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 in daycare and at home (81–90)
Bubble play
Foam play is perfect for a July event.
Prepare a pool or a large basin so the children can have a blast.
Once you make the foam, use a whisk or a stick with rounded ends to mix it.
The mixing process is so fun that both adults and children will be totally absorbed! It’s also recommended to add color to the foam to make “juice,” pour it into plastic bottles, and turn it into a pretend juice shop.
Please be careful to prevent accidental ingestion, such as putting foam in the mouth, and enjoy playing safely!
Paper Theater
July brings the heat and plenty of chances to play with water, doesn’t it? In this paper theater, river fish and cute familiar animals make an appearance.
Perform it while shaking and flipping the papers to the song, watching the children’s reactions and having fun together.
A key point is building excitement by wondering what will appear when you turn the next page.
Since it’s July, it’s also a great idea to prepare drawings of sea creatures.
Try mixing in a quiz—Where does this creature live?—and enjoy it together!
ghost light
@necosensei.to.asobo 5 minutes to make! Super easy and so much fun!Nursery teacher / Childcare workerChildcare#Childcare CraftingSimple craftParenting#AtHomePlayShadow PlaySleepless Night#HandmadeToys
Shinako World (Chorus ver.) – Shinako
Cute ghosts appear—so fun! Here’s an idea for a Ghost Light.
It’s a unique idea that will make your time at home even more exciting.
You’ll need a toilet paper roll, plastic wrap, rubber bands, a permanent marker, and a light.
Draw a ghost on the plastic wrap with the permanent marker, then attach it to the toilet paper roll with rubber bands.
Shine a light through it and a ghost appears on the wall! You can use your smartphone’s light, so give it a try easily.
[Scrap Materials] Ice Cream Shop
![[Scrap Materials] Ice Cream Shop](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NQ11qP5HDy0/sddefault.jpg)
Cold ice cream that you crave in summer is a favorite food for kids too, right? Let’s try making our own ice cream and playing ice cream shop.
Cover a crumpled ball of newspaper with origami paper in your favorite ice cream color and tape it in place—your ice cream is ready! If you work together with friends to make a lot, put them in a basket and open your ice cream shop.
Try making cups and cones out of paper as well.
If you want to make it feel like a real shop, prepare some homemade play money too.
Even if it’s not real, the flow of making and selling ice cream, then buying and eating it, really captures the feel of summer.
[Craft] Water gun with a plastic bottle
![[Craft] Water gun with a plastic bottle](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XL8qCdtXFIw/sddefault.jpg)
One activity that’s great for pool play is using a water gun made from plastic bottles.
To make one, prepare two plastic bottles.
Cut one bottle around the halfway point and use the mouthpiece side.
For the other bottle, cut it a bit closer to the mouth than halfway, and again use the mouthpiece side.
To prevent injuries, it’s a good idea to tape over the cut edges on both pieces.
Remove the cap from the bottle you cut second, and insert it into the first bottle.
On the first bottle’s cap, poke several holes so water can spray out.
Your plastic-bottle water gun is complete! By changing how you make the holes in the cap, you can vary the way the water comes out.