How to Have Summer Fun with Your Kids at Home

When your children are no longer at school and are on their summer break, it can be difficult to know what you can do to keep them entertained. Some families like to go on holiday. Whether you do or not, you still have a few weeks to keep your children entertained. 

Many parents think they have a lot to do to enable their kids to have fun, however, children should also be left to their own devices and imagination to have fun. When children have time on their hands, they can tune into their own minds and creativity to keep themselves entertained and having fun. So, as a parent, it is important that you don’t put too much pressure on yourself! Every child is different and will have different needs and requirements, so you must consider what your child needs and how you can accommodate that and equip them with what they need to have fun. 

Summer is also an opportunity for the whole family to spend quality time together. Children are usually so tied up with school, homework, chores and after-school activities, in addition to the stress that comes with it, that you probably don’t get much free time together. It is important to make summer fun for your children and create nice memories you can all cherish. It can also be helpful as it will allow your children to head back to school for the new term nice and refreshed, distressed from the prior year and ready to learn. Encouraging fun and spending quality time together can help improve your children’s mental health and support their motivation and commitment to school. It can be challenging when you don’t know where to start or what you can be doing with your children. There are many things you can do at home if you equip your family with fun things to do, there are also many days out you can consider to change things up a bit. To help you on your journey, here are some fun things to do as a family. 

Arts and Crafts

Arts and crafts are some of the best things you can do for the summer. It is a relatively low-cost activity to do, as you only need a few pieces of equipment, such as coloured pens and pencils, different coloured paper, pipe cleaners, pompoms and any other arts and crafts equipment you might want to use! It can be as simple as making some drawings, or you can encourage your children to make items and animals out of the equipment. You can also invest in a variety of other equipment, if you look online or head to your local arts and crafts store, you can let your children choose the type of things they want to make. Here are some more examples of how you can have fun with arts and crafts:

• Make paper flowers, butterflies or other animals
• Make things out of playdough or paper mache 
• Paper weaving 
• Paper plate masks 
• Create your kites which you can then go out and fl 

And more. 

You can leave your children up to their own devices to make whatever they want with the equipment you have given them. You can do it with them, or challenge them to make items and turn it into a fun game. You can also invite their friends over, or set them up with online tutorials from YouTube to help them grow their skills. The great thing about arts and crafts is that it is fun, will bring out the creativity in your children, and doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. 

A home library 

If you and your children like to read, then a fun thing to do is create a home library. This is something you can all do together. You can start by creating some space in your home and obtaining some shelves. Then you can head out to charity shops and second-hand book stores, where you can find a plethora of books. Your children can pick out their favourites and a few books they want to read. This is a great way to peak your children’s interest, keep them busy over the summer, as well as help their development. Reading is a great way to help children learn and improve cognitive function. They can also take their books into the garden too! 

Garden camping in Summer

Garden camping is an excellent way to keep the summer interesting and do something slightly different! Whether you want to practise going away camping, or you just want to try something new with your children, it can be a lot of fun! You don’t need to spend money unless you need to acquire the equipment. Even then, you might see a friend or family member has a tent you can borrow, or you can find a second-hand one. It doesn’t have to be anything big or fancy. You and your children can set the tent up together, and make it all cosy with a blow-up bed or camping bed, pillows, fairy lights and more! You can then make it a whole vibe with a BBQ and a fire. You can prepare all the food and cook it on the BBQ or fire together, and enjoy your well-earned meal around the fire. You can also toast marshmallows on the fire, and sing some camp songs together. This is a great adventure for children, but also an excellent way to build life skills. 

Build a fort 

If camping isn’t quite your thing, then why not try building an indoor fort? This is always very fun for children! You can gather pillows, blankets, sheets and other similar items and build a big fort in the front room. It can be any shape or size and can serve any purpose. This is a great way to utilise your children’s imagination and get them to build a story around the purpose of the fort. You can also play games, or cosy up and watch a film together under the fort. 

Grow plants or vegetables

It is very satisfying and rewarding to watch something you have planted grow. Especially if it is a big colourful plant or vegetable you can then make dinner with. While this might seem like an adult activity, many kids enjoy this too. Don’t rule it out, ask your children if they want to get involved. If so, you can let them pick their plants or vegetables to grow, and teach them how to look after them. This can provide them with a fun task and project over the summer, as well as a great sense of achievement. 

Get a swimming pool or hot tub

Summer can be difficult when it is always so hot. A great way to cool you down as well as add some fun into the mix, is to install a swimming pool or hot tub into your garden! The swimming pool is an amazing way for your kids to have fun for hours on end during the day. When kids are near water, their imagination comes out and their energy shoots up and they always have so much fun. You can play with them, they can bring their friends around, or they can entertain themselves. Installing a hot tub is a great addition to your garden, as you need to be able to chill too! Summer fun is great, but it can also be a lot. Let your kids enjoy the pool and play games, and let you and your spouse relax in the evening in the hot tub. 

Explore local parks 

Most people don’t realise what is just around the corner from them. Why not head out during the day and explore your local area? There are usually lots of local parks, play areas and things to do right on your doorstep. This is a great way to give your family purpose when heading out. You can look on the maps at places to try, or you can head out and start walking to see where you end up. If your children like to ride bikes, scooters, skateboards or roller skates, this is a great opportunity to use them and let your children have fun! 

Organise play dates 

Socialisation is an excellent way to let your kids have fun in the summer, as well as give them something to do. When they are with their friends, they are likely to be happy, bounce ideas off each other and entertain each other. It can also be helpful for you as the parent as if you look after other children, then will then look after your children so you can have a break. Kids are great together, and socialisation is a really important aspect of joy and development.

Don’t worry if you don’t know how to entertain your kids this summer. Consider the activities in this list and see if your children would enjoy them. Remember to not put too much pressure on yourself, children don’t need much to have fun.