Hooray for the summer holidays! School’s out and the sun is shining… Well, at least some of the time! But what are you and the kids going to do with all those weeks to fill? There’s only so much reading a child can do, and maybe yours haven’t quite reached that stage yet. It’s time to get organized and think about summer activities for kids.
THEMED SUMMER ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN
One of the easiest ways to get your kids engaged in summer holiday activities is to present them as a challenge or fit them into a theme. Not every day needs to be meticulously organized – it’s the holidays after all – but you’ll find the days drag less if you’ve worked out a plan at the start of the holidays. Maybe choose a theme a week and aim to do two or three activities, or give yourselves a couple of challenges to achieve by the summer’s end.
Below, we’ve tried to help you plan by gathering together some of our favourite summer holiday activities for children, based on different activity themes. We’ll be honest, there’s going to be a bit of mess involved, but with Persil small & mighty, you know we’ve got you covered when it comes to helping you get rid of stains. Now, with sunhats, sunglasses, sun cream (and maybe umbrellas) at the ready – let’s start having some summer fun!
ACTIVITY THEME: NATURE
Even if you don’t have your own garden or balcony, why not head to the local park, or adapt these summer activities for indoors. Follow the links for helpful tips and information on the different activities.
Make daisy chains – take a common garden daisy, and use your fingernail to make a small hole in the stem just big enough to thread the stem of another daisy through. Keep going until you have a daisy crown or garland!
Collect bugs
Climb trees. It’s important that kids have adult supervision when climbing trees, but it’s also a fun way to exercise and find out a little about nature!
Go camping
Build a den
ACTIVITY THEME: WATER
Let’s hope there’s not too much rain this summer, but if there is, adapt these activities for your bathroom!
Make paper boats – there are plenty of fun, easy video tutorials for making origami paper boats online! Once you’ve made your boats, you can try floating them in the bath or sink, or even move on to other origami paper craft projects!
Mud painting
Blow bubbles
Conduct water experiments
Construct ice cube towers
Make rose water
Have water balloon or pistol battles
ACTIVITY THEME: THE SEASIDE
Summer is a great time to visit the seaside, but there’s a lot you can do at home, too:
Make flags for sandcastles
Play the Desert Island Game
Paint pebble paper weights
Create a seaside diorama: Put sand and water (or scrunched up crepe paper for an indoor version) in a large tray to make a mini-beach together. You can decorate it with shells, small boats, or any toys your kids think could use a nice holiday!
Make ice lollies with fruit juice: Pour juice or squash into ice cube trays and sink in little wooden lolly sticks before freezing them. In an hour or two, you should have cute mini lollies to enjoy!
Make a model light house
Play pirates
ACTIVITY THEME: SPORTS
There are so many sports you and your kids can do out in the garden or park, but here are some other active ideas:
Obstacle courses
Outdoor yoga
Hopscotch (use pavement chalk)
Skipping
Hula hoop
Keep a score board for big sporting events this summer.
SUMMER CHALLENGES
Older children might find it more interesting to set themselves a summer challenge. Here are some ideas for activities that will take time and practice to accomplish:
Learning to riding a bicycle
Learning to swim
Learning to roller skate or skateboard
Learning a new language. You don’t necessarily have to join a class or buy any books: Your local library may have books and even tapes to help your kids pick up the basics! If you’ve not visited before, you can find out where to go from your local council website.
Making your own outfit: Start off with something easy, like tie dyeing a scarf, and work your way up to clothes patterns by the end of the summer!
Writing and illustrating a book