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There are many things I love about summer but the one thing I hate
is the phrase, "Mom, I'm bored." So here are five ideas for summer
activities for kids to help bust the summer boredoms.
Scavenger Hunt
Most kids love to explore and find things at least when it's a game.
Having a scavenger
hunt is fun both outside and inside (great when its
raining). Make a list of objects for each child to gather or have them
work as a team. Include objects that can easily be found. If your hunt
is inside include things like a q-tip, puzzle piece, penny, or small car.
For an outside scavenger hunt your list could include grass, leaf, rock, bug,
a specific flower, or an object with a specific color. Give each child or
team a brown paper sack to gather the items in.
For a fun change hide items around the house or yard and then giver your
children a list of the items you hid and have them find them. You can hide
one of each item or one item for each of your children. Then send them out
to search.
Bug Book
Most backyards are a veritable jungle, of bugs that is. Give your child
a notebook and pencil and have them draw pictures of all of the bugs that
they can find. You could have a race to see who can find the most bugs.
Save the book and on a rainy day try finding the names of the bugs on the
Internet.
Chalk It Up
Chalk is inexpensive and versatile. My children love drawing with chalk on
our cement patio or driveway. For a fun game draw a hopscotch board. To play
each player takes a turn throwing a rock onto a square. Then when they jump
they can't jump on that square, but have to skip it. School age children would
enjoy a four square box. Draw four large squares. Then have at least two players,
up to four, stand in different squares. Each player takes a turn throwing a ball
to another player, allowing the ball to bounce once.
Backyard Olympics
Let your children hone their athletic skills by holding a backyard Olympics. This
is a fun activity to invite the neighborhood kids too. Set up an obstacle course
through your backyard. Hold races, but mix it up by running backward, doing a crab
crawl, or an army crawl. If you have a trampoline see who can jump the highest or
do the best trick. You can make medals out of construction paper and string or
ribbon, or use a chocolate gold coin. Have a ribbon for everyone who participates.
Get Wet
Summertime is the perfect time to put on swimsuits and get wet. Set up a water
park in your backyard with different water activities. In one area you could have
squirt guns. Put a wading pool in another part. A slip and slide is always fun
too. My kids like to jump on the trampoline with a sprinkler underneath, just be
careful because it makes the tramp slippery. Consider setting out a bucket of
water balloons. Your kids can throw the balloons or play water balloon volleyball.
To play tie a string between two trees or chairs. Divide the players into two teams
and give each team a small sheet or large towel to hold. Then the teams take turns
throwing a water balloon over the string using the towel or sheet, while the other
teams tries to catch the balloon also using the their towel. For some more fun invite
some friends over. Ask them to bring some extra hoses and don't forget the sunscreen.
This summer when your kids say, "I'm bored" try one of these backyard ideas for
summer activities for kids.
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