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50 Free Screen Free Summer Kids Activities

May 4, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

The Ultimate List of Screen Free Summer Kids Activities

Summer break is just around the corner.  I have been looking forward to summer for weeks!  I just love having my kids home with me and I always look forward to a more relaxed schedule full of fun family activities.  There are so many free summer kids activity, and we love to take advantage of all of them!

fun summer activities

Outdoor Summer Kids Activities

 Picnic at The Park

Enjoy some time outdoors with a picnic at the park.  We love going to a new park each week exploring different areas of our city.  We bring these Rate The Park sheets with us and my kids love critiquing each park we attend.

Rate The Park printable

  • Get your free Park Rating Sheet Here for even more park fun with the kids.

Play Frisbee

Get out a Frisbee to throw around with your kids.  Check to see if your local parks have a Frisbee golf course for something new.

Run Through the Sprinkler

I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to run through the sprinkler without having fun.  There is just something about this simple activity that brightens up the day.

“Paint” with Water

Get out a bucket of water and an old paintbrush.  Let your kids use the water and brush to “paint” the sidewalk, house and anything else they want.  It’s so fun for them to watch the color change as they paint.

Go on a Walk

Get outside and get moving with a nice walk.  We love to walk around our neighborhood or try out a few of the walking paths in our city.  Make a family goal to walk 100 miles over the summer and celebrate with a treat once accomplished.

 

100 Miles Challenge Printable

  • You can print my free 100 Miles Challenge Printable here.  

Picnic in Backyard

Move the meal outside with a simple backyard picnic.  Lay a blanket down in the shade and eat dinner outdoors enjoying nature.

Draw With Sidewalk Chalk

Get out some sidewalk chalk and draw pictures on your driveway.  You could draw a hopscotch course or a road for your bikes to travel through.

Draw on Sidewalk With Ice Cubes

Don’t have any side walk chalk?  Draw with ice cubes instead!  They will melt on the hot pavement as you are drawing your picture.

Go On A Bike Ride

Go on a fun bike ride together as a family.  Make sure to log your bike miles on your 100 Miles Challenge printable.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Give your kids a paper bag and a list of items to find out in nature.  This might be a rock, pine cone, dandelion, etc.  Have them go out and collect their findings in their bag.  When they get back let everyone show up their new treasures.  Such a fun way to get kids outside exploring.

Go On A Hike

Take your kids on an easy hike.  Make sure everyone finds a hiking stick!  That’s always a necessity in our family.

Plant A Garden

Have your kids help you plant a garden.  They will be so proud when they harvest their veggies.

Jump On The Trampoline With Water Balloons

Fill up a few water balloons with water and put them on the trampoline.  The kids love jumping with them and the surprise of when they pop and spray out water.

Play Catch

Get out a ball and play catch.  Try to see how many times you can catch it without letting it drop.

Blow Bubbles

Go outside and blow bubbles together.  See who can make the biggest bubble!

girl blowing bubbles

Go Geocaching

We love geocaching.  It’s such a fun way to explore new places, and the kids love finding the treasure!

Play Night Games With Flash Lights

Invite a group of friends over to play night games together.  Our favorites are Ghost In The Graveyard and Kick The Can.

Catch Bugs

Look for bugs to catch.  Keep them in a jar for an hour to watch and observe.  Then set them free again.

Star Gaze

Stay up late one night so you can watch the stars.  Show your kids a few of the constellations and try to find a shooting star.

Make a Fairy Garden

Use your creativity and put together a Fairy Garden in your back yard.  Build a mini house out of twigs and decorate with twigs and flowers around.  We did this a few years ago and it was such a fun summer activity!

Give The Bikes a Wash

Set up a car wash, but for the bikes!  Kids love using the hose, rags and soap to wash off their bikes.

Play Jump Rope

Get out a few jump ropes to play with.  Try to see how many times you can jump over the rope before it stops or play a few games like Double Dutch.

Make An Obstacle Course

Use your backyard to make an obstacle course for your kids.  They might have to walk across a “balance beam” (piece of wood or jump rope), run around all the cones (or chairs), jump on the trampoline three times, and then throw a ball.  Use your imagination and get creative while setting it up.  Use a timer to see how fast they can get through the course.

