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 preschool and at home (21–30)
Herbarium Dome
Herbariums, which have been a hot topic among stylish people lately.
“Herbarium” means plant specimen, and they’ve become popular because they let you display flowers in a completely new way.
Since herbariums use plants, they’re perfect as a summer vacation activity for children.
Of course, they can also be used for crafts or as a theme for independent research projects, making them a great way to tackle summer homework—two birds with one stone.
Drawing with ice
In summer, it’s best to keep even your playtime cool, right? So let’s try drawing with ice! You might wonder, “Can you really draw with ice?” but it’s actually very easy.
First, squeeze small amounts of your favorite watercolor paints into the compartments of an ice tray, then add water on top and mix to dissolve.
Cover the tray with aluminum foil, and insert straws through the foil into each paint-water compartment to create handles for holding the ice.
Freeze it, and your ice paints are ready! Use the colored ice to draw whatever you like.
You’ll be able to create artwork that feels wonderfully cool and refreshing.
Fun summer activities for kids: Ideas you’ll want to try in daycare and at home (31–40)
Milk carton fan making
One way to beat the summer heat is with a uchiwa fan! Let’s make an easy one using milk cartons.
Take two prepared, opened milk cartons and cut each into a circle.
Place a chopstick between them as a handle and stick the two circles together.
Next, cut a piece of construction paper into a circle as well and draw any picture you like.
Here’s a tip: color the entire paper randomly with different crayon colors, then cover it all with black crayon.
Scratch your drawing into the black layer using a chopstick or a toothpick, and you’ll easily create a fireworks scene in the night sky! If you spray the crayon drawing with hairspray, it will be less likely to smudge.
Paste your finished drawing onto the milk carton fan, and you’re done! It’s perfect to take with you to a fireworks festival, too!
Playing aquarium
Here’s a fun pretend-aquarium activity that lets you feel cool during the hot and humid days of July.
Use blue plastic bags as a stand-in for the ocean and make your fish swim through it.
Create your favorite sea creatures—like whales, fish, starfish, and jellyfish—and you’ll encounter all kinds of ocean life.
If you also hang plastic bags from the ceiling and stick the sea creatures on them, the whole space will feel like an aquarium.
The best part is that people of any age can enjoy it!
Watermelon splitting
Speaking of summer, it’s the season for watermelon splitting.
Kids love watermelon, so it’s definitely one of the activities that really gets them excited! Of course you can do it at the beach, but if you prepare properly, you can also do it in your backyard or even in a spacious indoor area—so give it a try.
It’s even more fun when everyone enjoys the smashed watermelon together.
Bubble play
Kids love fluffy bubbles, don’t they? Let’s play with bubbles! If you use body soap or other gentle products, kids can play safely.
When making bubbles, it’s best to use as little water as possible so the bubbles hold their shape well.
There are many ways to make them: put the mixture in a plastic bottle and shake it, or use a whisk.
Once you’ve made the bubbles, try gently blowing on them to send them floating, or put them on people’s heads and bodies—feel free to play however you like!
Balance tree of pool cue sticks
https://www.tiktok.com/@soramame.sensei/video/7493051868013186322Let me introduce an exciting, heart-pounding balance tree made from pool noodles.
Get your materials ready: a pool noodle, a utility knife, plastic bottle caps, stickers, tape, and a paper cup.
Cut the pool noodle in half and make slits where the branches will fit.
Since you’ll be cutting with a utility knife, it’s best to start with small cuts and gradually adjust to the size you need.
Take the remaining half of the pool noodle, slice it lengthwise to create the branches.
Fit the trunk into the paper cup, insert the branches, and you’re done.
Try placing a spinning top—made by stacking two plastic bottle caps together with their indented sides facing each other—on it and enjoy the wobbly balance tree!