Are you looking for some fun ideas to do with the kids this summer? We’ve got just the thing with 101 ideas for screen-free summer activities – plus a FREE checklist you can download!
My list is a mix that mainly comprises quick, free, local ideas that don’t require any unusual equipment or a vast budget. And the best part? The memories your child will have of all the fun you had this summer!
Screen-Free Summer Activities for Kids
If you’re anything like me, the summer holidays start with a tentative plan of events and then the days just start blending together! Surprisingly, I absolutely love the lack of routine and apart from a week or two of summer camps and activities, the rest of the 8-week break is usually a spontaneous mix of everything and nothing. That said, it’s nice to have a few activities up your sleeve that can be called on when the need arises.
Over the last few years, my daughter and I compiled a list of summer activities we wanted to do. We make a bingo chart and fill them all in. Once an activity has been done, we mark it off and a completed line means we go for ice cream or buy a new book.
Some of the ideas are things we would really do anyway (go to the playground, go swimming, arts and crafts, make pizza, etc) but the list usually challenges us to try something new as well – this year, we’ve added ‘learn to cook something by myself’, ‘try a yoga class’ and ‘make unicorn ice cream’.
Free Checklist to Download
You’ll find more information on some of our summer ideas below, and you can also download our screen-free summer activities checklist here. Just print it off and let’s get started!
- Draw a self-portrait
- Create a secret code
- Visit the library
- Create an obstacle course
- Have a picnic
- Make a sun catcher
- Do a word search
- Go for a cycle, skate or scoot
- Make a bird feeder
- Research your family tree
- Go bowling
- Read a book or try a summer reading challenge
- Design your own comic book
- Make playdough
- Go on a treasure hunt
- Learn some new jokes
- Donate 5 things to charity
- Conduct a science experiment
- Practice face painting
- Play hide and seek
- Make giant bubbles in the garden
- Do some gardening
- Design paper airplanes
- Learn how to make an omelette
- Look at the stars
- Teach the dog a new trick
- Make a collage
- Listen to a podcast
- Learn to hula hoop
- Build a bug hotel
- Play in the sprinkler
- Go to a funfair or festival
- Make origami animals
- Decorate cupcakes
- Make a time capsule
- Collect shells at the beach
- Make sock puppets
- Go geocaching
- Learn a magic trick
- Do a random act of kindness
- Make homemade pizza
- Play a board game
- Learn to juggle
- Visit a museum
- Climb a tree
- Play a card game
- Go berry picking
- Make bead jewellery
- Draw or paint a picture
- Make a friendship bracelet
- Go to a concert
- Have an at-home spa day and paint your nails
- Learn how to count to 10 in French
- Go for a walk in the woods
- Visit a family member
- Tie-dye a t-shirt
- Have a family game night
- Go for a walk or run
- Make ice cream sundaes
- Have a water balloon fight
- Go to the playground – or try a new one
- Write a letter to someone
- Make salt dough ornaments
- Build a sandcastle
- Make a summer scrapbook
- Have a teddy bear’s tea party
- Make your own stop-motion animation movie
- Go swimming
- Make slime
- Visit an art gallery
- Write a story
- Design a fairy garden
- Do a puzzle
- Visit a farm
- Do some chalk drawings
- Play a ball game
- Take a road trip
- Make smoothies
- Try yoga
- Build a fort
- Visit a theme park
- Bake a cake
- Learn to knit
- Put on a show
- Tidy your room
- Play frisbee
- Camp in the backyard
- Have a sleepover
- Make s’mores
- Play hopscotch
- Try a new hobby
- Make a marble run
- Fly a kite
- Plant a pizza garden
- Paint rocks
- Visit the zoo
- Make pancakes
- Go on a train ride
- Have a disco
- Watch the sunrise
- Go horse-riding
