Top 5 Summer Fun Activities with Kids

Summer break is quickly approaching here in southern Georgia. That means the kids will be home and will want to spend most of their day having screen time. I limit the screen time my kids have, but this is increasingly more difficult to pull off during summer break as our culture gets more technologically inclined! I’ve found the best way to keep our kids active and limit screen time during the summer is to plan fun family recreational activities. Check out these top 5 Summer fun activities with kids to get them outside and healthy.

Go on a Nature Walk

What could be easier and cheaper than going for a walk? In southern Georgia you want to make sure you plan your walk for early in the morning or after about 5 in the afternoon. If you don’t you’ll be sure to roast in the heat. You can make a quick checklist of items to find on the walk such as a pine cones, different colored leaves, birds, squirrels, triangle shaped rocks, etc. You could also turn the walk into a service project by taking along gloves and garbage bags to pick up any trash that you encounter.

Take a Bike Ride

We LOVE to ride our bikes! Bike riding is such a great aerobic and balance activity for families. Just make sure you wear a helmet for safety (see my article here). You can make your journey as simple as riding around your neighborhood to as complex as riding on a designated bike path. One word of caution we learned the hard way: make sure you know the path before taking your kids. There may be mean dogs or unsafe terrain that you don’t want to expose your children to. Also, if you don’t own a bike there a plenty of bike rental shops in most towns.

Water Play – Pool or Sprinkler

Summer time is the perfect opportunity to have some water play. If you are lucky enough to own or belong to a swimming pool, use your pool to have swimming races. If your kids are not old enough to swim independently, you can have “running” races in the shallow end. My kids love to run through the sprinkler. This provides running and jumping while getting cooled off by water. You can also have a water gun fight. Running to chase each other will provide great aerobic exercise. Just make sure to use plenty of sunscreen!

Walk to Around Town to Buy a Treat

Our favorite treat to buy on a hot summer’s day is ice cream. We have a local ice cream shop here and we bribe our kids with ice cream after walking or biking the 1.5 miles there :-). You can also walk to a local store to purchase a treat of the kids’ choice.

Make Your Own Backyard Game

My kids are soccer fanatics and they love for us to have a family pick up game of soccer in our backyard. Don’t like soccer? No worries – you could also play baseball, kickball, or basketball (if you have a hoop). A great way to get their imagination flowing and get exercise is to create their own game with rules. My kids once created a game similar to dodgeball but had components of soccer as well.