summer activities for kids

10 Lemonade Stand Ideas Your Kids Will Love

By Crystal VanTassel-Lopez 15 Comments

I know what your kids want to do this weekend. They want to make a lemonade stand!

The weekend is the perfect time to get the entire family involved to build an awesome lemonade stand.

Summer activities for kids like this are great for teaching life skills as well as DIY skills.

Here is a list of 10 lemonade stand ideas kids can make and create.

10 Lemonade Stand Ideas You Can Make With Your Kids

Lolly Jane took a lemonade stand she found at a garage sale and spruced it up with fabric for a homemade sewn awning, added some paint and even added a chalkboard area for writing the price. Great idea for a lemonade stand on a budget.
Apartment Therapy shared a deluxe version of a lemonade stand. Super cool and reminds of a barn. The skill level is intermediate and you can make it in a weekend. Once you get to her site you can click-through and view the step by step tutorial over on Lowes website where they featured it.
Build a Dream has a lemonade stand for those who are on a budget and not DIY handy. This cardboard stand is adorable!
Easy Homemade Lemonade from Happy Hooligans is what you should serve!
Hostess with the Mostess has a fancy lemonade stand that is perfect for indoors, a bit fancy and also doubles as a dessert table.
Love this canopy table top lemonade stand from an awesome DIY blogger.
Accessorize and Organize shares how to make a lemonade stand from pallets. Lots of step by step pics!
I Know the Plans I have For You shares a natural wood lemonade stand and printables and easy decoration ideas for the stand. (Love the coffee filter flowers for decorating it up!)
Restless Risa shares the cutest lemonade stand made from a thrifted table and spray paint. I LOVE this one!
Simply Inspired shares a cute wooden DIY lemonade stand. I love the wooden awning that she made and how she used a large chalkboard as part of the main attraction for the stand.

Do you have plans to make a lemonade stand this summer? Which one is your favorite?

More Activities for Kid:

Over 80 Summer Activities for Kids

25 Road Trip Activities for Kids of all Ages

12 Flag Crafts for Kids to Create

By Crystal VanTassel-Lopez 20 Comments

Right now we are on the hunt for red, white and blue and flag crafts! Here are 12 fun flag crafts your kiddos can create.

Flag Canvas :: Glued to my Crafts

Popsicle Stick Flag :: Giggles Galore

Pipe Cleaner Flag :: Education.com

Finger Painted Flag :: Spoonful

Button Flag :: I heart crafty things

Handprint American Flag :: Muffin Tin Mom

Paper Roll Flag :: Little Family Fun

Tissue Paper Flag :: Lakeshore Learning

Folded Flag :: The Chocolate Muffin Tree

Starfish Flag :: Craftiments

Collage Flag :: Free Kids Crafts

Construction Paper Flag :: When you’re wright, you’re right

If you’re looking for more Fourth of July or Memorial day crafting or food ideas check these out!

More Red White and Blue Fun

4th of July Do a Dot Pack

Red White and Blue Popcorn

Red White and Blue Recipes

Over 80 Wondrous and Fun Summer Activities for Kids

By Crystal VanTassel-Lopez 128 Comments

Summer is almost here and you are likely looking for summer activities for kids that are affordable and will not break the bank.

Far too often we over-look the simpler things that children find entertaining.

I have a list of over 80 free or inexpensive things you can do with your kids this summer. All of these activities are perfect for the entire family and can be done with just one child or a larger family of children. These ideas are also perfect if you want to pull in a group of friends to join in on the fun!

There is a list of places to go, things you can make and places to play.

Ready, set, go!

Activities for Kids Who Love to Go:

Go to the library once a week. Check out books, join story time, see if there is a reading club you can participate in.
Go camping. Front yard, back yard, in the living room, or make it a weekend trip in another town. Here are 30 recipes for your next camping trip.
Go to your local recreation center in your city and see what activities or classes they offer for super cheap!
Go to the park. Hello, that is hours of free entertainment. And at my favorite park, they have trails that we all love to walk after playing at the playground.
Going on a road trip? Check out these road trip printables.
Go on a worm hunt.
Go fishing.
Go on a factory/plant tour.
Go to Vacation Bible School (VBS).
Go to your local home supply store or craft store and see if they are offering any free children’s clinics this summer.
Go walk at the mall.
Go to the lake- swim or fish.
Go to the local sno cone stand.

