31 Days of Summer Fun

Summer fun is here! We know summer can be so hard and yet the possibility of being a fabulous time connecting with family. However, what are you going to do to keep them occupied without electronics and truly interact in meaningful ways?

Imagine what could be achieved with regular, summer fun activities that will also help you all bond and become even closer as a family! Below are thirty days of family activities to get you started…

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Cooking / Baking

Studies have shown that the simple act of having nightly family dinners does wonders for the emotional, academic, and even physical development of the children in the home.

Keeping this in mind why not use this as a teaching and summer fun activity. Let everyone choose something they want to cook/bake together as a family. It could be a meal, a side dish, and don’t forget a dessert …cookies, cake pops, a pastry—YUM! Then, you all work together as a family to get the ingredients and make something super delicious everyone can be proud of being a part of contributing.

Tip: Take the time now to teach your kids to cook. As they get older you can assign them nights of the week to be in charge of a meal. Not only will this free your time but it teaches them valuable lessons about being able to cook healthy food for themselves and others instead of relying on fast food.

Check out some of our fun recipes

Grilled Cheese Recipes Chicken Flautas

Pizza Night

While teaching the kids to cook as a family you can have even more fun by making your own family pizzeria! All you need is dough, toppings, and sauce. Everyone gets enough dough for a personal-sized pizza, and they can top it however they want. Take it to the next level of fun by theming these out. We have done Disney-themed where we create our pizza to look like a Disney character, castle or something Disney-related. Then, you just bake and enjoy! This makes personal pizzas truly personal, and makes for great bonding time with food and fun!

Gardening

Gardening is a very useful skill and can be a lot of fun to get into. You can start a little vegetable, herb, or flower garden depending on the space you have. If you have a lot of space, everyone can have their own little plot where they can grow what they want as well! Gardening is a great way to show your kids how patience, hard work, and perseverance can pay off in big ways!

*DIY.org has some cool gardening classes among many other classes to do together as a family

Story Time

To get the whole family involved in a favorite story, try acting it out instead of just reading it! Everyone will become part of the story, and you will all have an amazing memory to look back on forever.

Get totally all-in with costumes, funny voices, and homemade props! Or make finger puppets to go along with it or to make up your own story. Check out our finger puppet printable here.

Board Games

Sometimes just a relaxing day of playing board games is a great way to pass the time. If you want to add a little something extra, try making up some new rules and change the same old games up a bit! You can also create your very own games like themed charades, or scavenger hunts! Unleash your creative side, and play by your own rules. 😉

Some of our favorite games are:

Salute the King– this is so fun! It is played like slapjack but instead of slapping the jack when a King is laid down you salute, Queen -flap arms like a chicken, Jack-clap, Ace-thumbs up. The last person to do so takes the whole pile of cards in the center. 1st person to get rid of all their cards wins.
Telestrations
Monopoly Deal
Hole 9

Younger Kids

I would love to hear what your family favorites are in the comments below.

Craft Day

Coloring, collages, slime making, painting, etc. are all examples of super fun crafts you can do with your family. Art is something that can be therapeutic, so make sure this is a positive experience with no bad ideas or critiques. Art styles are all different, and there is no wrong way to be creative. Just have fun! Need inspiration? Visit Pinterest, or you can go to: https://funfamilycrafts.com for one great idea.

Pillow Fort

One person can make a pretty awesome pillow fort, but a whole family can make an epic pillow CASTLE! Use cardboard boxes, blankets, couch cushions, pillows, and more to create a huge pillow fort to hang out in.

Movie Marathon

(This is a great add-on to pillow fort day) Get comfy and watch a movie series for a day with lots of snacks and finger food. Stay in your pajamas for extra coziness!

If you have a swimming pool or even a wading pool have a movie night in the pool. Even the cheapest projectors still create a great experience. Sure the movie may not look high quality but it works. On black Friday we bought a $69 projector from Kohls similar to the one below and it lasted many years and many experiences.

Learn Sign Language

Sign language is a very useful language to know, and it is actually a lot of fun to learn. You can use books and/or online tutorials, help each other practice, and even try going a whole day communicating with just sign! Find more about learning sign language here: https://www.startasl.com/american-sign-language-alphabet/

Film For A Day

Use your phones, or an old camcorder to document a whole day with your family. Then you can watch it back and even edit it into a fun family movie if you want to! As the years go by, it will be fun to look back and remember what a fun day you had, and how you lived at that time.

Dance Party

Make a playlist with everyone’s favorite songs, and have a big dance party! Go crazy and have fun just shaking out all your troubles. You will get a great workout for it, too!

Yoga/Pilates

Pilates and Yoga are fantastic ways to help with flexibility and fitness. Start with beginner positions, and practice daily until everyone is super comfortable with learning gradually more complex positions. It’s a great way to start the day.

This site might be helpful if you are a beginner and want small kids to participate: Cosmic Yoga.

Picnic

This can be indoor or outdoor, depending on your situation. Pack up some food, drinks, snacks, pillows, and blankets. Then set up a nice little picnic spot in your house or backyard! Picnics are always a lot of fun and much more relaxing than a typical formal meal at a table.

Make Cards/Write Letters

Letters and cards can mean so much to the elderly in nursing homes and troops overseas. Make some handmade cards with happy messages, or write some kind letters, and send them out to senior homes and military bases. This is a wonderful way to boost morale and spread love to people who may be lonely and discouraged.

