Family Activities for Summer 2020
These summer activities are perfect for social distancing or extended shelter-in-place orders.
Ah summer. It is right around the corner. I’m not gonna lie, I was really looking forward to this summer. My kid was going to be in preschool each day, and I was going to have unlimited time to write blog posts, create more amazing lessons for our Teacher Pay Teacher store, go to the gym, and stream all the shows I never got around to watching during the crazy school year. Not only is this pipe dream no longer happening, I now will be a stay at home momma, with absolutely no place to go!
Staying at home during the summer with a four year old isn’t so bad when you have trips to the library, a gardening center, the Zoo, local parks, and shops open. What does one do when every loving thing is closed? There are only so many paintings to paint, books to color, chalk art ideas to spend hours taping (only to have your kid melt down halfway through because the tape lifted on one side of the lopsided heart)….you get the idea.
If you’re anything like me, you might be starting to panic a little. While I love a few spare minutes to myself while my kiddo zones out on Netflix Kids or plays some games on ABC Mouse, I try to limit those times for when Mommy needs a freaking shower, or when I’m making breakfast/ lunch/dinner/ cleaning. What about the other 8-10 hours left in my day?
When I freak out, I like to formulate plans. Plans help me relax. So, while my husband and kiddo are sleeping, this momma has taken to the internet to Google myself into a happy summer, filled with activities I can try at home. Now I am sharing my bounty with you…you’re welcome!
Thirty Fun Summer Activities that Definitely Don’t Suck
Throw a bunch of finger foods on a plate, grab a blanket, and call it a picnic. This could be inside your house while you all sit on pillows, or outside in your yard. There is nothing more that my kid likes than picnic dinners or lunches. They have become a thing in our house.
Go for a bike ride. I have seen numerous families out peddling away. We live near a very popular running/ biking/ walking trail…so while I will steer clear of the path, we can keep to the residential neighborhoods for a fun little ride.
Take a nature walk. This idea from Tinkergarten sounds especially fun. Enlist your older kiddos to help you out for a family fun time.
Have a water balloon piñata party! Hot days call for a fun activity to cool off. This looks like a blast!
Throw a bunch of water balloons on a trampoline and have fun smashing them! What better way to burn off energy than to stomp, sit, or jump on water balloons while jumping on a trampoline? This may be better for the bigger kids, as I can see some potential for a broken ankle with this one!
We have got nothing but time…so this DIY carwash with pool noodles and PVC pipes looks like it could be a blast for the summer.
If you have a backyard- I envy you…you can have a slip and slide of epic proportions!
Another fun idea since many beaches are closed is to create a DIY sand pit. My daughter is having some serous sand box withdrawal and we don’t have the space to build her one. Maybe I can talk her grandparents into building one of these for us!
Speaking of the great outdoors, we are likely going to miss out on our favorite activity during the summer…camping! Why not unpack all your gear and have a little campout in your backyard? If you have a fire pit you can even roast some marshmallows. The best part is, if your kids get scared in the middle of the night, you can always just head back inside and crawl into your beds.
If your kids are early risers like mine, try to catch a sunrise together.
Build a fort, or endless forts. We love to throw blankets on our furniture and call it a fort. We then pull out our headlamps and read books by flash light. If you have not heard of the Usborne Shine-A-Light- books, do me a favor and click on this link. We are obsessed with the one on dinosaurs. They are super cool and highly engaging.
Tye Dye a shirt, towel, blanket etc. It’s all the rage right now.
Like that groovy tie dye outfit you just created for yourself and the fam…I have a feeling the Drive-in movie theater business is going to be booming this summer. If you have a drive- in near you, pack the car full of blankets, popcorn, and treats, and head to your local drive in for a fun movie night!
If you’re a Gen X bad ass like myself, then you already may have a croquet set gathering dust in your garage somewhere (Heathers anyone?) Dig out that bad boy and get to playing a round with your family.
My husband is from the southeast and introduced me to corn hole long before it got crazy popular in California. Have a blast throwing bean bags. Our four year old loves when we pull out ours. Because we have zero space in our town home, we bought this one. The best part is…it takes up zero room in our closet.
I grew up playing horseshoes with my dad. I don’t have a set…but my parents do. It might be the time to head on over to their house and set up the Horseshoe game…or find an empty park with a Horseshoe pit to play a game or two with the family.
Plant some flowers or veggies to tend to throughout the summer and beautify your space.
One of our absolute favorite things to do during the summer is take fun baths in our bathing suits. I grab my box of gel food coloring, plastic jars and squirt bottles and let my kid explore color theory. She has so much fun blending colors and creating rainbows in the bath. It is mess free, and educational! You could also try a color bath for your younger toddler.
If you have a younger kiddo like mine, sensory bins are all the rage! We like to fill ours with ice during the hot months and I let me daughter have a blast scooping and shoveling her ice cubes. You can also throw them in your water table for an extra level of awesome. Sometimes I even let her paint the ice. You could level up and make your own ice paint!
Another great activity to try is to build a water wall. I’m picking up some peg board ASAP for this activity!
I definitely want to try the squirt gun paining and the cactus rock garden listed on the Good Housekeeping site for fun summer activities. Also, you can recycle all those pool noodles you snagged for the car wash and use them for an obstacle course.
For all the teens in your life, what about finding a nice open frisbee golf course. We have a few out here in the Bay Area. Never heard of frisbee golf? It’s amazingly fun.
Create a mini olympics for your family. Get the bigger kids in your life to think up awesome games and help you create them.
Pull out your record player, boom box, CD player, or iPod touch, and introduce your kids to the teenage you. The one that blasted Alanis Morissette or Weezer’s Blue album at full volume, and have a dance party.
Enlist your older kids to plan dinner one night a week and cook it for you all. (If this makes more work for you…then don’t do it! Ain’t nobody got time for that).
Bust out those dusty board games and play an epic game of Monopoly, Mouse Trap, or Clue. If your kids are older, introduce them to the movie, Clue. Its awesome!
Make a cake from scratch….if you can find sugar and flour in your community.
Make a sourdough starter and start baking some delicious bread.
Redo your kid’s bedrooms. Is it time for an upgrade? Paint is not too expensive. Change the wall color, rearrange the furniture, buy some new art to hang on the walls, or order a few things at Target and choose the drive up option.
Now that our traffic is at an all time low in the Bay Area, we can take some day trips in the car and become tourists for the day. While we wouldn’t actually get out of the car, we can drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, drive through some epic redwood forests, or hit up the beach and have a car picnic with the windows down to feel the nice ocean breeze.
These are just some of the ideas I have sourced from my searches. While I might do half…maybe even less than that, it comforts me to plan and organize my summer into manageable activities that don’t require a lot of prep and can keep my kiddo safe and in the comfort of her home.
Want even more ideas? Check out our Mom Life board on Pinterest. We have hundreds of fun ideas and activities on there. Let us know if you try any of these ideas and how they turned out!
Until next time teacher friends,
Bottoms Up!