Activities for Kids Who Love to Make:

1. Make your own kite. Here are 27 different kites you can make.
2. Make things out of cardboard. Check out this awesome idea- filled- post on cardboard creativity 101. Then, hop over and check out Tip Junkie’s list of 32 things you can make with cardboard.
3. Make your own slime using this recipe, which glows in the dark!
4. Make homemade play dough.
5. Make goop.
6. Make S’Mores- go traditional or make these Owl S’Mores. So cute!
7. Make homemade marshmallows.
8. Make soap on a rope.
9. Make these bird treats and hang them in a tree near a window so you can watch the birds enjoy.
10. Make bathtub puff paint.
11. Bake these Mommy Cookies together.
12. Make this cherry cake recipe together.
13. Make an obsticle course (or hold an olympics) in your backyard. So fun! You can make first place, second place, third place ribbons using construction paper and yarn.
14. Make a sensory tub. Great for toddlers and preschoolers.
15. Make a time capsule.
16. Make homemade ice cream. Here is a list of tips as well as five recipes you can make!
17. Make homemade bubbles.
18. Make homemade sidewalk chalk.
19. Make a pet rock.
20. Make homemade finger paint.
21. Make your own felt play mat.
22. Make a busy tray. Super smart and practical.
23. Re-purpose broken crayons into your favorite mold shape and print some free color sheets.
24. Make a lemonade stand.
25. Make homemade pizza together. Here is a list of ways to make pizza un-boring.
26. Make your own board game.
27. Make sock puppets and have a sock puppet play.
28. Make finger puppets. Here is a free download.
29. Make your own stick horse.
30. Make homemade popsicle. Here is a great list of popsicle recipes.
31. Make something origami. Here is a site with a bunch of kid friendly origami ideas.
32. Make an assortment of muffins together. Here are 28 muffin recipes you can indulge in.
33. For your little toddler guys who want to be crafty, make ice paint. Pretty cool.

Activities for Kids Who Love to Play and Do:

Download some books to listen to. Here is a $5, 30 day membership you can try.
Skip rocks. Simple, free, fun, lost art.
Have a bike parade.
Have a day of watching movies. You can get a free trial here to Amazon Free Time which is geared towards kids .
Fly a kite.
Have a family board game party or game night.
Feed the ducks. My children LOVE doing this!
Shop garage sales. You can find board games, movies, etc for cheap, cheap!
Have a picnic at the park, in your living room, or in your front yard.
Go for a Sunday Drive any day of the week. Here are some songs to listen to while you drive.
Visit the nearest beach.
Have a yard sale. Have your children help and learn the value of a dollar.
Have a bon fire and make smores. Or, make homemade smores ice cream.
Play in the water (sprinkler, slip and slide, kiddy pool, water balloons)
Welcome the troops at the airport. I have been wanting to take the kids to do this for a long, long time.
Play I Spy.
Look into summer camps in your area. If you live in the DFW area (North Texas) here is a great 2011 summer camp list!
Host your own summer camp. Here is an e-book with practical ideas and suggestions for surviving the summer.
Play frisbee.
Volunteer some where as a family.
Invent a new recipe together.
Catch lightning bugs.
Have a scavenger hunt.
Play Mad Libs and share your stories. So fun!
Play kickball.
Play dodgeball.
Play tug-of-war.
Put a puzzle together as a family.
Play hide and go seek in the dark.
Call local theatres and see if they offer free showings of kiddy movies in the summer. Some do- I promise.
Build a clubhouse or a fort.
Plant something.
Become pen pals with someone.
Start reading a classic as a family read 20-30 minutes of it out loud a day. Huck Finn, Little Women, etc.
Put on a magic show. Click the link for five easy and fun tricks your kids can do.
Play dress up. (My boys love to play in old Halloween costumes.)

What is your favorite summer activities for kids?

More Activities for Kids:

25 Road Trip Activities for Kids of all Ages

10 Lemonade Stands You Can Make

Homemade Bubble Recipe

Make Paper Flowers

10 Activities for 2 Year Olds to Keep Them Busy {and Happy} in the Car

By Holly from Kids Activities Blog

Finding age appropriate activities for 2-year-olds is sometimes a challenge. As we all know, they have a short attention span and even when you find something that works once, there is no 2-year-old activity guarantee that it will work again!

