200+ summer ideas!

I finally compiled all my ideas from years past, including some that we haven't done yet!  I will post another day how we choose which activities to do.  The ones that aren't so self-explanitory, I am happy to elaborate on if you leave a comment. I am WAY too tired and sick to post links to everything I'm talking about! But I don't wanna leave anyone hanging if they're wanting to try some of this fun stuff!

• ride bikes
• roller blade
• basketball
• play board games
• make a tent out of blankets
• squirt with hoses
• run through the sprinkler
• jump rope
• read books
• blow bubbles
• make homemade play dough
• play with play dough
• press flowers
• do crafts with pressed flowers
• write a letter to a relative, friend or pen pal
• clean bedroom
• vacuum living room
• clean bathroom
• make a craft
• draw
• color
• paint
• pull weeds
• watch a movie
• write stories
• use binoculars
• use magnifying glass
• use microscope
• bird watching
• write a play
• act out a play
• invent circus acts
• perform a circus
• play card games
• make art on the front walkway with sidewalk chalk
• play catch
• play baseball
• collect rocks
• collect leaves
• collect feathers
• play Frisbee
• make Frisbee’s out of old plastic lids, decorate with markers
• dust the house
• brush the pet
• write letters
• read a magazine
• play dress-up
• play Cowboys
• pick vegetables
• play outside with the pet
• build a fort in your rooms
• build a fort in the backyard
• do a jigsaw puzzle
• play on the Geosafari
• play on the computer
• listen to a story or book on tape
• do extra schoolwork to get ahead
• do brain teasers (ie: crosswords, word searches, hidden pictures, mazes, etc.)
• cook
• prepare lunch
• surprise a neighbor with a good deed
• play store
• prepare a “restaurant” lunch with menus
• hold a tea party
• have a Teddy bear picnic
• play with toy cars
• play dolls
• play house
• chase butterflies
• collect caterpillars and bugs
• plant a garden or a pot
• collect seeds
• hunt for four-leaf clovers
• learn magic tricks
• put on a magic show
• plant a container garden
• sprout seeds or beans
• make sock puppets
• put on a puppet show
• make Christmas presents
• make homemade wrapping paper
• make homemade gift cards
• make picture frames from twigs glued onto sturdy cardboard
• crochet or knit
• make doll clothes
• sew buttons in designs on old shirts
• run relay races
• make bookmarks
• take a quiet rest time
• take a shower or bath
• bathe a pet
• feed the birds or squirrels
• watch the clouds
• organize a dresser drawer
• clean under the bed
• empty dishwasher
• vacuum under the couch cushions and keep any change found
• write these ideas on pieces of paper and pick out one or two to do
• whittle
• whittle bars of soap
• practice musical instruments
• perform a family concert
• teach yourself to play musical instrument (recorder, harmonica, guitar)
• fold laundry
• sweep kitchen or bathroom floors
• sweep front walkway
• sweep or spray back patio
• sweep or spray driveway
• wash car
• vacuum car
• vacuum or dust window blinds
• clean bathroom mirrors
• clean sliding glass doors
• clean inside of car windows
• wash bicycles
• clean garage
• play in the sandbox
• build a sandcastle
• work with clay
• copy your favorite book illustration
• design your own game
• build with blocks or Legos
• create a design box (copper wire, string, odds-and-ends of things destined for the garbage, pom-poms, thread, yarn, etc.)
• plan a neighborhood or family Olympics
• have a marble tournament
• paint a picture with lemon juice on white paper and hang it in a sunny window and see what happens in a few days
• finger paint with pudding
• make dessert
• make dinner
• give your pet a party
• paint the sidewalk with water
• start a journal of summer fun
• start a nature diary
• have a read-a-thon with a friend or sibling
• have a neighborhood bike wash
• play flashlight tag
• play Kick the Can
• check out a science book and try some experiments
• make up a story
• arrange photo albums
• find bugs and start a collection
• do some stargazing
• decorate bikes or wagons and have a neighborhood parade
• catch butterflies and then let them go
• play hide-and-seek
• create a symphony with bottles and pans and rubber bands
• listen to the birds sing
• try to imitate bird calls
• read a story to a younger child
• find shapes in the clouds
• string dry noodles or O-shaped cereals into a necklace
• glue noodles into a design on paper
• play hopscotch
• play jacks
• make up a song
• make a teepee out of blankets
• write in your journal
• find an ant colony and spill some food and watch what happens
• play charades
• make up a story by drawing pictures
• draw a cartoon strip
• make a map of your bedroom, house or neighborhood
• call a friend
• cut pictures from old magazines and write a story
• make a collage using pictures cut from old magazines
• do a secret service for a neighbor
• plan a treasure hunt
• make a treasure map
• make up a “Bored List” of things to do
• plan a special activity for your family
• search your house for items made in other countries and then learn about those countries from the encyclopedia or online
• plan an imaginary trip to the moon
• plan an imaginary trip around the world, where would you want to go
• write a science-fiction story
• find a new pen pal
• make up a play using old clothes as costumes
• make up a game for practicing math facts
• have a Spelling Bee
• make up a game for practicing spelling
• surprise an elderly neighbor or relative by weeding his/her garden
• fingerpaint with shaving cream
• collect sticks and mud and build a bird’s nest
• write newspaper articles for a pretend newspaper
• put together a family newsletter
• write reviews of movies or plays or TV shows or concerts you see during the summer
• bake a cake
• bake a batch of cookies
• decorate a shoe box to hold your summer treasures
• make a hideout or clubhouse
• make paper airplanes
• have paper airplane races
• learn origami
• make an obstacle course in your backyard
• make friendship bracelets for your friends
• make a wind chime out of things headed for the garbage
• paint your face
• braid hair
• play tag
• make a sundial
• make food sculptures (from pretzels, gumdrops, string licorice, raisins, cream cheese, peanuts, peanut butter, etc.) and then eat it
• make a terrarium
• start a club
• take a nap outside on your lawn
• produce a talent show
• memorize a poem
• recite a memorized poem for your family
•   Leaf, comb, and coin rubbings
•    DIY puzzles

·         Sandart

·         Soap snakes

·         Cotton clay

·         Build with legos (with pictures)

·         Make pretend cook top

·         Make a weather station

·         Make a toy camera

·         Make a circus playset

·         Count money & draw a picture of what you want to save $ to buy

·         Chickie house

·         Printable bird play house

·         Goldfish box doll house

·         Elevator (with elevator music!)

·         Sponge tower

·         Ice eggs

·         Drawing to music

·         Cardboard canvas

·         Tissue box car wash

·         Straw beads

·         Pom-pom milkshakes

·         Puzzle rocks

·         Pegboard

·         M&m & straw game (with a picture or smiley face)

·         Write a story using a prompt

·         Home-made piñata

·         Scratch and sniff pictures

·         Ice cream in a bag

·         Jellyfish in a bottle

·         Tin foil river

·         Find on the globe- Moscow, Phoenix AZ, Cuba, Island of Newfoundland, Sudan, Cameroon, Tajikstan