What to Do With Kids This Summer When You Run Out of Ideas

You may have reached this point in the summer when kids lost the unbridled excitement they had from limitless screen time, water balloon fights, and even the pool when school first opened. (And you’ve lost all desire to calmly referee fights over Nintendo Switch time and who got the most snacks.) Here are some helpful, low-maintenance ideas to break the summer blues and keep the little ones busy without long trips, tons of money or a degree in Pinterest.

Backyard camping: Every summer my kids ask when we’re going camping again, and every summer, between trips to grandparents, weekend baseball games, and family vacations, we forget to schedule it. Luckily, you don’t have to rent a campsite and stuff half your pantry in your trunk for the weekend. You can simply pitch a tent, get your flashlights and sleeping bags out, make s’mores, and replicate the experience in your backyard. You also don’t have to use the famous cobweb toilet.

Pick your own fruit: visit a local farm (by calling or checking their website to see what’s seasonal and what can be picked) and load up the kids to pick berries or corn. Pack up lunch and a blanket and have a picnic in the shade if the farm allows. By the time you get home, there are only a few hours left before bedtime.

Make Homemade Jam: You need to make something with all those fresh fruits from the farm. Once you have everything you need and equip your workspace with everything you need, kids can participate in many steps in the process; from rinsing, drying and mashing berries to counting jars, washing lids and pouring jam into jars.

Make a Time Capsule: Give your kids a challenge to save this period of time and remind themselves in the future what life was like when they were young. Instruct them now to collect the “artifacts” of life; anything from family photos and school art projects to vacation memorabilia, their favorite Mad Libs and letters they write to their future self. Make sure they include something they are grateful for.

Make a stop-motion animated film. Depending on their age, kids can kill a lot of time creating their own stop motion animation . With a free app like Stop Motion Studio , kids can come up with a story, build their cherished LEGOs and Beanie Boos, arrange them for scenes, take a picture, then make small adjustments and take more photos to move the story forward.

Organize Pool Noodles-Palooza: Have a day of friendly competition with a handful of pool foam noodles . Use them to create an obstacle course, frisbee race , flip challenge, or stick them together in a makeshift basketball hoop and try to score three points. You can also cut them in half to make marble race tracks.

Run a research project: If your kids are old enough to Google (and understand the results), have them research a topic of their choice and submit a “report.” It could be their favorite athlete, musician, food, or the purpose of their upcoming trip. Give them a time limit and let them sit at your desk to do their research, which for the kids who are routinely chased out of your home during your work can seem like a pretty grown-up perk.

Create a nature explorer’s kit: equip your kids with a backpack with binoculars, a magnifying glass, a notepad, a camera and a plastic container in which they can collect their “samples” of nature. Send them on a mission to take a photo, collect samples, or complete a scavenger hunt (difficulty varies by age). Reward them with their favorite dessert or movie when they complete the task.

Throw a movie night in your backyard : By renting or borrowing a movie projector ( with some key specs ), you can show your child’s favorite movie on a portable projection screen, on a taped white sheet, or even on the wall of your house. Grab chairs, sleeping bags, bug spray, pillows and popcorn for an unforgettable movie night under the stars.

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