Come to think of it, wouldn’t a 2-year-old activities guarantee be great?

Traveling with a Two year old can be especially challenging. Their naturally wiggly bodies are strapped into a car seat for an undisclosed amount of time.

Car Activities for 2-Year-Olds

Since we have already arrived at the idea that no ONE activity will always be the answer, today I am presenting 10…just in case the first nine don’t work for YOUR child!

1. Try listening to some new music or even playing an audio book. Did you know many of your children’s favorite books are in audio form? Audible.com has a whole section of books for ages 0-4!

2. Let them zone out with some app time. There are many great and free educational apps out there for to download for free on your iPod, iPad or Android device.

3. Play some games like what’s missing? Have your little one close their eyes and then hide something. When they open their eyes they have to guess what disappeared.

4. Bring along a new coloring book or color pages for kids. There are lots of great on the go lap desks and crayon carriers that are perfect for coloring on the road.

5. Grab some of these fun cards which give you 52 activities for kids in the car!

6. Blow bubbles out the windows when you are on roads with lower speeds.

7. Surprise them with a mystery bag. Fill a bag with little items from the dollar store or even from around the house and let them dig in. You can also make it more fun by having them guess what’s inside.

8. Let them color on the windows of the car with window markers. Don’t worry – it all washes off!

9. Bring some books along! Mom and dad can crawl back and read a few as well. Here are our book lists that are perfect for kids.

10. If all else fails, you can always watch movies. We love to stream them on a device!

More Activities for 2-Year-Olds:

Check out several summer activities for kids that can be modified to include the toddler set like DIY Bird Feeder and Love Bug Rocks.

Also, there is a massive list of 40+ Activities for Two year Olds over at Kids Activities Blog.

More Travel Activities for Kids:

Usborne Travel Pocket Doodling and Coloring Book

Usborne Travel Book for Little Kids

Travel Activity Pad

100 Things to do on a Trip

15 Water Play Activities for Kids

By Kelley Grant 21 Comments

Oh summer time. You are so much fun, yet you are so hot at the same time.

I feel like there is a constant battle between wanting to be outside and trying to keep them cool at the same time. We try to go outside at least once a day so the kids can run off all their pent-up energy from being in the house. Sometimes its just too hot to be outside for extended periods of time.

You know what you need? Water play activities for kids!

These are perfect summer activities for kids and preschoolers!

15 Water Play Activities for Kids

I hope you have a few new ideas on how to keep the kids cool and entertained during the summer!

I think we are going to try a couple of these soon. Being outside plus water always equals a good time for the kiddos!

And if you can’t get outside, a door bath in the afternoon is just as fun!

What is your favorite outdoor water activity?

More Summer Activities for Kids

When you are ready for some indoor fun try these activities for kids!

Kelley is the mastermind in charge of her family. She loves to spend time crafting, cooking and making her kids laugh. She believes she was destined to be a comedian but has put her stand up dreams on hold to raise her two kids. She blogs about her family at thegrantlife.com and often entertains her readers with her wise cracks.

Summer Activities for Kids: S’mores Pops

By Kelley Grant 16 Comments

We are half way through July and its almost time to start thinking about back to school. But before we put away the swim suits and sunscreen, I’m going to share more fun summer activities for kids with you. And this one is sure to be a new favorite.

We love to make s’mores as a family but sometimes its either too hot or there are too many bugs for us outside. We decided to bring the s’mores inside and created a kid friendly version. These s’mores pops are super easy to make and will be gone before the day is over.

To make your own s’mores pops you will need:

Marshmallows
Chocolate Bark
Graham Cracker Crumbs
Cake Pop Sticks

We made our s’mores pops the same way we made the Valentine’s marshmallow pops in February. The only difference is we subbed white chocolate bark for regular chocolate and the sprinkles for graham crackers.

So to start you need to melt your chocolate. The best way to do this is in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler (we don’t) then make a faux double boiler. You place two similar sized pots on top of each other. The bottom pot has a few cups of water and the top one has the chocolate. The indirect heat melts the chocolate without burning it.

While your chocolate is melting, add your cake pop sticks to your marshmallows. We ended up using a whole bag! Take your marshmallow and dip it in the chocolate and then the graham cracker crumbs. Let it cool and enjoy!

