Summer is here! And while I’m delighted to be done with school, there are still a lot of long weeks at home ahead of us. Never fear, sweet mama: If you’re looking for ways to keep your kids busy this summer, I’ve got you covered!
Super Fun Ideas to Keep Kids Busy!
1. Make Thumbprint Drawings
I heard about Ed Emberly from a friend whose kids love to dabble with his thumbprint drawing ideas! Simple lines make these colorful creations easy for almost any level of artist, with the added fun of inking their own fingerprints into the mix.
TRY… Ed Emberly’s Thumbprint Book, and add in a selection of rainbow of stamp ink for fingerprinting fun.
2. Sticker a Work of Art
These Paint By Sticker books are surprisingly soothing and fantastic for filling downtime on long afternoons.
I love that they’re a self-contained coloring book alternative: no crayons required!
Pair with an audiobook or read-aloud for optimal enjoyment!
TRY… the original Paint By Stickers Kids book for the younger crowd, or level up to one of the more complicated books. We’ve liked the original Paint By Sticker book, and the Vintage Travel version for ages 6+.
Related Posts I Think You’ll Love:
- Best Stuck-at-Home Games for Kids & Families
- Contain Creative Clutter with Art Zones
- It’s Okay to Let Your Kids Be Bored
- Get Some Personal Space (Even with Kids Around)
3. Make a Stop-Motion Movie!
One of the hottest activities at our house right now is stop-motion movie-making. Our kids use the Stop Motion Studio app to create their own video shorts, using toys we already have at home.
It’s only $4.99, and is completely user-friendly, with lots of fun add-on features like sound effects, music, and green-screen!
Try animating:
- Lego minifigures,
- Play-doh creations,
- Toy cars,
- Action figures, or
- Stuffed animals!
Great for teens, tweens, or kids as young as 5!
4. Discover a Needlecraft!
I have happy memories of sitting side by side with my own mama, a movie playing in the background while we each worked on a sewing project, so I was excited to introduce my littles to this quiet, delightful skill.
It’s a lovely throwback to slower pre-screen times, and a great way to foster coordination and independence. Plus they get to accomplish something with a tangible result–and who doesn’t like that?
FOR AGE 4+… try a kids needlepoint kit! They are pretty simple, with just one stitch style and the pattern pre-printed on canvas. My Kindergartener has been needlepointing since she was four. ๐
FOR AGE 10+… The Klutz Sew Mini sewing kits are adorable. They come with patterns, felt, and needle, plus a book of how to make lots of different miniature stuffies with the included supplies! My 6th-grader is a fan.
5. Go for a Chalk Walk
Outside time has been an essential for us during these weeks of staying home, and we’ve really enjoyed spreading cheer to our neighborhood by chalking a well-trafficked sidewalk before people are out and about.
To up our game, we’ve started taking these Disney “Learn to Draw” books (below) along. We love thinking of other kids getting excited to find their favorite characters on the pavement when they go out for a walk. ๐
TRY… Our favorite, brightly colored Crayola chalk (I am kind of obsessed with how vibrant the colors are!), and pick up the Learn to Draw Mickey & Friends or Draw Your Favorite Disney-Pixar Characters books, too!
6. Upgrade Your Car Play!
Kiddos love racing cars around the carpet and the furniture, but there are lots of ways to make vehicle play feel fresh:
- Take the cars “off-roading” outside in the dirt
- Give them a car wash in the sink–extra bubbles
- Line them up for a racing bracket on a Criss-Cross-Crash racing set (my son loves this!)
- Draw a city and roads with chalk outside, or on a sheet of canvas to play inside
- Make a racing ramp from a cardboard box
7. Have a Spa Day!
When I was a kid and tween, my mom sometimes treated me to a mini-spa day. We’d soak our feet, do a facial, or lay in the sun and put cucumbers on our eyes. Who doesn’t love a little pampering?
Here are a few ways to bring the spa home:
- Do manicures! A quick nail trim and some quick-dry nail polish (I like this brand) works best for my littlest ones (ages 3 & 6). If you’re feeling more creative, check out my nail art Pinterest board!
- Try a face mask! Better for tweens+, face masks are a fun and trendy (though mildly terrifying to look at) way to spa it up at home. Put on a show you both like, dim the lights, and chill for twenty minutes while you soothe your skin. This one is my personal favorite.
. - Make bath time special! Baths are like magic, aren’t they? Just add water and cranky, overwhelmed kids emerge renewed. Give the tub some special spa-time flair with low lights and a fizzy bath bomb. (We tried and LOVED these ones–they change the color of the bath water! And these ones are nice for mama! )
8. Make a Necklace (or Twelve!)
Jewelry making is always a hit at our house.
All my girls, aged 3 to 11, will happily while away their free time stringing beads to make creations for themselves or the people they love. Even Daddy is sometimes presented with a necklace to wear. ๐ We’ve even mailed beaded necklaces cross-country to grandmas–also a hit!
FOR LITTLE KIDS, I love Melissa & Doug’s necklace kits, especially their colorful Bouquet Wooden Bead Set and their Alphabet Bead Set.
FOR OLDER KIDS, the Make it Real jewelry kits are trendy and unique, while the Just My Style ABC beads are a fun 90’s throwback.
9. Build a Family Story Culture with Audiobooks
My childhood was filled with stories. My mom read aloud to us often: on picnics at the elementary school, after library trips, and over dinner or bath times when my dad had to work late.
On family trips, when my brother and I were tweens and teens, we’d spend hours on summer evenings listening to Jim Dale’s readings of Harry Potter. The stories we heard together became part of our family culture, creating a sense of togetherness and belonging.
The secret to extended story times with kids (and fidgety adults, like me) is to keep those hands busy! So pick any activity from this list, and add depth to your kids’ creative time with a kid-friendly or audiobook.
Grab a free trial of Audible here to get started, and try one of these favorites:
- The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection (8 full-length books on this one; a great value with the free Audible trial!)
- Any of the Harry Potter books (I adore the reader of these, Jim Dale–he’s an incredible performer!)
- Matilda (A classic Roald Dahl read, performed by Kate Winslet.)
- Wonder (We had great family conversations as we listened to this book.)
10. Work on a KiwiCo Box Together!
I bought our first KiwiCo boxes on a whim, hoping to make some everyday magic during a slump in quarantine. I was not disappointed!
My kids loved them.
Even my son, who was skeptical at first, declared, “This is insanely cool!” as he built (and then painted with) a DIY spin art machine.
We worked on each of the kids’ boxes together, which was perfect for me. While I love making and creating, I am terrible at coming up with ways to do this with my kids! So I loved that our boxes came with everything we needed–supplies, instructions, and lots of extra ideas. We just got to open it up and make a little memory together. <3
I also love that KiwiCo has boxes for different ages AND different interests. They have creative crates for ages 0-104 (hehe), featuring everything from building light-chasing robots to creating dress-up butterfly wings!
For my kids, I chose:
- the artsy Doodle Crate for my cute tween,
- the S.T.E.A.M.-centered Kiwi Crate for my Kindergartener, and
- the science & engineering focused Tinker Crate for my 3rd grader.
My kiddos are already excited for their next boxes to show up! ๐
Want to try it out, too? Try a subscription and get 30% off your first month with coupon code LEARN30!
Happy playtimes, mama. ๐ We can do this!
xo,
Jamie
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Some images via Amazon, Target, KiwiCo, and Canva
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