Sweet friend, if you’ve ever found yourself standing at the kitchen counter on a Tuesday morning in July — coffee in hand, three little ones trailing behind you — and heard those four words that can make any mama’s eye twitch just a little… “I’m bored, Mama” … then this post is for you.
Summer is so beautiful. But it is also long.
And if we’re not a little intentional about filling those golden hours — even loosely, even gently — the days can turn into too much screen time and a whole lot of fussing. I’ve been there. More than once.
So over the past few summers, I’ve been building a quiet little list in the back of my mind. Activities that actually work with little ones underfoot. Things that are simple, nature-connected, and don’t require a trip to the craft store or a laminated schedule on the fridge.
“She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” — Proverbs 31:27
That verse sits gently in my heart every June. Not as pressure to perform, but as a soft reminder that tending the rhythm of our home matters — and that unhurried, imaginative summer play is very much part of that tending.
why getting outside matters more than we think
There’s a quiet truth I’ve settled into as a mama: outdoor play is not a reward for finishing something else. It is the something else.
Time in the grass, in the dirt, in the sunlight — this is what little bodies are built for. It regulates emotions (mine included, honestly). It tires them out in the right way. It builds the kind of quiet confidence that only comes from testing yourself against the physical world — climbing, digging, carrying, building, falling, getting back up.
We believe in earthing in our home — bare feet on the ground — and summers are the long sweet stretch when that happens naturally and daily. I notice the difference in my children on days we get outside versus days we don’t. There’s a settledness to them after a morning in the yard that is hard to replicate any other way.
If you want even more hands-on summer ideas to pair with all that outdoor time, I’ve pulled together a whole collection of fun summer crafts for kids that your little ones will actually want to make.
15 fun summer activities for kids to beat boredom
Here are fifteen of my favorite summer activities for kids that have actually stood the test of a real, ordinary, messy summer with babies and toddlers.
1. nature scavenger hunt
One of our family’s most reliable go-tos. I write out a simple list on the back of an envelope — a smooth rock, something yellow, a feather, a seed pod — and send the little wild ones out the back door. Older toddlers love the thrill of checking things off. Younger babies are happy just to be carried through the grass and handed things to hold.
You don’t need anything fancy. Just a list and a willingness to be outside.
2. mud kitchen play
If your children have never played in a proper mud kitchen, sweet friend, their summer is incomplete. Set out an old pot, a wooden spoon, and access to dirt and water — and watch what happens. Hours. That’s what happens. Sometimes literal hours of quiet, deep play.
We keep a little mud station near the garden hose and it is worth every single muddy outfit.
3. backyard water play
Fill a few different-sized containers with water, add some cups and funnels and kitchen strainers, and let them go. This is sensory play at its simplest and most effective. On a hot afternoon, this can last until the sun starts to get low and everyone’s happy and damp.
4. watercolor painting outdoors
Take the art outside. Set up a watercolor tray, a cup of water, and some thick paper on the porch steps or a low table — and let your children paint what they see. Flowers, clouds, the dog, their own foot. It doesn’t matter. The act of sitting still and creating something is the gift.
5. bake something simple together
There is something about summer baking — especially something small and sweet — that feels like tending. We make simple things: a honey cake, blueberry muffins, sourdough biscuits. Children can measure and stir and press dough, and when it comes out of the oven, the pride on their little faces is everything.
6. nature journaling
This one is beautiful even for very young children. Give them a blank notebook and some crayons and take them outside. Ask them to draw what they notice. A bug, a leaf, a cloud, the shape of a puddle. There are no rules. The habit of slowing down to look closely at the world is one of the quietest and most lasting gifts we can give our little ones.
7. build a fairy garden or miniature world
Gather sticks and pebbles and flower petals and moss and help your children build a tiny world in a corner of the yard or in a shallow wooden box on the porch. My eldest will do this for the better part of an afternoon — arranging and rearranging, telling quiet little stories to herself.
It requires nothing of me except a few minutes to help gather the materials.
8. garden together
If you have any kind of growing space — even a pot on the back step — invite your children into it. Let them dig and plant and water and wait. There is something so rich about a child who learns that food comes from the ground and that patience has a harvest. We’ve had some of our best conversations kneeling beside the bean plants.
And if you want to extend the garden magic into hands-on creating, I love these garden crafts for kids for rainy afternoons after a morning in the dirt.
9. shadow tracing
On a sunny day, have your children stand still while you trace their shadows on the sidewalk with chalk. Then do it again later in the day and compare how much the shadows have moved. This is simple science and pure delight rolled into one, and it costs exactly nothing.
10. catch bugs and let them go
Jars with holes punched in the lids. A magnifying glass. A whole afternoon. My children have spent entire mornings this way — hunting rolly pollies, watching beetles navigate a leaf, trying to hold grasshoppers in cupped palms.
It builds a slow, reverent attention to small and ordinary things, and I am always glad when I lean into it instead of hurrying them inside.
11. build a backyard fort
Drape old sheets over lawn chairs or a clothesline. Add some pillows, a few picture books, and a cup of lemonade. The magic of a fort never gets old — even for me, honestly. We’ve had picnic lunches in forts and watched thunderstorms roll in from inside a fort. It’s the kind of simple thing that turns into a memory.
12. nature crafts from found treasures
Come inside with a basket full of what you’ve gathered — seed pods, dried flowers, pebbles, feathers, interesting sticks — and let your children create. Glue things to paper. Sort them by color. Line them up on the windowsill like a little museum.
This kind of open-ended creating honors the way children actually learn — through their hands. If you’ve been to the water lately, I also love these easy beach crafts for kids that turn a handful of shells and sea glass into something beautiful.
