summer… We are going to try these that promise to be as big as we are!
- Shaving cream slip n slide– Getting messy is fun, especially when you can just hose off outside to clean up. This shaving cream slip n slide might be one of my kids favorites this summer.
- Yard Yahtzee– This is a two in one, you get to make your own dice then enjoy playing a family game with them! This is a great activity for kids learning basic math too!
- Ice Chalk – Ice Chalk is easy to make and I have a feeling it will be hours of fun and entertainment for the kids!
- Field Day- Invite a few friends over and have your own field day complete with a potato sack race and candy medals for the winners!
- Science experiment- Just because school is out doesn’t mean the learning has to stop! My kids beg to do cool science experiments all summer. Here is a great list of science experiments for kids to choose from!
- Minute to win it– Minute to Win It promises to be a family night filled with fun, laughter and memories! I love these games because many of them can be tailored to younger kids to older and even adults!
- Glow Bowling– Add a glow stick to some water bottles and have a fun family bowling tournament in the back yard after the sun goes down.
- Freeze toys in ice– Kids love ice. I don’t know why but it is just a fact. Keep them busy by raiding thier toy box and freezing some water safe toys in big blocks of ice, then have them go outside and let it melt away!
- Go to the beach- We love the beach and always try to take a road trip to one at least once over the summer. If you don’t have access to a beach, then get creative by building a sand box, or visiting a local beach entry pool! If you do the real thing though, make sur to make a set of these super cool flip flops!
- Air fort– This air fort looks ridiculously cool! I can’t wait to try it with the kids and see if it turns out as amazingly fun as it looks!
- Pool Noodle Water Wall– This is a great thing for your older kids to help you design and build and for younger kids to play with outside all summer long. There is nothing like a little water to keep kids busy!
- DIY Marshmallow Shooters– This might be trouble, but these marshmallow shooters are easy to make and would be all sorts of fun! My kids are guarunteed to shoot them at each other and see who can catch them in their mouth from the farthest distance!
- Make Smores- A summer classic! Do it while you are camping, or try a sun powered oven to cook them in your back yard!
- Sponge Bombs– Who needs water balloons when you have sponge bombs? These are sure to be wet and wild fun you can reuse over and over again. Thank goodness for no more filling those tiny balloons!
- Bubble Wrap Stomp Painting– It is like my kid’s favorite thing meets my kid’s second favorite thing! There is no way you can’t have fun by combining bubble wrap and paint!
- Yard Twister– Grab a can of marking paint and create your own giant twister game on your front lawn! You can even make the board bigger to include more people.
- Make bird feeders – Create a bird feeder from a toilet paper tube then learn about the kinds of birds you see visiting it.
- Make a fort- Sometimes you need an inside day and making a fort is always a way to transform being trapped inside to an adventure! Pack a special picnic lunch you can eat in your fort for more fun.
- Make an Airplane– Take the cardboard boxes you have laying around and transform them into airplanes to fly around the house in or watch an airplane themed movie like Planes!
- Balloon Tennis– Another way to keep kids busy and out of trouble on an inside day! This is a genius way to let the kids be active but avoid breaking anything.
- Road Trip- We love to take road trips to explore somewhere new. You can plan a big one or even just look for something special to do around your area and make a day trip. These ideas will keep your kids busy for the long hours on the drive.
- Make your own ice cream- Summer and ice cream were meant to be! We bought this ice cream maker attachment for our Kitchenaid last year, but if you don’t have one, you can even make ice cream in a bag!
- Backyard obstacle course- Put the kids to work designing an obstacle course for the back yard. After they design it, hold a back yard olympics and crown a winner. There are lots of kids obstacle course ideas here.
- Paper Airplanes- Make paper airplanes and experiment to see what different tricks you can make them do. A quick internet search will yield designs that can do all sorts of tricks!
- Nature Walk – Go on a nature walk. You can print these scavenger hunt check lists to make it even more fun.
- Picnic- Pack a picnic and go play at the park!
- Wash the Car- Get the kids in their bathing suits and wash the car the old fashioned way. They are sure to love it and you get to check something off of your to-do list.
- Do a random act of kindness for a neighbor- Do something unexpected and kind. Have your kids help with the whole process from thinking of ideas to performing the task. The more they are involved the more rewarding the experience will be.
- Decorate a cake- Get out the sprinkles and frosting and go to town. If you don’t want to heat up the house by turning on the oven, you can buy plain cakes pretty inexpensively at most grocery stores in the bakery.
- Visit a farm- Pick one with animals or one that has fruits and veggies. Even living in the middle of Las Vegas we have both farms with animals and where we can pick apples within just a short drive.
- Make sock puppets- clean out the drawers and use the old socks and what ever other markers, buttons, or random craft supplies you can find to let the kids make their own sock puppets. Then encourage them to make a play for you with their new creations.
- Make a popsicle chain reaction– This is super cool and promises to impress!
- Plant something- Plant something as simple as a bean in a cup on the window sill and see how big it grows over the summer. It is fun to watch and helps your kids learn about responsibility.
- Create story stones– Create them for your favorite book, or make up your own story with them.
- Go to the Library- Pick out books about something you want to learn about. Read them and teach a friend or family member about what you learned.
- Have a water gun fight- My son love the super soakers and will take any chance he can get to get to have a water gun fight!
- Fly a kite- When the wind picks up, make a trip to the park and fly a kite.
- Make Play dough- There are many great and easy recipes including this easy play dough recipe that smells great too!
- Clean out toys you don’t use anymore and donate them- This is a great teachable moment to help us focus on helping others!
- Spend a day at the pool- We hope to do this a lot, but this summer favorite can’t be missed!
- Build with toothpicks and marshmallows or gum drops– See how big of a tower you can make, or what invention your kids can come up with using only tooth picks and marshmallows or gum drops to build.
- Make an ocean of fish out of paper plates– These are super cute and super easy. If you have really creative kids you could make all sorts of designs.
- Drive with the windows down and the music up- One of our favorite things to do in the summer and an easy check for our list!
- Make summer hand print crafts– It is a fun craft and a great memento! You can find 10 ideas for summer handprint crafts here.
- Go camping- Some of our best memories have been made camping! You can get your kids even more involved by putting together these camping activity bags before you go.
- Become a super spy- Make your own spy bootcamp with these fun ideas!
- Write a letter- Write a note or draw a picture and mail it to someone you love! They will enjoy the thoughtful gesture.
- Play with your food- Cut up some fruit and then use it to make this cute train, or better yet, your own creations!
- Make a water balloon piñata– Get wet and wild with this fun backyard game! This is fun for little kids and big kids alike.
That is what we will be up to this summer! I hope you will join us! It’s easy to play along… just download and print your own bucket list below and add the things you want to do this summer. If you need some more inspiration (or another design!) you can check out our 2013 Summer Bucket List and 2014 Summer Bucket List.
Get your FREE printable summer bucket list here or by clicking on the picture below.
Get your FREE printable blank summer bucket list here or by clicking on the picture below.
Seana Turner says
Great list, Kimber. I used to make a list like this when my kids were little. We’d make a giant summer calendar, as some of the items needed to planned in advance. I think it is a terrific way to get excited about the summer:)
Kimber says
My kids love getting to pick an activity to tackle, and honestly it keeps me accountable for making sure we get out and keep busy during the summer instead of just being lazy (although we do that too!)