Brought to you by our friend Amy McCarthy at Parenthood.com.
It’s that time of year when the shine of school-free days wears off and summer boredom sets in. Fortunately, your kids don’t have to be bored! We’ve come up with some great ideas to keep kids busy and entertained all summer long. In fact, they just might learn something!
1. Find a great camp
Summer camp doesn’t just mean hiking, staying in cabins, and drinking bug juice anymore. There are thousands of different camps suited to your child’s needs. Whether your little ones are interested in making movies, playing football, and even math – there is a camp that fits their needs and interests. Parenthood.com’s Kids Camps directory is a great place to start when looking for that camp – it is searchable by age, gender, and type of camp, and features reviews from past campers.
2. Look outside the box
You may think that camp or other organized activities are out of your budget. Not true! Libraries, craft stores, and other organizations in your area offer free or low-cost entertainment for the kids. Head to your local library for storytime, the home improvement store to plant a flower or make a craft, and then to the park for a free dance lesson or theatre performance! Summer is a great time to expose your kids to activities that they may otherwise have not had an interest in, particularly the arts.
3. Stretch their brains!
If you have a little brainiac, send her to a camp where she’ll get more than just physical exercise. There are a number of camps that exist for children to build their skills in writing, math, and more. One of our favorites, the USA Chess summer chess camps, offers instruction and chess tournaments, but also teaches kids about sportsmanship, patience, and planning – all great skills for any child to have!
4. Get prepared
Sometimes, it won’t always be possible for you to find a fun activity to take the kids to. Prevent the rainy day complaints of “I’m bored!” by being prepared. Stash sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and other cheap (but extremely fun) toys and games away and only bring them out for the days when you don’t have sports, camp, or other activities planned. You can also print out coloring sheets from your favorite kids sites (think Disney or Nickelodeon) for these times.
5. Send them outside!
If the weather is nice and you’re just not up for shuttling the kids to their activities, send the kids outside to play. Lather them up with sunscreen, give ‘em some fun sunglasses, and teach them how to play fun outdoor games. Take them on a nature walk, enjoy some pool time, or spend time playing with the pets. Make sure that you bring along extra sunscreen, plenty of water, and maybe a few surprise toys (like floats for the pool) to spice up the fun.
Christine is the Content Marketing Coordinator for Homes.com. She's a small town girl at heart, who currently lives in Norfolk, VA with her husband and their fur baby. When she's not working, she enjoys cooking, decorating, traveling, and binge watching Netflix. As a proud Virginia Tech alum, she also loves cheering on the Hokies!
