1. Paint kindness rocks. Leave them at parks or on trails and make someone's day. :)

2. Dance Party. Cue Kidz Bop.

3. Random acts of kindness- or for not so random ones, check out this book. I finally cracked it open after buying it last Christmas (#cueshame) and I can't wait to get started.

4. Do science experiments. We've tried a few from this video,  you can find free tutorials online, or you can grab a book like this one for ideas. Kids love this summer activity!

5. Pull out your EZ bake oven (or any other labor intensive toy you have hidden).

6. Sensory play- kinetic sand or Orbeez for example. Totally late to the party but Orbeez truly do occupy kids for hooouuuurrrrs. However learn from me and DO NOT let your kids dump the entire container into the kiddie pool like I did. A little goes a long way. Oops.

7. Visit a body of water- a lake, a pond, a stream, the beach (obvi)- even if they can't get in, skipping rocks (or trying) and finding wildlife is fun! Cheers to FREE summer activity ideas!

8. Do a puzzle. Bonus points for an educational one like this one.

9. Volunteer together.

10. Go on a nature scavenger hunt. 

11. Do toilet paper roll crafts. I just grabbed construction paper to make these.

12. Paint a birdhouse.

13. Use this tape to turn your entire first floor (or wherever there's not carpet) into a road race.




15. Make a stress ball. This was the girls' idea. They came in from outside with them and I thought it was the cutest thing ever. All they did was fill a balloon with sand until it fit in their palm and tied it in a knot. Then they drew a picture on it. The end.

16. Make a hose wall mural. Ok, so I literally just learned about this tonight. You can see an example here. So fun!

17. Raid spot's playground for activity packs and interactive books. We did this before our Disney trip and it was so fun to shower them with new coloring books and games- some of which are still kickin'!

18. Visit a farmer's market.

19. Sign them up for a craft or DIY class at a store like Michael's or Home Depot.

20. Wash the car.

21. Homemade popsicles. I use an old Tupperware set but these are cute. Or I've used this method in the past:
          1. Fill an ice cube tray with liquid of choice
          2. Cover in plastic wrap
          3. Push a toothpick through the plastic wrap into each square
          4. Place in freezer.
          5. Gently take the plastic off and you have 16 mini popsicles! So clever!

22. Play dodgeball.

23. Build a massive blanket fort.

24. Build something with your kids- an elaborate train track, a lego project, or a tall tower with blocks. I just spent an hour building and playing with this train track for Dax. And then he destroyed it when I ran down to get coffee before I get could a picture. Boys!

25. Have a picnic--even if it's just watermelon at the park. something about laying a blanket down makes it official.