8 Weeks of Summer Fun for Kids

Hi, I’m Jennifer from The Party Teacher. I’m so excited to be back for another session of Summer Camp with my ideas for 8 weeks of summer fun for kids. I know I’ll need every idea I can find this summer!

Later, I hope you’ll pop over to The Party Teacher, where I show busy moms how to plan and style birthday parties your kids will declare “the best ever.”

Like every mom, I find summer a particular challenge. I work from home, so trying to actually work while keeping the kids entertained, and – to be honest – out of my hair, is just plain hard. My office is right by the front door, so my girls are constantly in and out, for popsicles and to announce their latest squabble. And then there’s my favorite: “I’m bored.” Can you relate?

We’ve tried various antidotes: a summer fun jar and a bucket list. But, invariably, the girls pick an activity that I haven’t actually managed to prepare for.

So this year, I thought that if we could choose all the activities ahead of time, I could get all the supplies in advance. This is obviously not rocket science, but I am determined to get this summer under control.

To help me get organized, I created three sets of printables, and I’m happy to share them here with you:

Week 1 through Week 8
Books, Supplies, Phones labels
Daily activities cards – set 1 and set 2

The summer banner is a free printable from The Crafting Chicks that you can find here.

The idea is simple: if we pick several activities for each week, then I can be ready for the week, and decide which week is best for which activity.

I chose eight activities for each week: read, project, adventure, chore, play, craft and bake. My girls and I brainstormed most of the summer activities, and the rest we will revisit at the end of June. We put one of each card in a party favor bag and labeled each bag with Week 1 and so on.

I also made labels for a book library, crafting and baking supplies, and a phone basket – because I am also determined to get their faces out of their screens this summer.

I arranged everything on my pink bar cart so it’s right outside my office door. I should be able to point the girls to the cart for craft supplies or games when they announce their boredom. As a backdrop, I used a large frame from Hobby Lobby. I inserted foam core board in the opening. To the board, I pinned calendars for June and July with our camps and special days noted.

Here are our activities under each category, in case you can use any of these ideas.

Read

Keeping in mind that my girls are 12:

Helen Keller biography
A Dog’s Purpose
Mockingjay
Tenney
Serafina and the Black Cloak
I Had a Hammer
Courage to Soar
The One and Only Ivan
The Incredible Journey
Where the Red Fern Grows

Project

These are actually projects for my husband mainly; I’m pretty sure project #1 may take all summer.

Set up bunk bed
Hang wall art
Purchase knobs for desks

Adventure

Play at the park
Visit the pool
Go bowling
Walk the downtown trail
Take Penny to the dog park

Chore

The girls have regular chores; these are a few special chores they can help me with.

Dust baseboards
Dust blinds
Clean fridge
Declutter pantry
Wash the dog

Play

These are for the mornings when the girls whine that it’s too hot to play outside.

Hula hoop contest
Water balloons
Card games
Mani-pedis
Scrabble
Boggle
Twister
Monopoly
Make a music video

Craft

Painting
Calligraphy
Pottery wheel
Tie dye shirts
String art

Bake

Mini cakes
Brownie bites
Cakepops
Unicorn cookies
Practice cupcake frosting
Try royal icing sugar cookies
Make ice cream
Experiment with fondant

Thanks for having me, Toni!!

I hope you’ll visit me at The Party Teacher. If you’re ready to make your next birthday party easy, pick up my free Birthday Party Planning Cheat Sheets! Let’s save you time, save you money, and double the fun you have planning your next party.