10 Summer Activities

Summer is a season full of opportunity! The weather allows for more fun activities for your kids to do, that do not require lots of money. This post has tons of fun summer activities for toddlers and kids! Activities should not be some crazy expensive thing you do with the kids. So these summer activities are all very inexpensive and allow for flexibility.

1. Chalk:

When my sister moved to Germany she left me her nice Crayola chalk and let me tell you I am in love. Often now when the girls are playing outside I will sit on the ground and draw with chalk. Lucy also loves to draw and "spell" with chalk. Lyra has gotten very good and crawling over and trying to eat the chalk, I have to be very diligent to make sure when she is cruising around she is not getting her hands on it. Chalk is a wonderful activity for toddlers especially, it gets them outside and helps work on their fine motor skills.

Now the weather is nicer our patio is constantly covered in chalk. I also hold many wonderful memories from my childhood coloring with chalk. I do believe you can even buy chalk at the Dollar Store so it's a budget friendly activity. What is better than a fun activity that is cheap!

2. Sensory Bins:

I do not know where I originally came across the ideas for sensory bins, but we are obsessed. I started using sensory bins when Lucy was about 18 months old. We went to the dollar store got a large Tupperware container with a lid, some measuring cups, and dried beans. At home we put the dried beans in the Tupperware and let Lucy scoop and pour away.

Now we have done several different sensory bins. We try different combinations of things to put in the bin, about once a week I will trade them out for a different combo. We have mixed lentils with dry peas, lima beans with pinto beans, black eye peas with pinto beans, and just a bag of mixed beans from the store. Lucy loves when we switch them out, it is like a whole new activity.

3. The Park:

Our family LOVES going to the park. Lucy could swing forever if we let her. When weather is nice you'll probably find us at the park. When Lyra was littler I would sit in the grass and enjoyed the sunshine with her while Bryton and Lucy ran around.

I love that now Lucy is getting older she is climbing and playing on the playground. It is so exciting to see her explore and expand her world even more. There is several parks in the our area and we also enjoy every week going to a different park. It adds variety and adds to the excitement to going to the park.

4: Ice Cube Discovery

This activity does require a little work before hand. You'll need an ice cube tray and some small toys. Fill the ice cube tray with water and put the small toys in the water and then freeze.

Once frozen you can take the ice cubes with the toys out. I normally take this activity outside. There is also plenty of ways to change this activity. You could use paintbrushes and water to slowly get the ice cube to melt. Lucy reminds me everyday that it really is the little things that matter. Life does not need to be complicated!

5: Washing Stations

This is something that I saw on Pinterest about a year ago, I decided to try it because Lucy loves to help wash things and finding rocks. So we found several good size rocks in the yard and got a bunch of different brushes and sponges at the Dollar store. I filled a bowl up with soapy water and let her wash the rocks.

Lucy loves to do this and often we start to wash other toys and things. Sometimes we even get another bowl/Tupperware container and fill it with dirt and make another station. Lucy loves to get the items dirty to clean them all over again.

6: Nature Walk

I love to take the girls on walks. It is so refreshing to get outdoors and explore the world where we live. This activity is a wonderful way to teach kiddos about nature, plants, and animals. Allowing kids to discover the world at their pace is extremely important.

Taking the kiddos on a walk helps them get energy out and learn at the same time. You can ask the kids questions about the plants, to look for certain items, colors, textures, etc. We love to see what the Lord has put into this world. There is so much around us, take a moment to enjoy it.

7: Play-Doh

Another classic that I also played with in my childhood. We did not introduce play-doh to Lucy until she was about two and a half, she now loves it. Though 95% of the time she just rolls it into snakes or hot dogs. But still anything that keeps her occupied for 5 minutes is a win!

Play-Doh is pretty easy to come by, it is at Walmart, and can also be ordered online. While we were growing up we had several play-doh accessories, which can add a fun flare to the activity. Kids love to smush and mold things, Play-Doh is a great activity to try.

8: Water Balloons

This one also is quite simple and well known but a classic. I have tons of wonderful memories with my siblings running around the yard and having water balloon wars. We would spend hours filling them up, tying them, and throwing them at each other.

Even if you don't have a water balloon fight there is tons of different activities you could do. See how far they can throw the balloons, how hard do you need to throw the balloon for it to pop, explore with how much water you put in the balloons and see if that changes the results of any activity you try.

9:Paint Rocks

I am a massive sucker for any kid of kids art work and painted rocks are no exception. Once on vacation with my husband one of the shop owners daughter was selling rocks at the counter and I bought 3. I just love doing art projects like painting rocks. What a fun way to spruce up your afternoon.

Children's art work just melts my heart, I am so excited that Lucy is getting older and can do more crafts like this so I can decorate my home with the sweet sight of her artwork. It is also super good to let your children explore their creativity.

10: Paint with Water

Once again, the simple projects entertain the longest. Lucy and my nephews LOVE to paint with water. We have several different types of brushes and locations where they are allowed to paint.

Our 5 yr old nephew loves to paint with water and watch it sloooowly disappear he thinks it is magic. He really likes to paint the sides of our patio chairs. Since it is just water I normally let the kids "paint" most anything they want. It is just water and it will dry