Janel is a dear friend to Ever Thine Home and has contributed many blog posts over the years. Her writing is very whimsical and yet also full of wisdom. She is a mom to four kids so she is no stranger to the challenges of summer and the pressure to keep little ones entertained. She is finishing up her first book, Permanent Markers: Spiritual Life Skills for Work-in-Progress Families that releases later this year. Enjoy these fun ideas and I hope you are able to incorporate these into your summer plans. — Barbara
Has your family started the summer break countdown? It’s important to make your time with your kids as intentional as possible. But knowing where to start isn’t easy. Here are 30 ideas to try this summer.
15 ideas for things to do with younger kids:
1. Have a marathon story time. Pile together on the couch or on the bed and snuggle into an adventure — or a lot of little adventures.
2. Grab the roll of art paper and let your kids draw a table-length network of roads for their Matchbox cars, complete with buildings, trees, or whatever — or let them draw a house that their dolls can sit in. Take a few minutes to get down and draw with them.
3. Put a “do nothing” day on the calendar. Purchase fun snacks and veg doing stuff together all day: playing games, watching movies, going to the park — whatever a fun day looks like for your family.
4. Let ‘em camp in the backyard. Make s’mores over the grill for an authentic-feeling (and tasting!) snack.
5. Make a heap of creative greeting cards to send to people you love. As a bonus, take pictures of each other (maybe as you make the cards!), print them, and stick them in the envelope with your works of art.
6. Pick a Scripture verse or passage you think they can handle, and memorize it together. Decide on a reward if you can both do it!
7. Let them write, direct, costume, sell tickets for, and otherwise plan a play in the backyard. If they need starters, let them act out a favorite storybook or Bible story. Your role: the audience.
8. Have a sleepover with that friend they’ve been missing. Or, challenge your son or daughter to invite someone over who might be feeling lonely.
9. Get your heads together to plan one act of service every week — maybe as a surprise.
10. Do an ice cream sundae night.
11. Help them choose one thing they’d love to do this summer (like sleep in, or have a friend over) and one project to tackle that they’ve been putting off (like cleaning the closet). Then develop a plan for both.
12. Take them out to lunch or breakfast, just the two of you.
13. Fly kites together.
14. Make sock puppets and then put on a show. Or do the old-fashioned draw-on-your-hand and turn your hand into a puppet. Duck behind the couch and use the top of the couch as the stage. Have them act out a story they already know from a movie or something you’ve seen or read recently.
15. Sing old camp songs and teach the kids how to sing them.
15 ideas for things to do with older kids:
1. Pick out a book you both want to read this summer so that you can talk about it together.
2. Learn something new together. Maybe they’d like to learn how to sew, put together a model, bake bread, carve something, make candles, build something in the shop, scrapbook — or even take a one-time class with you somewhere around town.
3. Put a “do nothing” day on the calendar. Purchase fun snacks and veg doing stuff together all day: playing games, watching movies, going to the park — whatever a fun day looks like for your family.
4. Pick a room to repaint and/or, within a budget, redecorate together.
5. Go local. Do something around your town that you haven’t done before!
6. Pick a night to plan and make a meal together.
7. Organize a game night, but make it a tournament with a prize everyone wants: a day with no chores, a gift certificate to the movies, or a “date” with a family member of choice.
8. Go on a spontaneous road trip.
9. Get your heads together to plan one act of service every week — maybe as a surprise.
10. Let them have friends over to make their own personal pizzas in cake pans and watch a good movie.
11. Take each child out for lunch or coffee, just the two of you.
12. Go to a park with a picnic, a camera, and maybe a good book. Relax, chat, and shoot photos of one another.
13. Drive down a country road with Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” blaring out your rolled-down windows.
14. Go see an Independence Day Parade. Then teach your children about Independence Day.
15. Go on a picnic.
Okay, your turn: What are you doing this summer? And do you have any ideas for the rest of us?
Janel Breitenstein is an author, freelance writer, and speaker. After five and a half years in East Africa, her family of six has returned to Colorado, where they continue to work on behalf of the poor with Engineering Ministries International. Her first book, Permanent Markers: Spiritual Life Skills for Work-in-Progress Families (Harvest House) releases October 2021. You can find her—”The Awkward Mom”—having uncomfortable, important conversations at JanelBreitenstein.com and on Instagram @janelbreit.
Ty-dye shirts together.