Exciting Summer Activities for Kids

By Call Emmy Team · June 18, 2024

Long summer days are soon here, which means shaved ice, popsicles, and outdoor adventure. Do you have any summer activities planned? Surely, you don’t want your kids spending all day on YouTube. Save your kids from boredom with summer activities that’ll keep them off their devices and entertained all summer long.

Tie-dye shirts

First up is tie-dye. This is a fun, messy, all-hands-on-deck type of activity. Let kids test their creative side with a tie-dye project.

Materials:

• Lightly colored shirts
• Water
• Vinegar
• Bucket
• Fabric dye or food coloring
• Plastic bag or large Ziplock bag
• Thread or rubber bands
• Old towels or newspaper
• Measuring jar

Instructions:

1. Lay down old towels or newspapers to prevent staining.
2. Put on a pair of gloves.
3. Add one part vinegar and one part warm water to a bucket.
4. Place the shirt in the bucket and let it soak for an hour.
5. Remove the shirt from the bucket.
6. Squeeze out the excess water from the shirt.
7. Use thread to tie the shirt.
8. Place the shirt in a zip lock bag and add the dye.
9. Close the bag.
10. Let the shirt sit for 24 hours.
11. The longer the shirt sits the more intense the colors.
12. Remove the shirt from the bag and untie it.
13. Run cold water over the shirt.
14. Hang the shirt out to dry.

Make Invisible ink

Turn a group of kids into detectives with invisible ink. This summer activity quickly encourages pretend play ─ children can spend the whole afternoon decoding hidden messages.

Materials:

The ink is really easy to make. You only need a few ingredients:

• 1 Lemon
• Paper
• Cotton swabs
• Small bowl
• Strainer
• Spoon
• Measuring spoons

Instructions:

1. Place a strainer over a bowl.
2. Squeeze out 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into the bowl.
3. Add ½ tablespoon of water to the lemon juice.
4. Use a spoon to stir the mixture.
5. Dip a cotton swap into the lemon juice mixture.
6. Write a message on the paper.
7. Let it dry for 10 minutes.
8. Hold the paper up to the light to reveal the message.

Homemade Lava Lamps

A summer activities list without lava lamps? No way! Get lost in these psychedelic lamps this summer.

Materials:

1. Oil
2. Water bottle
3. Water
4. Food coloring
5. Antacid tablets
6. Measuring cups
7. Spoon

Instructions:

1. Fill a water bottle with 1 cup of water.
2. Measure out 2 cups of canola oil.
3. Add the oil to the bottle.
4. Add 5 drops of food coloring to the bottle.
5. Crush 2 antacid tablet.
6. Add the crushed tablets to the bottle.
7. Cap the bottle.

Note: The measurements depend on the size of the bottle being used.

Create a butterfly habitat

You can make the backyard a butterfly sanctuary this summer when you build a butterfly habitat.

Get yourself a butterfly enclosure, then look around the garden for hungry caterpillars. If you’re low on caterpillars, buy a kit that includes live baby caterpillars. Place the caterpillars in the enclosure with various plants and watch as they change throughout the summer. It’s an educational activity that’s worth the wait.

Tin Can Bird Feeder

This is one of those summer activities for the engineers in the family. For this DIY bird feeder you will need the following:

• A tin can
• Paint (optional)
• Paint brushes (optional)
• Twine or ribbon
• Birdfeed

Instructions:

1. Start by removing the lid on the tin can.
2. Get the paintbrushes and paint the can in any color of your choosing.
3. Set the can upright on newspaper or cloth.
4. Let the paint dry for 1 hour.
5. Glue a popsicle stick to the inside of the can.
6. Let the glue dry.
7. Wrap the ribbon around one end of the can and tie a knot.
8. Repeat for the other side of the can.
9. Attach the ribbon to a tree branch.
10. Fill the can with bird seed.

Create Temporary tattoos

There are so many ways to make temporary tattoos. This technique uses waterslide paper, which can also be used to make customized mugs.

Materials:

• Water slide paper
• Computer
• Printer
• Cloth
• Small bowl
• Water
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Choose your design.
2. Flip the image in the computer photo editor.

Note: The design will appear mirrored when applied to the skin

• Print your chosen design onto the water slide paper.
• Use scissors to cut out the design.
• Fill a bowl with warm water.
• Dampen the cloth with water.
• Dampen the design section of the cut-out.
• Place the design cut out directly to the skin.

Note: The design should be face-down.

• Apply the damp cloth over the paper cut-out.
• Pressed down on the cloth.
• Dampen the cloth again and repeat until the water slide paper adheres to the skin.
• After wetting the tattoo, wait five minutes.
• Remove the paper backing.

Other Fun Summer Activities:

• Miniature Golf
• Water balloon fights
• Rock painting
• Scavenger Hunt
• Backyard camping
• Flower pressing
• Make dream catchers
• Play the telephone game
• Start a garden
• Make a scrapbook

If you need more ideas for summer activities, check out these articles on the site:

• Summer Camp Activities: Make the Best Vacation and Build Memories (callemmy.com).
• 5 Fun & easy screen-free summer activities for kids (callemmy.com)

Conclusion:

Summer activities make summer worthwhile so whether you’re a guardian or a sitter, try something new and make memories for you and the kids that last a lifetime. Call Emmy is a great option for summer job seekers. If you're good with kids, become a Call Emmy sitter and join the other vetted sitters who make memorable summer memories. Check out our services here.