Fun summer activities for kids: ideas you’ll want to try in childcare and at home
In the hot summer, children spend more time indoors both at daycare and at home.
For those wondering, “What can we play indoors with the kids?”, here are some perfect summer activities.
Games using water and ice are especially popular this season.
Cool sensations and hands-on activities are exciting for children.
It’s also a great experience to help them feel connected to nature or to incorporate traditional summer events—these memories really stay with kids.
Try these ideas at home, in daycare, or in kindergarten.
Through summertime activities, let’s help children create lots of fun memories!
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Fun summer activities for kids: ideas you’ll want to try at daycare and at home (71–80)
Tanabata school lunch
Many teachers are probably thinking about creating a special school lunch that lets children feel the spirit of Tanabata.
If you decorate somen noodles with star shapes made using cutters, you’ll have Milky Way-style somen.
Add shredded omelet and sliced boiled okra to complete the star-shaped decorations.
Incorporating summer vegetables that the children have grown into the menu may increase their interest in food.
By getting creative with school lunch for the event, you can deepen the meaning of the celebration and make it even more enjoyable!
Summer Shop
@mammybear_ We had so much fun at our pretend summer festival, playing all kinds of games and running little shops!Summer MemoriesSummer Festival Pretend Play#Nursery school
♬ Kawaii! ♡⋆*॰ Electro Pop!(1439948) – SK MUSIC
Here are some ideas for a summer-themed pretend shop that kids can enjoy indoors.
Have the children wear happi coats or put on masks of their favorite characters to join in.
The shop themes are up to you.
You could set up a seashell hunt using strips of cellophane tape that evoke the summer ocean, a quiz where kids guess sea creature silhouettes, or festival-style stalls like shaved ice and yo-yo fishing—so many fun ideas! Try transforming the usual classroom atmosphere completely and prepare lots of wonderful little shops.
playing in the river
Summer is a great season for playing in rivers.
When planning river activities, always have guardians check how comfortable the children are with water.
Teachers should also conduct a site inspection in advance and confirm on the day that the weather is safe and the river’s water level hasn’t risen.
It’s important for all teachers to thoroughly check that the play area is shallow, that children can firmly stand, and that there are no hazardous spots.
Make sure children wear life jackets, clearly go over the rules for river play, and assign a higher number of teachers relative to the number of children.
Playing campsite
Here’s a handmade “pretend camping” activity you can enjoy outdoors, too.
Let’s make a tent—an essential for camping—by drawing pictures on a plastic bag with colored pens.
For fishing, blow up balloons and turn them into fish.
Talk about what colors you want your fish to be as you make them! For the barbecue, make the corn by wrapping bubble wrap to create the texture.
Prepare other foods like yakisoba and vegetables, and chat about what kind of barbecue you want while you make them.
A handmade camping day like this is sure to be a hit!
playing planetarium
Here’s a make-believe planetarium activity everyone can enjoy.
After buying handmade tickets, move to the room prepared as the planetarium.
The night sky projected on the screen shows stars.
A key point is to help children relate by comparing the shapes of lines connecting the stars to familiar foods, and similar ideas.
Finally, have the children draw their own original constellations and hold a planetarium screening.
By punching holes around their sketched drawings, light will shine through the holes when the room is dark, creating a wonderfully charming planetarium.