Keeping your kids engaged and learning new things during the summer can be challenging. No matter what the age of your child, you can follow this blueprint for a fun, experience-filled summer! To learn more about infusing every day with learning, check out this article: 18 Simple Ways to Infuse Each Day With Learning

Week 1: Get Wet

  • Find a local pool to splash in. Talk about the chemicals needed to keep it clean and safe!

  • Find a splash pad and explore the forces that push the water out and the gravity that brings it back down.

  • For younger children, water in bins or buckets can be great fun if accompanied by measuring spoons and containers where they can move water back and forth.

  • Squirt guns or water balloon fights are a great activity and are ageless in appeal.

  • Take advantage of our beautiful beaches!

Week 2: Get Active

  • Bike trails, anyone? Pack a picnic or snack and embark on a family ride.

  • Find a 5K or Fun Run to participate in.

  • Check out the local playground for a day of climbing and swinging.

  • Check out the local parks and recreation sports programs.

  • Are you a member of the YMCA? Check out what activities they have this summer.

  • Too hot to be outside? Check out a local ice skating or roller-skating rink!

Week 3: Get your Green On

  • Visit our local gardens or state parks.

  • Plant vegetables or flowers.

  • Talk about recycling and find your local recycling center.

  • Pick up trash in your neighborhood.

Week 4: Make Math a Focus

  • Cook something – double a recipe to get some extra math in there.

  • Go shopping and discuss discounts. Practice calculating change.

  • Roll dice, write down the results and discuss probability. Put the points on a graph and make a scatter plot.

  • Have a garage sale or lemonade stand to add prices and make change.

  • For older children, have them design and build something. 

Week 5: Stories

  • Have a family book club. Pick a book that you can finish in a reasonable amount of time. If you have a large age range in your family, let the older children read to the younger children and then discuss the chapters as you go through it.

  • Go to the local library and check out their programs. Do they have a story hour or speaker of interest?

  • Find a story set in your city.

  • Have your children create a play or skit based on a story. Let them create a set, choose costumes and act it out for family or friends.

  • Share your favorite poem or song lyrics with your kids, and then have them write a song or poem about one of their experiences or favorite items.

See our article for more information: How to Start a Family Book Club: Encouraging A Love of Reading Across Generations

Week 6: Science is Spectacular          

Week 7: Volunteer

  • Make and bring a meal to a friend or family member.

  • Help someone with yard work.

  • Buy some extra groceries and take them to a local food bank.

  • Call your local food bank and see if they need help distributing food.

  • Visit a retirement home and spread cheer – singing, telling stories or taking a homemade craft.

  • Check out other volunteer opportunities here: volunteermatch.org. Be sure to call ahead to confirm the ages of those who can volunteer.

More information on volunteerism in our magazines:
Leading by Example: Local Moms Use Volunteering to Help the Community and Shape their Children’s Values
and
Volunteer Opportunities for Your Family

Week 8: Art

  • Visit a local art gallery and discuss what your children like and don’t like. Some options are:

    - Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville

    - Museum of Arts and Sciences in Volusia County

    -  Crummer Museum of Art and Gardens in St. Johns County

  • Attend a First Friday Art Walk in St. Augustine.

  • Check a book about art out from the library and go through the images.

  • Break out the art supplies – paints, clay, crayons, chalk. Let your children create something.

For more information on how to incorporate art into your child’s life: Easy Ways to Incorporate Art into Your Child’s Life

Week 9: Camp

  • Break out a tent or camper and camp at home. Make special foods to eat outdoors (hotdog and smores, anyone?), sing songs and tell stories around a fire pit.

  • Head to a local campground and spend the night.

  • Include your children in the planning and packing.

  • If camping is not a possibility, transform a room in your house with sheets and blankets to be a tent. Turn out the lights and use flashlights, eat picnic style on the floor and create a camp experience in your home.

Week 10: Establish a Vision for School

  • Create a Vision Board for the next school year.

  • Get your lists of supplies.

  • Organize bedrooms and establish a place for backpacks, shoes and lunch boxes.

  • Explain transportation plans to your child – will they be taking a bus, walking or getting a ride.  

To learn more about being intentional in setting expectations for the new school year, check out this article: Setting Intentions in the New Year

Read our back-to-school success tips to get things started on the right foot: Back to School Success Tips

These ideas can keep your child engaged in learning all summer while having fun!