Summer! A time for sunshine, vacations, and endless possibilities for fun. But let’s be honest, those seemingly endless days can sometimes turn into stretches of “I’m bored!” woes.
Here’s where these free printable summer activities for kids come in – a treasure trove of engaging and budget-friendly entertainment to keep your little ones occupied and create memories that will last a lifetime.
Get Crafty and Creative:
Design Your Own Ice Cream Sundae:
Spark imaginations with a printable ice cream sundae template. Let kids color in their favorite flavors, add toppings, and even name their creation!
DIY Paper Bag Puppets:
Upcycle brown paper bags into adorable animal puppets. Provide construction paper, markers, crayons, and pipe cleaners for hours of puppet show fun.
Printable Nature Crowns:
Take a nature walk and collect leaves, twigs, and flowers. Back home, use a printable crown template as a base for crafting beautiful nature-inspired headwear.
Coloring Pages Galore:
From classic summer scenes like beaches and picnics to whimsical creatures and underwater adventures, the internet offers a vast array of free coloring pages to keep kids entertained for hours.
Learning Through Play:
Summer Scavenger Hunts:
Get the whole family moving with a printable scavenger hunt around the house, backyard, or even the neighborhood. Hide clues related to summer themes and have kids race to find them.
Printable Bingo:
Create a custom bingo board with summer words like “ice cream,” “sunshine,” or “butterfly.” Head outdoors and mark off squares as kids spot these summery sights.
Alphabet and Number Games:
Learning doesn’t have to stop in summer! Find printables with hidden letters or numbers that kids can discover while coloring or completing mazes.
DIY Word Search:
Choose a summer theme like “beach day” or “backyard fun.” Use a blank word search template and hide vocabulary words related to the theme. Kids will have a blast searching for them.
Rainy Day Activities:
Origami Fun:
Transform a piece of paper into a crane, a boat, or a whole menagerie of animals with free origami printables. It’s a calming and creative activity for a rainy day.
Indoor Scavenger Hunt:
Hide small toys or treats around the house and create a list of clues for kids to follow. Rainy weather won’t dampen their spirits when there’s a treasure hunt on the go!
Printable Mazes:
From simple to complex, mazes are a timeless rainy day activity. Printables with various difficulty levels can keep kids of all ages occupied.
Board Game Extravaganza:
Liven up a classic board game with printable game pieces or create a whole new board game using a blank template!
Let’s Get Active:
Outdoor Obstacle Course:
Design your own backyard obstacle course using everyday items. Print out a checklist of tasks to complete, like hopping over cones or crawling under a tunnel.
Printable Freeze Dance:
Get those wiggles out with free printable freeze dance cards. Each card has a silly instruction, like “freeze like a statue” or “freeze with one leg up.”
Sidewalk Games Classics:
Relive your childhood with printable hopscotch templates or create a giant game of tic-tac-toe on the driveway.
Nature Bingo:
Take a walk in the park and use a printable bingo sheet with squares featuring different leaves, flowers, or insects.
Sensory Exploration:
Playdough Fun:
Whip up a batch of homemade playdough and use cookie cutters in summer shapes like suns, popsicles, or watermelons. Let kids unleash their creativity!
Sensory Bottle Creations:
Fill empty plastic bottles with water, glitter, beads, and other small objects for a mesmerizing sensory experience. Printables with labels can personalize these bottles.
DIY Seed Bombs:
Promote eco-consciousness by creating seed bombs using wildflower seeds, clay, and compost. Printables with instructions and planting tips make this a fun and educational activity.
For the Future Picassos:
Nature Mandalas:
Take inspiration from nature and create beautiful mandalas using leaves, flowers, and pebbles arranged on a piece of paper.
Stained Glass Effect:
Transform a clear window into a stained glass masterpiece with printable templates and colorful tissue paper.
Design Your Own Flip Flops:
Print out a blank flip-flop template and let kids use their artistic talents to design their dream summer footwear.
The Great Outdoors:
Camping Checklist:
Plan a backyard camping adventure with a printable checklist. Include items like tent (made from a blanket!), flashlight, snacks, and a list of things to see and hear at night.
Stargazing Bingo:
Spark an interest in astronomy with a printable stargazing bingo card. Fill the squares with constellations or common celestial objects for kids to look out for on a clear night.
DIY Bird Feeders:
Upcycle plastic bottles or cardboard into bird feeders using printables with instructions and decoration ideas. Fill them with birdseed and watch feathered friends flock to your backyard.
For the Little Chefs:
Summer Fruit Kabob Printables:
Create colorful and delicious fruit skewers with printable kabob templates. They can be decorated with fun shapes or themed for a special occasion.
Printable Recipe Cards:
Get kids involved in the kitchen with simple recipe cards that feature easy summer treats like lemonade or popsicles. Include illustrations and step-by-step instructions.
Summer Picnic Planning:
Plan a perfect summer picnic with a printable checklist. Include essentials like food, drinks, blankets, frisbee, and games.
Let’s Get Reading:
Summer Book Bingo:
Encourage summer reading with a bingo card featuring squares for different types of books, like a book with a beach setting or a book with a funny character.
Printable Bookmarks:
Design personalized bookmarks using printable templates. Decorate them with summer themes and encourage kids to keep track of their place in their favorite books.
Summer Reading Journal:
Keep track of all those summer reads with a printable reading journal. Kids can write down the title, author, a short summary, and even their favorite part of the book.
Rainy Day Delights:
Paper Plate Puppets:
Create simple puppets using paper plates, markers, and craft sticks. Printables with pre-drawn faces or animal templates can make this activity even easier.
DIY Paper Fortune Teller:
Have some silly fun with a printable fortune teller template. Decorate it with colorful markers and write fortunes or jokes on the inside flaps.
Fort Building Challenge:
Transform your living room into a magical fort with chairs, blankets, and sheets. Printables with fort-building inspiration can spark even more creative ideas.
Remember:
These are just a few ideas to get you started. The beauty of printables is their versatility. You can find printables for almost any theme or activity imaginable. With a little creativity and some free printables, you can keep your kids entertained all summer long, creating lasting memories and fostering a love for learning and exploration.
Bonus Tip:
- Laminate your printables for multiple uses! This is especially helpful for activities that involve drawing, coloring, or using playdough.
So, fire up your printer, gather your craft supplies, and get ready for a summer of fun with these free printable summer activities for kids!