Make sure your kiddos know that the chocolate is very hot when you start dipping the marshmallows. It cools fairly quickly but is quite warm at first. Other then that, let the kids have fun with their s’mores pops!

More Summer Activities for Kids

DIY Bird Feeder
Healthy Homemade Popsicles
Wildflower Picking
Throw a Pajama Party
Make Love Bugs
80+ Inexpensive or free activities for kids
26 Fun and Educational Summer Activities for Kids
10 Summer Lemonade Stand Ideas
A Through Z Boredom Busters for Kids (Ideas for every room!)

Kelley is the mastermind in charge of her family. She loves to spend time crafting, cooking and making her kids laugh. She believes she was destined to be a comedian but has put her stand up dreams on hold to raise her two kids. She blogs about her family at thegrantlife.com and often entertains her readers with her wise cracks.

Summer Activities for Kids: Throw a Pajama Party

By Crystal VanTassel-Lopez Leave a Comment

Do you really need a reason to party?

Yes, you can throw a birthday party on your child’s birthday, but that does not have to be the only reason to party.

If your little ones are begging for some boredom busters I have the perfect summer activities for kids! Let’s throw a pajama party!

And, who better to have a pajama party with than The Pajanimals?

Everyone comes in their pj’s, you can watch movies and do fun things like color sheets. (And kids do not have to spend the night. Think outside the box and do this in the middle of the day if you’re not wanting to host kids over night.)

We are going to keep this simple and budget friendly.

The treats can be easy, like store-bought cookie and mini cupcakes.

(Don’t want cookies and cupcakes? Serve doughnuts!)

Keep the decorations simple. I love these tissue paper clouds.

You can get The Pajanimals party supplies like plates, napkins, cups and a table cover. This is an easy and effortless ways to take your party to the next level.

Give each child a party favor box with free printables color sheets and crayons.

Here are two color sheet: brush your teeth and spring forward activity color sheet.

Throwing a pajama party in the middle of the day on a summer afternoon sounds like the perfect boredom buster if you ask me.

What do you think?

More Summer Activities for Kids

26 Fun and Educational Summer Activities for Kids

By Crystal VanTassel-Lopez 2 Comments

Summer is in full swing and some of us are running out of new ways to toss in some education while having fun. Here are 26 Fun and Educational Summer Activities for Kids which will give plenty of ideas to do in July. Not only are these learning activities but they are also boredom busters for kids! I hope that you find inspiration in all of the recipes shared here today. I know that I have!

Where did I get these mommy resourceful recipes from, you ask? These are all from Crystal & Co. readers and from their wonderful submissions to our weekly blog linky party on Wednesday’s. I love the ideas that you all share- keep them coming and watch for more in the future! You never know what theme I will post next so share all your fun ideas!

26 Fun & Educational Summer Activities for Kids

Art Smarts -Sgraffito by The Princess, The Pirate and The Dinosaur

Awesome Imaginative Play Ideas by The Weekly Kids Co-op

Best Books for a 5 year old by A Daddy Blog

Cutting Practice Printables (Pirate Theme) DEALS!

Feathered Friends-boys can craft, too! by SusieQTpies Cafe

5 Best Learning Websites for Kids by Your Modern Family

How to Make Spelling Interesting by The Measured Mom

How to Teach Spelling by The Measured Mom

How and Why We need to Play with our kids by Your Modern Family

Ice Cream Math Game by Gift of Curiosity

K is for King Lesson, Craft & Printable by Crystal & Co

L is for Lamp Preschool Lesson & Printable by Crystal & Co

Learn to Count using Rhyme by Mums Make List

Little Passports Brazil Travel Lesson by Living Montessori Now

Making Earth Friendly Musical Instruments by Gummy Lump

My Trip to the Zoo free ebook printable by Teaching Mama

O is for Optometrist play activities by Life with Moore Babies

Patriotic Practical Life and Math Activity by Living Montessori Now

Pre-school Prep for Kindergarten by Happy and Blessed Home

Serving Up Table Manners by All Moms for Jesus

Sight Word Stomp by Powol Packets

10 Ways to Encourage Patriotism by B. Inspired Mama

Travel Journal by Bowdabra

Vocab Word Finds- free Pirate Printables by DEALS!

