Teaching Brave
by Elizabeth Michelle
Summer! Warm weather, school holidays.. ever run out of ideas or inspiration for what to do with the kids during summer?
Look no further! Here are 20 Best Summer Activities for Kids:
- Beach Day – take some beach toys, find a beach that doesn’t have ridiculous parking fees, don’t forget the sunscreen and hats, and teach the kids some basic beach safety (swimming between the flags, staying close to adults and identifying rips). Jump in the waves, build sand castles, play some beach ball games and take some snacks. Make a day of it!
- Bushwalking – there are so many bush walking tracks to be explored – a wonderful opportunity to get amongst nature, get some exercise and explore your neighbourhood. Don’t forget the sunscreen and insect repellant!
- Swimming Pool – whether you have one in your backyard or you’re visiting a local public pool, you can go for an hour or go for the day! Pool time never seems to disappoint – some inflatables, goggles, pool toys and again, plenty of sunscreen! (Don’t forget pool/water safety reminders).
- Board Games – perfect for a rainy summer day, or even on those scorching days when the air con is preferable to sun! If you don’t have a collection at home, you can usually find heaps of second hand games on online classifieds such as FB marketplace or Gumtree.
- Picnic at the Park – Ask the kids what they would like to pack for the picnic! Take some Frisbees or a soccer ball and a large picnic rug. Meet other families there and enjoy watching the kids play together, climb, play and no need to stress about crumbs or mess!
- Water play in the backyard – turn the sprinkler on and let the kids play under it, fill up buckets with water, grab some paint brushes and let the kids ‘paint’ the backyard with water, or fill up an inflatable pool, adding some containers for pouring and emptying.
- Camping – try out different camping spots, making sure to plan properly before you go. To make things easier, try just camping in the backyard – think just a tent, sleeping bags and torches. The kids will get a real thrill out of it! (They can always come inside to their beds if they choose).
- Bike rides – there are always new bike (or scooter) tracks being built and it’s so much fun to explore new tracks, get some exercise and have some fun together with the kids (if you’re riding with them). Don’t forget the helmets! Road safety concepts are vitally important to teach the kids.
- Cooking together – find some recipes in cookbooks or online, and ask the kids what they would like to try! Getting kids involved in cooking teaches them so many important skills, is fun to do together and encourages healthy eating and family bonding time.
- Visit a zoo or animal park – this is an almost guaranteed fun day out – it can also get expensive, so look around for possibilities as you can find some animal parks with native wildlife that are surprisingly affordable for a family with kids.
- Get the kids gardening – visit a local nursery together, talk together about favourite fruits and veggies and what the kids might like to plant. Plant seeds or seedlings together and give the kids some responsibility over taking care of the new plants, by watering them, and discuss what plants need to grow.
- Visit a library – borrow some books together as a family – instill a love of reading and literature. Read together in the library and borrow some for when you’re all having quiet time at home.
- Movie nights – get the popcorn, some homemade snacks, get in your PJs and take turns picking the movie! (G or PG rated of course – can’t go wrong with Disney).
- Take a Day trip – take a drive somewhere new! It could be a coastal drive, explore some small town charm, try out a new café or restaurant – supporting local business. It gets the kids out of the house, take turns picking the car tunes, and stop along the way to explore!
- Bubbles, bubbles bubbles – I recommend always having these in the house! Buy it cheap and have a fantastic, fun, bubbly time blowing bubbles outside! Chase them, catch them, jump, giggle and fill the air, watching them float away! Guaranteed fun!
- Get crafty – paint, collage with scrap material and glue, draw with chalk on the pavement, paper mache, or do some cardboard box construction with boxes from around the house – just add scissors and sticky tape and get creative!
- Take public transport – Kids love new experiences and if they’re used to being car passengers, they will probably delight in a trip out by train, ferry or bus – or all 3! Think bus to the station, train to the marina and ferry to the beach! The kids will probably love the train and ferry trip more than the beach visit.
- Learn a new skill – go with the kids interests, or inspire them with some ideas – making and editing videos of themselves, learning a new sport like tennis or baseball, cooking a dish together, making up dances, learn a language with a free language app, learn origami or watch YouTube instructional videos.
- Have a clean out – clear your clutter, clean the kids rooms (waiting for the fun part?), have a garage sale or list unwanted things (including toys) for sale on FB marketplace or Gumtree, making spare cash and spare pocket money for the kids to spend, save or invest! The kids will learn how to recycle unwanted items, finding a new home for them, while learning how to make some pocket money through negotiation, valuation of items and sales skills. (I have some awesome tips you can read here, on how to make money selling your clutter.)
- Day activities – there’s plenty of activities that can be enjoyed together as a family which can be a fun day out – ten pin bowling, mini golf, water parks, a video arcade, laser tag, karaoke or an escape room!
My name is Elizabeth Michelle, I’m a single mum, an Early Childhood Teacher and Child Care Director, and the person behind the TeachingBrave blog
** Elizabeth’s blog teachingbrave.com has over 60 articles with parenting tips, early childhood content, single parenting and her money journey from broke single mum to now thriving financially.
You can check out the blog here and you can also find her on socials @teachingbrave (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter).