Set up a Lemonade Stand

Mix up some lemonade and sell it in front of your home.  This is a fun way to socialize with the neighbors and help the kids learn about money.

Make a Nature Journal

Start a Nature Journal.  This will be a place to save some of the fun things you find outside, draw pictures of the places you visit and write all about what you love about nature.

 

 

Indoor Summer Activities

Make Play Dough

Whip up some homemade play dough to play with.  This play dough recipe is so quick and easy!  Or, if you want to try something different (and my kids fave) check out this Peanut Butter Play Dough recipe.

Lined up plasticine balls isolated

Try A Science Experiment

Try out a new science experiment.  We love this Magic Toothpick Experiment.  It’s super quick and mess free (just the way this mamma likes it!)

Bake Cookies

Spend a few hours in the kitchen together baking your favorite cookies.  We personally love chocolate chips!  This is a great way to help kids learn how to read a recipe too!

Make Up A Play

Encourage your kids to make up a play that they can perform.  Set up a little stage area to help them feel official.  Invite over a few grandparents to watch the big performance!

Build A Fort

Get out some blankets and build a big fort.  You can drape them over the kitchen table or a few chairs.  Once your fort is built you can cuddle up and read books together or watch a movie!

Make A Dream Catcher

If your kids enjoy crafting, make a dream catcher together.  It’s a great craft for older kids who are able to sit still.  I love this tutorial for making a beautiful dream catcher.

Make Slime

Slime is all the rage in the kid crowd.  It only requires a few ingredients and brings hours of fun play.  Here’s a super easy slime recipe.

Play Hide-and-Seek or Sardines

Play a few family friendly games in the house.  We love Hide And Seek or Sardines!

Color Hot Rocks

Try out our favorite twist on painting rocks.  All you need is a rock and some crayons!  Find the tutorial here.

Painting Baked Rocks

Write Letters To Friends or Family

Everyone loves to get an old fashioned letter in the mail, or at least I do!  Spend an afternoon writing letters for friends or family.

Play Board Games

My daughters and I love spending an afternoon playing board games together.  It’s such a fun way to pass the time!

  • Related:  20 Family Board Games, all Under $20

Make A Summer Scrapbook

Put together a summer scrapbook of your favorite summer memories.  Include pictures and any special events.

Sing Karaoke

Find free karaoke songs on YouTube and have an old fashioned karaoke party.   We have this karaoke machine and love it so much!

Make A Nature Bookmark

Preserve flowers you find on your nature walk by turn them into a Nature Bookmark.

Fold Origami

Learn how to fold origami.  There are many easy tutorials on YouTube.  I would start with a frog, they are my favorite!

Put On A Puppet Show

Make puppets out of brown paper bags and put on a puppet show.

performance in the puppet theater

Make Homemade Butter

Teach your kids about life on the prairie by making homemade butter together.  All you need is some cream and a jar!

Indoor Treasure Hunt

Put together a simple indoor treasure hunt for your kids to go on.  You can hide different items around the house with clues to find each one.

Go To The Library

Visit your local library for a fun day out.  We always set a goal to read 50 books in a summer, the library is the perfect place to get to that goal!

Play Dress-Up

Get out a few dress up clothes for your kids to play in.  If you don’t have any, let them dress up in some of your clothing.

Have A Dance Party

Turn on some music and have a dance party in your living room!  I have a playlist on my phone with all of our favorite dance tunes, it’s so fun!

Put Together A Puzzle

Spend the day doing a puzzle together.  It’s so relaxing and a great way to bring out some conversation.  We love Eric Dowdle Puzzles!

Make Ice Cream In A Bag

Make homemade ice cream in a bag.  It’s really easy to do and the perfect activity for a hot summers day!

ice cream in a bag

Have An Impromptu Photo Shoot

Get dressed up and have an impromptu photo shoot.  Let your kids choose the poses and locations.  It’s always so fun to see what they come up with!

Learn Magic Tricks

Look up a few magic tricks on YouTube.  Once you have a few tricks learned, put on a magic show for your friends!

In Conclusion

There are so many fun kids summer activities out there, and many of them won’t cost you any money at all.  Kids grow to fast!  I hope you will use summer time as a way to reconnect and build lasting memories.

 

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What are your favorite summer kids activities???

Hello! I’m Melanie!

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