6 Summer Activities to Do With Your Kid
Ah, summer in full swing — bees buzzing about, ice cream truck jingles floating down streets, refreshing pools ready for human cannonballs… but are the kids still looking for things to do? If they aren’t burning off the extra energy at summer camp, there’s still plenty to keep them active and entertained at home. Here are some fun activities inspired by some of our favorite new summer titles, an opportunity for precious bonding time to create those lasting summer memories.
- For Young Scientists, Create Your Own Paper Airplane Experiment
In Superstar by Mandy Davis, Lester is determined to win the science fair, and creates an experiment to see which paper airplane design flies the farthest. You can recreate the same experiment at home! Help your child choose a few paper airplane designs online, build your airplanes, and then test them out. Create a hypothesis (which airplane will fly the farthest?) and measure the distance of each plane’s flight so you can analyze the results together.
Any space fans out there like Lester? Astronaut Leland Melvin’s Chasing Space: Young Reader’s Edition also features neat experiments that you can test right in your own backyard. For earth-bound families who might not be able to fly in space like Melvin, there are plenty of opportunities to get a taste of astronaut life and the wonders of outer space. Check out science museums and space camps in your area — some have hands-on training simulations for kids (and even adults!) If your kid is itching for that real out-of-this-world experience, these are activities you definitely don’t want to miss.
2. A Scientist in the Kitchen? Bake a Wishing Cake
In Pixie Piper and the Matter of the Batter by Annabelle Fisher, Pixie (a descendant of Mother Goose) goes to Chuckling Goose farm to learn the secret of baking magic wishing cakes. But you don’t need magic to bake a cake that tastes delicious!
You can teach your kids a family recipe or use your favorite cake mix. Kids love to learn about their family history and their parents, and cooking together is a great way to connect and have fun. Help your kids combine the ingredients. If they’re feeling creative, let them add their favorite fixings, like sprinkles, cinnamon (Pixie’s favorite), strawberries, or mini chocolate chips. Decorate the finished cake with colored frosting and garnishes. Don’t forget to blow out some candles and make a wish before you eat! With some practice, your child can become a baking pro Mother Goose herself would be proud of.
If you’ve got a budding chef on your hands, also check out One Hundred Spaghetti Strings by Jen Nails. The story follows Steffy as she cooks her way through her mother’s cook book to bring family together. All the recipes are featured at the back of the book, including Steffy’s signature take on spaghetti, an Anytime Fancy Layer Cake that could even rival a Pixie Piper wishing cake, and even Blasting NASA Cupcakes that make for a nice treat while orbiting the galaxy!
3. Start a Keepsake of Memories
Everyone loves to gather the perfect shells at the beach, but there are many types of trinkets to collect and treasure that you can start finding right in your neighborhood. In June Sparrow and the Million-Dollar Penny by Rebecca Chace, June discovers her coin-collecting mother’s old penny book — a book she used to record each penny she found. Her mother taped a penny to the page, wrote something about what happened in the year the penny was minted, and something that happened to her on the day she found the penny. Kids can make their own penny book with this fun activity guide, or start their own collection journal (June’s parents collected lots of other things too, like tin soldiers, old toys, and old vinyl records.) If you’re going on vacation, start the collection with an item found during your travels. If the item is too big to tape into the journal, add a photo or drawing of the item to the page instead.
4. Summer Rain Keeping You Inside? Visit a Museum
Dinosaurs live again and rule the land in Laura Martin’s Edge of Extinction series. While it’s probably a good thing dinosaurs now only thrive in stories, kids can still get up close and personal with their favorite dinos at museums and fossil centers. Whether visiting new ones for the first time or revisiting past favorites, exploring museums is a perfect way for the family to spend their rainy summer days.
Live in the NYC area, or planning a summer trip to the Big Apple? The American Museum of Natural History is a must-stop destination for those seeking the fiercest and mightiest ancient creatures. Also check out these other iconic, family-favorite museums that are sure to wow kids of any age, which were inspired by Lisa Papademetriou’s cheeky and heartfelt Apartment 1986.
5. Pick a Cause and Volunteer
In The Roxbury Park Dog Club series, Kim and her friends volunteer for the Roxbury Park Dog Shelter, but when they discover that the shelter is in danger of closing down, they come up with a new business idea to save the dogs and help members of the community at the same time. Ask your kids what community causes they care about. If they love animals, maybe they can volunteer to walk a neighbor’s dog or to help out at the local animal shelter. If they care about the environment, make your next outdoor outing a cleanup day or join a local cleanup in your community. The possibilities are endless!
6. Write Letters to a Pen Pal
Even in today’s technologically-oriented world, there’s nothing like getting letters in the mail from friends! In The Pages Between Us series by Lindsey Leavitt and Robin Mellom, Piper and Olivia stay in touch mostly through notes passed back and forth. While your kids are away from their friends this summer, encourage them to write handwritten letters to stay in touch. Make it fun and personalized with decorative paper, colored pens, and stickers — something to be kept and treasured for life.
What are some of your favorite summertime activities to do with your kids? Tell us in the comments below!