You can use these links to send your cards:

Fashion Show

Separate into 2 teams. Give the kids 10 min to gather a paper sack with ribbons, yarn, toilet paper, toilet paper tubes, duct tape, and whatever other odds and ends they might find that you can use to create a design. Then trade bags with the other team. Now let each team design an outfit from their bag of goods.

Let the kids try on some old clothes from your closet, and make the craziest outfits they can think of.

Then, the parents can pretend to be fashion show judges and score everyone’s costumes. The judges can even have their own eccentric outfits on for extra fun!

Write A Story

This can be done in a lot of ways. You can use a white/chalkboard to add words while everyone takes turns adding one word at a time. You can also write one altogether and put it on paper you can bind together into a homemade book. This also works with filling in mad-libs if you need a starting point to get your creativity rolling!

Tie-Dye

Tie-dye is a lot of fun, and is also a great outlet for creativity! You can tie-dye just about any article of clothing, and there are a million ways to tie and dye them! Once they are all finished, you will have a great memory every time you wear whatever you made!

Learn To Sew

Sewing is a skill that always comes in handy at one time or another. Even knowing how to sew on a button can be the difference between an awkward situation and a quick fix with no fuss. Basic stitches are also good to know in any future fashion emergencies. Sometimes local libraries and craft stores will teach free classes so be sure to check with those around you.

Here is a great little list of sewing projects for kids. For more details on these check them out here at Sew Can She.

Buttons on socks
Boo-boo bags
Teddy Bears
A doll skirt
Un-Paper Towels
Pillow
Drawstring Backpack
Pillowcase
Messenger Bag
Pajama Pants

Build Models

Order a model airplane, building, robot, car, etc., and build it together as a family. Model building is an awesome way to learn about how things go together, and how to work together as a team.

Family Video Games

A lot of modern video games and systems have awesome multiplayer options that make family fun super easy! The Wii in particular has some of the best games and features for this, but you can use any system if you take turns playing one single-player game. Keep it pressure-free and have fun! Games are meant to be played to have FUN, not just to win.

Check Out Old Photo Albums

Learning about family history is a great way to keep memories and traditions alive. Great grandma’s cookie recipe will mean that much more if your kids have a face to place with the stories. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and they also preserve the memories of the past.

Make A Scrapbook With New Photos

To make your own memories for your family’s future, take pictures and add them to a new album! You can even try out scrapbooking to make it even more meaningful and organized. Everyone can fill out a page in their own style and write their own little memory notes next to each picture.

If you don’t have a scrapbook have each child start one with stuff from the $1 store.

Supplies:

3 prong folder

Craft Paper

Stickers

Stamps

Scissors

Page protectors

Each child can be given a folder to decorate as they want.

Print out pictures and let them start designing and placing photos on paper. When each page is completed place in a page protector in each child’s folder.

Check out Inner child funs scrapbook with kids.

Life-Sized Drawings

Get a big piece of poster board and have someone lay down on it. Then you can trace around their body so you have a template. Once that is done, everyone can work together to fill in the template and make a life-sized drawing of the family member! We used to go to our local newspaper station and ask for the ends of the rolls of paper they used. It’s always worth asking.

Karaoke

Karaoke is a lot of fun and making it a family affair is sure to get lots of laughs. You can even hold a contest for the silliest song/voice combo.

Look For Four Leaf Clovers

Clovers with four or more leaves are actually very rare. Looking for some in the backyard can pass a lot of time! Finding them is always very rewarding and exciting. You can also choose something else to hunt for; like molehills, spider webs, or dandelions!

Make A Critter House

A typical birdhouse can be a home for lots of animals besides birds! Chipmunks, squirrels, mice, and other small mammals can also make their homes in birdhouses. This is a great way to keep these little guys warm and sheltered in the rain or cold that may be coming up where you live.

Pinterest: Birdhouses kids can make

Follow An Online Tutorial

This can be anything from cake decorating, to wreath making, to knitting a scarf! Just find a beginner video of something cool, and if you have the supplies you need—give it a try! It can be a lot of fun to see how your finished product compares with the videos. This can be a team effort to do one big project, or each family member can work on one small project! This is a great way to see how differently each person can do the same thing. Use this as an opportunity to teach your kids about individuality, and help them see that everyone is different in awesome ways!

Play In The Rain

Rain is usually an excuse to stay indoors, but you can have a lot of fun stomping in puddles and playing in the mud. Just make sure it is not too cold out, and that there is not any lightning nearby.

Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are really awesome ways to get the brain and body moving. There are also lots of ways to set up a scavenger hunt! You can theme it by color, size, room, and more! Set a time limit if you have older kids; and make sure if you have younger kids, that they can have fun without feeling too pressured to “win.” Family days and activities should be all about fun!

Paint Rocks

Have everyone find a cool rock outside. Then, you all can use your imaginations to see the shape of something specific in that rock. Once you have figured out what your rock looks like, you can paint it so it becomes that thing. For example, a lumpy rock might look like a toad; so you can paint legs and eyes and spots on it to make it look like a real toad!

Quiet Time

Quiet time is an opportunity for the kids to think, play by themselves, and give mom and dad a break!

Here are a few ideas to try for quiet time:

Puzzles
Word search
Reading
Educational worksheets

Helpful Links:

https://www.howweelearn.com/quiet-time-activities-mess-free/

Family activities are wonderful opportunities to bond and create amazing memories with your kids. Always be sure that everyone can enjoy themselves, and that not everything is a competition. Just be creative and have fun with it, and it will be a wonderful thirty days of family activities the whole family will love.

More Summer fun ideas

Best Discounted Sites and Entertainment Summer Camp Exchange

What activities are you planning for the summer?

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