Indoor games and recreational activities recommended for summer
We’re introducing indoor games and activities perfect for kids in the summer! When you think of summer, many people probably picture outdoor fun like swimming at the beach, playing in rivers, or going camping.
However, it’s not realistic to go out every day during the holidays, and in recent years the extreme heat has made it difficult to spend time outdoors.
Considering children’s safety, it’s not easy to just say, “Go play outside!” For parents in that situation, we’ve gathered a list of indoor activities that are perfect for summer and fun to enjoy together with your kids.
With a bit of creativity, you can enjoy all kinds of play even indoors.
We hope you find these ideas helpful!
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Indoor Games and Recreational Activities Recommended for Summer (31–40)
Make ice cream
When you think of summer, you can’t help but crave an ice-cold frozen treat, right? Ice cream is easy to buy, so making it yourself might not even cross your mind.
But there’s actually a fun, simple way to make delicious ice cream—even kids can do it.
All you need is a food storage bag.
Just put the ingredients for the flavor you want inside the bag.
For example, for a yogurt-kiwi ice, add yogurt, kiwi, lemon juice, and honey to taste into the food storage bag, then squeeze and mash it with your hands.
Pop it in the freezer, and you’ll be amazed at how easily you can make a tasty ice treat! Try it with whatever flavors you like.
It’s a safe and fun indoor activity—and delicious, too.
Highly recommended.
Make curry
Let’s try making curry! But not real curry—we’ll play by making slime curry.
If you search online, you’ll find recipes for making slime.
It’s a pretend-cooking game where you make curry: preparing rice with play materials, chopping vegetables, simmering in a pot—it’s a really fun activity for kids who love cooking.
Through this kind of play, children can learn the actual steps of cooking, which comes in handy when they make real curry, so it’s highly recommended.
Give it a try when you want to enjoy an indoor activity that’s a bit different from the usual.
Do-Re-Mi Song Game
Guaranteed to get everyone excited! Let’s play the Do-Re-Mi Song Game.
It’s a game where you sing the well-known Do-Re-Mi song but change the order of the notes.
And while singing in a different order, you’re not allowed to change the pitch.
Since we’ve listened to and sung it so much in places like school, even just disrupting the Do-Re-Mi scale makes it hard.
You get confused because the pitch that usually follows “Do” might suddenly be “La,” for example.
You won’t realize how tricky it is until you try—but it’s super fun! Give it a go as an indoor activity!
Back text guessing game
The nerves in the back are much less sensitive than those in the palms or face, so they develop through playful training.
This is an activity you can start around age four.
For four-year-olds, pair them up and prepare cards with illustrations in advance to determine what to draw on the back.
Give the respondent the set of cards and ask, “Which card’s illustration is being drawn on your back?” For children aged six and up, have three kids line up one behind another and play like a telephone game: each child draws on the back of the person in front what was drawn on their own back.
Treasure Hunt Game
How about playing a thrilling, heart-pounding treasure hunt game? Hide treasure items all around the room and have the children search for them.
It’s a good idea to limit the hiding area to some extent.
You can also make it a team game with one team hiding and the other team searching, letting the kids take the lead in everything.
It’s also great to have the children make the treasures themselves! Have them express their idea of treasure concretely—like items made with sparkly origami or cute drawings.
A treasure hunt can be arranged in many different ways, so give it a try!
Indoor summer-friendly activities and recreation games (41–50)
Swirling Balloon
For a moment, you might think it’s magic—but it’s actually very simple: you’re just keeping balloons afloat with a hair dryer’s airflow.
Inflate some balloons, stick them together with double-sided tape to form a ring, and blow air from a hair dryer up from below… the balloons will spin around! If you make a large ring, you can play by jumping through it.
You can also make a small ring of balloons and see how long you can keep it aloft without letting it fall by directing the air at it.
A cool-air setting is recommended over warm air on the hair dryer.
Ice fishing
A simple chemistry experiment you can do at home! Here’s a fun ice-fishing idea.
It’s perfect for kids who are currently full of curiosity, always asking “Why?” and “How?” This ice-fishing activity is a wonderful way to deepen interest starting from “Why?” and connect it to learning.
All you need are ice, table salt, string, and a container.
Use ice that’s freshly taken out of the freezer.
Giving kids time to think about how to catch the ice will likely become a valuable moment for deepening their learning.