“I’m bored! There’s nothing to do!”
Does this sound familiar? Maybe you’re hearing this on a daily basis now that kids are on summer vacation. Here are some activities your child can do if they are bored or looking for a challenge throughout the summer.
Literacy
- Write a story (either digitally or on paper) – You could even find a website that will publish kids’ writings such as Storyjumper and Storybird.
- Read some good books.
- Kids can create a website with book recommendations.
- They can discover new genres of books by playing Genre BINGO.
- Join a book club
- Participate in your local library’s reading challenge
- Create a video journal of their summer
- Write and mail letters to family and friends
- Write a book of poems
- Create a “Did You Know?” blog
- Create a digital photo journal
- Write and illustrate a comic book
- Journal every day
- Write and put on a play
Art
- Try to replicate famous paintings
- Choreograph a dance
- Make fairy gardens
- Create origami
- Write your own songs (lyrics and musical notes)
- Create sidewalk chalk murals
- Make a marshmallow and toothpick house/town
- Create friendship bracelets
- Create something using recycled items
- Learn how to play a new instrument
Science
- Science experiments (There are a lot of websites with great experiments. Just Google “science experiments.”)
- Create a Rube Goldberg machines
- Make your own ice cream
Outdoors
- Go camping
- Go on nature walks – Kids can then create a website with where they went, what they saw, what they did, etc.
- Create a nature club
- Nature journaling
- Nature scavenger hunt
- Build a birdhouse
- Create a butterfly garden
- Go geocaching
- Go stargazing and try to find all of the constellations
- Setup an obstacle course in your backyard
- Go camping in your backyard
- Plant flowers
- Create a garden
Other
- Learn about your family history
- Goal setting – make a Google Slides for each goal and their accomplishments
- Create a family scrapbook
- Visit museums, zoos, discovery centers, planetariums, historical sites, etc.
- Participate in community theater
- Volunteer for a community project
- Learn another language (through classes, online, or different apps such as Duolingo)
- Work on a project of their choice (ex: animate a short film, design and build something, etc.)
- Involve them in helping with home improvement activities
- Teach them how to cook
- Create a board game
- Build a town with Legos
- Make a time capsule
- Take a spontaneous road trip
- Create brainteaser games
- Create your own riddles
- Puzzles
- Make your own puzzles
- Have a puzzle race – Who can put a 100 piece puzzle together the fastest?
- Learn how to do something new
- Create and complete a bucket list
- Go through toys and donate to a good cause
- Create a zoo, town, etc. with play dough
- Join local park and rec activities
- Record own Ted Talk
- Be an entrepreneur
- Lemonade/cookie stand
- Organize a neighborhood garage sale with all the kids
- Bake cookies and donate them to a nursing home
- Create a treasure hunt
- Volunteer at a nursing home
- Create own pizzas
- Try a new recipe and cook dinner for the family
- Plan the menu
- Shop for the ingredients
- Cook the food
- Create how-to videos
- Walk the neighbors’ dogs
- Try out a new sport
- Join a summer camp
- Learn about a different culture
- Have a carwash
- Try to break a record in the Guinness Book of World Records
You can also find some great activities and programs on Davidson Institute’s article, “Gifted Summer Programs: Listed by Topics of Interest.”