Summertime is a magical time, and kids look forward to their two-month break from school. During summers, most parents plan family vacations so they can spend quality time with their kids. However, if you aren’t planning to travel, you must plan fun activities for your kids to keep them engaged. If left to their own devices, they’ll spend the majority of their summertime on their phones or various other gadgets. Thus, to prevent this, it is best to teach them some useful life skills that'll make their summer vacation all the more enriching.
Below are some fun and interesting activities for kids that they will absolutely enjoy.
Fun Activities to do on a Summer Vacation With Kids
1. Swimming
Swimming in the summers is an excellent activity that also provides long-term benefits. Children love to play in the water. So, you can easily take them to the pool or beach or lake and teach them how to swim using floats. Apart from being a fun summer activity, swimming can help improve upper-body strength and focus.
Swimming lessons also provide an opportunity to interact with other children, which can help develop their social skills. It is also a life skill, as it introduces children to the world of athletes. So, if they are excellent at swimming, they can look forward to job opportunities such as a lifeguard, camp counsellor, coach, member of the military, or even become an athlete.
2. Teach them gardening
Teaching them gardening instils a love for nature that will last a lifetime. Watching a seed grow into a plant is magical for kids as they are astonished by everything around them. It is exciting for them to watch a tiny seed grow stems & leaves and then sprout flowers and fruits.
As a parent, you want their first project to be successful. Thus, do a thorough search and select an easy-to-grow plant. Spend time and teach them to dig a hole with their hands or a shovel and show them how to plant a seed and nurture the plant.
3. Explore nature
As we are talking about nature, another vacation activity idea can be to explore nature. Kids are born to be explorers and can use some parental guidance. Take advantage of the summer holiday and go camping or hiking with your child.
Allow them to fully engage with nature. Don't worry about their clothes getting dirty, and let them lead. You can always intervene if you think they are in harm's way
Set a goal to spend some amount of family time outside during the summer. You can even consider it as an escape from your daily tasks.
4. Engage your child in reading
Instead of summer classes for kids, opt for summer reading. Reading helps build confidence and teaches them about various cultures, places and people. It can also help them discern people's feelings. To foster the habit of reading, you can plan regular trips to the library with your children, read from the books at night, listen to audiobooks or have reading contests. To encourage reading, you can also reward them with things they like.
5. Watch movies
Watching movies or TV shows is an excellent option when it's too hot outside. With Netflix and other subscriptions platforms, you can pick from the wide range of options available. Be it animated or unanimated, kids can learn a lot from movies about family, friendship, coming of age, and more.
6. Picnics
Another common albeit fun activity to do on vacation is to go for a picnic. Be it an indoor or outdoor picnic, ensure your kid is dressed in comfortable clothing.
- For an outdoor picnic, prepare some easy snacks like PB&J or waffle sandwiches, salads, wraps and so on.
- An indoor picnic could be a movie projected on a screen with some pizza and popcorn.
7. Teach them to cook
Instead of choosing endless holiday courses for kids, you can teach them how to cook at home. It is a great way to spend the summer and teach them life skills. Learning how to cook from an early age will make them more independent. Once they learn basic cooking skills, you can also teach them secret family recipes.
Teaching them how to cook eliminates picky eating. Once they try different foods, and learn how to prep meals themselves, they'll turn into tiny foodies. Cooking is also educational as they learn to read recipes and learn math with measurements. So allow your kids' creativity to flow with this at-home vacation activity.
Conclusion
Summer is a fun time that both kids and parents look forward to. The great part about the summer holidays is the countless activities and endless time. There is no way your child is going to be bored if they have their whole summer pre-planned for them. Along with planning their summer, see to it that they are dressed in comfortable cotton clothes. This will ensure they have a fun-filled summer.
