Skip the Screens and Try One of These 21 Screen-Free Summer Activities Instead

We've reached that time of year: it's been summer vacation for more than a month, but there's still another month until school starts again. Kids are starting to get bored, and work-from-home parents still need a few hours each day where they're not responsible for entertaining their kids. It's so very tempting to let your kids play another hour of Animal Crossing instead of insisting that they do something – anything – else.

If you're looking for some screen-free activities, we have some ideas of ways to keep them occupied that don't involve an iPad or a Nintendo Switch. If you're looking for even more ways to have fun this summer, be sure to check out our ultimate summer bucket list.

1. Large-Scale Building Projects

One of the best toys we ever bought for our eight-year-old was this fort-building kit from Lakeshore Learning, along with two king-sized bed sheets. Together with a friend or sibling, it can be hours of fun building and rebuilding, and once it's complete, they will try to find something fun to do in there, usually sans screens. Fort building brings out kids' creativity and allows them a grown-up-free zone for making up their own games and activities.

2. Building Toys

LEGOs are the frontrunner here, but K'Nex, Lincoln Logs, and Magna Tiles are also great fun for kids of different ages. Some kids like following the directions book and spend hours building intricate houses, while others are more into freeform building. Find whichever toy matches your price point and kids' interests, or try to dig out some of your old toys from the grandparents' houses.

3. Sports

Kids in individual sports can often practice their skills alone, or you can encourage your kids to organize neighborhood games of baseball, soccer, or basketball with friends. Invest in items like a balance beam for your yard, or just throw or kick against a windowless wall.

4. Go for a Hike

During COVID, we would pick a new forest preserve every Friday afternoon and take our kids on a long walk. It helped them burn off energy, they saw interesting wildlife, and they learned that they could walk multiple miles even at ages three and five. Learn how to hack it on the trail with our first-time hiking guide for kids. Most families live within an hour's drive of some kind of park or forest preserve, so pack a snack and hit the trail!

5. Crafts

Find an afternoon to visit a local craft store and pick out a few kits or projects for your child. Preschoolers love having little objects to paint, while older kids might get into making friendship bracelets and tie blankets. You can even teach bigger kids how to use a sewing machine or knit to pass the time. The counselors at my daughter's Girl Scout day camp taught each camper how to make lanyards to keep their hands busy on the bus, and it has been a lifesaver on every road trip since.

6. Swim

Visit your local neighborhood pool or beach and take a dip! Our kids recently discovered waterparks on vacation and are begging us to find one closer to home that we can visit regularly. If you don't have a neighborhood pool, check if the YMCA offers day passes, or look on Resort Pass to see what hotels offer a day rate for swimming in the pool.

7. Or Find Another Fun Water Activity

Running through the sprinkler was a favorite when my kids were younger, but now they're into reusable water balloons and the occasional Super Soaker. Some playgrounds have water elements that can be fun for kids, or you can find full spraygrounds or water playgrounds in some cities.

8. Read a New Book

Libraries all over the country are offering summer reading programs, which give kids a chance to earn prizes for all of the time they spend reading. Find a new series they like or pick up some non-fiction books on their favorite topic. Adults can find something fun for themselves at the library, too!

9. Make or Listen to Music

Summer is the perfect time to try to pick up a new instrument or learn a new song to sing. Try out the Irish tin whistle – kids as young as four can start learning it by ear. Or find a local park offering free concerts so that you can expose your kids to different kinds of music.

10. Play a Board or Card Game

Nowadays, there are more versions of Uno than you can count! My kids love Cards Against Humanity Family Edition, Spot It, and Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. Candy Land, Yahtzee, and Sorry are always classics to teach your kids about fairness, strategy, and being a good sport, whether you're winning or losing.

11. Do a Puzzle

One of my kids really loves jigsaw puzzles and can completely lose herself in them. The other prefers Rubik's Cubes. You can also find pen and paper logic puzzles, like Sudoku, or even books with word searches to help keep kids' minds sharp over the summer months.

12. Learn to Make a New Snack or Meal

You're going to have to make three meals and likely some kind of snack most days this summer, so why not get the kids involved? My son is so proud that he can make his own scrambled eggs, and my daughter made three kinds of cookies for a bake sale at church this summer. This can be a lot of work for the grown-up at the beginning, but it may save you from teaching them to cook later.

13. Phone a friend

Encourage your kid to get together with a friend they haven't seen in a while. They may also be looking for some screen-free fun! Plus, it takes the burden off two sets of parents for a few hours.

14. Go for a Bike Ride

If your kid doesn't know how to ride a bike yet, summer is the perfect time to teach them! For kids who already know, make a fun trip out of it by riding to a farmer's market or ice cream place for a fun treat.

15. Open a Lemonade Stand

Teach kids about the value of money and work by helping them set up their own lemonade stand. If your neighborhood is friendly, they'll likely make a few bucks to help them buy the next thing they want.

16. Write a Story or a Letter

Kids' imagination is still very active, and writing and/or illustrating a story can be great fun for children who are old enough to do it. My kids have friends who travel to different countries for a month or more each summer, and they like to write letters back and forth over the weeks they're apart.

17. Play Spa

Take a trip to a local cosmetics store and get nail polish, face masks, and fun new hair products to try. These aren't always just for girls anymore! Pick some neutral colors so brothers and sisters can enjoy together.

18. Plan and Create a Large-Scale Art Project

Find washable glass paint and painters' tape and create a design on your window or glass front door. Try to color in a whole square of sidewalk, or your whole driveway. Or get a kid-sized roll of butcher paper and have kids trace each other and color in their figure.

19. Do a Science Experiment

Find something pre-made at a science store or through Kiwi Crate, or make up something of your own using online resources. If you're looking for some more experiments to do at home, check out these easy at-home science experiments for curious kids.

20. Create an Obstacle Course

Hula hoops, tent tunnels, soccer cones, patio furniture, and more make great things to climb over and through for your very own outdoor obstacle course. This is a classic activity that's easy to set up indoors or outdoors.

21. Clean Your Room!

When our kids absolutely run out of ideas, we tell them it's time to clean their room. For added incentive, we have recently given them consignment sale tags so they can make a few bucks off of any old toys or clothes they want to get rid of.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Kostikova Natalia/Shutterstock.com