13. set up a simple lemonade stand
Squeeze real lemons. Stir in raw honey. Fill a mason jar pitcher and set up a little table with a handwritten sign on brown paper. Even if the only customers are your own family, the children feel so proud. It’s also a tender little lesson in hospitality — in offering something made by your own hands to someone you love.
14. sun print art
Gather leaves, flowers, and flat objects and lay them on dark construction paper in full sun. Leave them for a couple of hours and then carefully remove the objects to reveal the faded prints underneath. The results are always a little surprising and always beautiful — real, hands-on science that feels like magic.
15. nature sit spots and butterfly watching
Choose a spot in the yard — or at the edge of a garden or a field — and just sit. Watch. Wait. Birds, butterflies, bees. The world is so alive in summer and children are naturally tuned into it when we give them the stillness to notice. If a butterfly lands nearby, that is your science lesson for the day.
We’ve had a lot of fun extending these quiet sit spots into hands-on creating afterward with these butterfly crafts for kids on afternoons when we want to bring a little of that outdoor beauty inside.
keeping it simple this summer
Sweet friend, your children do not need a packed schedule to have a good summer. They need time. Unstructured, unhurried, slightly boring time — because boredom is actually where imagination lives. It’s the empty space that creativity rushes in to fill.
Some of our very best summer days have started with me saying “I don’t have anything planned for us today” and watching what happened next. Someone dragged a box of fabric scraps outside. Someone else found a jar and started a bug collection. The baby chewed on a pinecone contentedly while I sat in the grass beside her.
The simple life isn’t always Instagram-worthy. But it is so, so good.
I keep this list tucked in the back of my mind not as a schedule, but as a soft place to land when things start to unravel. A gentle nudge toward something rather than a rescue from boredom. That’s really all it is — a handful of ideas to offer, take or leave, depending on the day.
protecting little ones in the summer heat
A quick word before you head outside with your little ones this summer.
We are a non-toxic home, which means conventional sunscreen has been a hard pass around here for a long time. The ingredient lists are long and the chemicals are things I’d rather not rub into my babies’ skin every single day all summer long. Instead, we make our own — a simple, nourishing recipe using tallow, zinc oxide, and a few other clean ingredients I actually trust.
If that sounds like something that might fit your home, I share my full homemade tallow sunscreen recipe right here on the blog. It’s gentler than most of what you’ll find on a store shelf, and it costs very little to make.
Beyond sunscreen, we lean on wide-brimmed hats, loose linen clothing, and the generous shade of whatever trees we can find. Summer sun protection doesn’t have to be complicated or chemical-laden.
go make a summer memory today
Sweet friend, I hope this list gives you a soft place to land when the “I’m bored” chorus starts up — and it will, because that’s just summer with small children and it’s actually one of the things I’ve learned to love about it.
You don’t need every idea. Pick one or two that fit the rhythm of your family and your yard and this particular week’s weather. Let the rest sit here for when you need them.
And remember — it doesn’t have to be perfect or planned or pretty. A good summer is made of simple moments stacked on top of each other. The sticky afternoon with the watercolors on the porch. The mud on the back steps that took forever to hose off. The firefly in the jar on the porch rail, glowing softly before you let it go.
That’s the stuff they’ll remember. I truly believe that.
Now — I’d love to hear from you. Drop a comment below and tell me: what’s your family’s favorite summer activity? What do your little wild ones ask for the moment school’s out? I read every single comment and I love hearing what’s working in your home.
With love,
Betty
FREE Fruit of the Spirit Playdough Tree and Card
If your kids learn best by doing, you’re going to love this simple activity. It turns the Fruit of the Spirit into something they can touch and create.
This free Fruit of the Spirit Playdough Tree and Card gives you two activities in one—a playdough mat (laminate once, use forever) plus 9 individual fruit cards.
Both feature all nine fruits from Galatians 5:22-23, helping kids learn about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control through hands-on fun.
frequently asked questions
what are the best summer activities for toddlers?
Toddlers do best with sensory-rich, open-ended activities — mud kitchen play, water play, nature walks, and baking alongside a grown-up are all wonderful starting points.
The key is keeping things low-pressure and unstructured. You’re not running a summer camp; you’re just sharing your daily life with a small person who finds everything you do endlessly fascinating.
how do I keep kids busy in summer without screens?
A simple daily rhythm of outdoor play, creative materials, kitchen time, and free exploration goes a long way. Keeping a small basket of art supplies accessible and getting outside at least once a day — even briefly — makes a real difference.
When children have enough physical activity and time in natural light, the pull toward screens tends to lessen on its own.
what are some free summer activities for kids?
So many of the best summer activities cost absolutely nothing: nature scavenger hunts, mud play, shadow tracing, bug catching, fort building from household items, watercolor painting with kitchen supplies, and nature journaling with a blank notebook and crayons. Nature crafts made from things gathered on a walk are also free and keep children busy for hours.
how do I keep summer from feeling overwhelming as a stay-at-home mom?
Give yourself grace first — that’s not a platitude, it’s the actual answer. A loose rhythm rather than a rigid schedule tends to work best for both mama and little ones.
A morning rhythm, a quiet rest time in the middle of the day, and a handful of go-to activity ideas tucked away make a real difference. You do not have to make every day special. The ordinary days are often the ones that become most precious.
are these activities safe for babies and very young toddlers?
Most of the ideas on this list can be adapted for babies and very young toddlers with simple modifications — stay close, remove anything small enough to be a choking hazard, and let them explore at their own pace.
Babies are often content to be included in almost anything when they’re carried nearby or sitting in the grass. Even ten minutes in the garden or the yard is a rich sensory experience for the youngest ones.
