Kalena Langford

Someone told me last week that her kids were halfway through Summer break (from school). That genuinely surprised me. I learned last year that Summer was the perfect time for us to homeschool pretty consistently, so we’ve still been going (with the intent to use our breaks more in the Fall and during the holidays). And knowing we’d still be schooling, I’ve had some Summer activity ideas brewing in my head since before the season started that fit right into our Summer of learning. But these are great activities for anyone not homeschooling and just looking for a little more structure or even just some random suggestions for things to do. As usual, I’m late to put my thoughts down on paper (or digital notepad). But here I am at the halfway point (for at least some) finally doing it. Not too, too late.

Anyway… I created this schedule with flexibility in mind. Take a trip on Thursday instead of Tuesday, Build stuff on Friday. Make something on Mondays. Or just do one or two of these things in a week. You get the idea. It’s just inspiration.

I also created this schedule knowing that having set days for certain activities is helpful not only to me, but also the kids. They enjoy knowing what to look forward to and can make plans in their heads better with that knowledge.

So, here’s the schedule in written form with a bit more detail than the graphic:

Monday - Build Something

There are really so many ways to bring a building day to life. Use a specific type of building item, theme your build, race to build something, have a building challenge, work together to make something awesome, and so much more.

The suggestions I put in the graphic for building items are LEGO, magnetic tiles, wooden or unit blocks, dominoes, a blanket fort, and a stick teepee. A few other suggestions are Lincoln Logs, a marble run, something with cardboard boxes or popsicle sticks, and a building kit (like this one my kids loved).

We’ve invested heavily in LEGO and magnetic tiles (Picasso sets are our favorite, but we have a few different kinds) since my son was old enough to start playing with them. They were birthday and Christmas gifts from us and other family members, which made it easier to enlarge our collection. So it’s really fun now to have a lot to use to build!

For unit blocks, I’ve found that Jenga blocks are absolutely perfect for building! My kids have reached for them more than anything else recently. They build mazes and castles and pretend wars and forts and lots more! They’ve even used them to make indoor putt putt courses. They have 2 sets each that I purchased when on a BOGO sale at Target.

Several of the other items—like dominoes, blankets, and Lincoln Logs—I’ve collected through thrifting. The dominoes double as pretty decor in a glass container!

Tuesday - Take a Trip

My suggestions are pretty common, but they are easy to do in a day without much (or any) planning. I’m going to divide them into free and paid options below.

FREE - park, nature hike, library

PAID - zoo (a membership is typically totally worth it if you live near one), museum, lunch out, indoor activities (like ice skating, roller skating, a trampoline park, indoor rock climbing, Top Golf)

Wednesday - Play a “Game”

I used the word, “game,” here a little loosely because I couldn’t think of a better term. But basically I just mean anything that challenges the mind a bit without a lot of mess. So things like:

Board Games - A few of our current favorites are Sequence, Blokus, and Sorry. Card Games - We LOVE Play Nine and Skyjo! Puzzles - I pick these up at thrift stores if they’ve never been opened, but also occasionally grab a pretty or seasonally appropriate one elsewhere. Activity Books - Our absolute favorite activity books for a couple years now are these 1,000 dot-to-dot books. They’re frame-worthy once completed! Coloring Books - We’re partial to more detailed coloring books. This Audubon one is on our wishlist right now. Paint-(or Color-)By-Numbers - We’ve done a few of the Mondo Llama brand paint-by-numbers in the past year, and they’re good (not tooooo overly detailed).

Thursday - Create Something

A painting, a drawing, something with air dry clay, a Perler bead creation, a sewing or knitting or embroidery project, an outdoor chalk masterpiece, and more. So be crafty, yes. But you could also take this in a whole different direction and do a science experiment!

Friday - Have a Party

Make this anything you want! Bake a cake just because. Have a cute little tea party. Plan out a fun charcuterie board for lunch. Have an ice cream celebration and make it extra fancy or super simple…I’m sure it’ll be well received either way! Or do a book party where you read a book, make a craft, and have some sort of related food item. There are so many options here. And anything you call a party is sure to be exciting for everyone!