Water Math & Science Activities by The Measured Mom

Word Family Houses free printables by The Measured Mom

More Summer Activities for Kids

A-Z Boredom Buster Summer Ideas for Kids

80 Inexpensive or Free Summer Activities

35 Summer Recipes for Drinks, Smoothies and Frozen Treats

36 Savvy Travel Tips and Summer Kids Activities

63 Reuse, Recycle and Upcycle ideas for kids this Summer

28 Fun and Fabulous Kid Activities

Summer Activities for Kids: 25 Fourth of July Crafts

By Kelley Grant 7 Comments

I can not believe that it’s almost July! The temperature outside makes it believable.

Our days have been spent with tons of summer activities for kids that are indoors during the hottest part of the day and outside when it cools off. My kids have really loved being able to create something new every day.

With the Fourth of July coming up we will be working on a bunch of red, white and blue crafts at our house soon. I rounded up 25 fun Fourth of July crafts that any kid would love to do!

Fourth of July Crafts for Kids

Patriotic Bottle Rockets :: First Home Love Life
Fourth of July Water Bead Play :: I Can Teach My Child
S’mores on a Stick :: Melanie Crafts
Patriotic Crown :: Making Friends
Uncle Sam Hat :: Lake Shore Learning
Coffee Filter Bunting :: Katydid and Kid
Sponge Flag Art :: No Time for Flash Cards
Coffee Filter Flowers :: Crafts by Amanda
Popsicle Stick Flag :: Ginger Snap Crafts
Paper Lanterns :: The Crafting Chicks
Fourth of July Fudge Stars :: Hungry Happenings
Patriotic Stamp Magnets :: Crafty Journal
Red, White and Blue Bubble Snakes :: I Can Teach My Child
Patriotic Rice Krispie Treats :: B-Inspired Mama
Fourth of July Printable PAck :: Gift of Curiosity
Tinted Glass Jars :: Bowbadbra Blog
Red, White and Blue Felt Wreath :: 7 on a Shoestring
Patriotic Wind Sock :: Mom Always Finds Out
American Flag Hand Print Art :: She Knows
Star Wreath :: What I Live For
Patriotic Bird House :: Making Friends
18 Patriotic Activities for Kids :: B-Inspired Mama
Liberty Crown and Torch :: Spoonful
Firecracker Tie Dye T-shirt :: I love to Create
Patriotic Busy Bag :: Crafty Journal

What is your favorite thing to do for the Fourth of July?

Kelley is the mastermind in charge of her family. She loves to spend time crafting, cooking and making her kids laugh. She believes she was destined to be a comedian but has put her stand up dreams on hold to raise her two kids. She blogs about her family at thegrantlife.com and often entertains her readers with her wise cracks.

Summer Activities for Kids: DIY Bird Feeder

By Kelley Grant 8 Comments

I know I’ve mentioned before, but I love crafts that use recycled materials! There is something so fun about being able to create something new from something old.

Sometimes the things that we craft with were bound for the trash can. That’s how the idea for our DIY bird feeders was born. I was going to throw away an empty juice bottle and thought I could reuse as a summer activity for the kids!

Ready for this super easy tutorial for how to make a bird feeder? I encourage you to make one this weekend and also check out all of our summer activities for preschoolers and kids right here on Crystal & Co. We have lot of things to keep everyone busy!

My kids love feeding and watching the birds, so when I rescued the apple juice container from the trash I knew I wanted to make a bird feeder.

This is not only a recycled craft, but it is also super easy and quick! We had our feeder up and full of bird seed in less then 30 minutes!

Besides the birdseed, you will need:

An empty plastic bottle
Scissors
Jute (or similar)

There are three simple steps to create your own bird feeder.

Step one – punch a hole through the top and add your string.
Step two – tie a knot in your string.
Step three – cute a hole in your plastic container.

All you have to do is add your bird seed and find a place to hang it. The string you tied makes a great hook to hang your bird feeder in a tree.

I used a paint marker to add a few doodles on the plastic bottle to make it stand out a bit.

I didn’t want to paint the entire bottle because it might come off on the bird.

We really had fun making our bird feeders! When we finish another apple juice, we are going to make more feeders.

Next time I will cut the hole in the container a little higher so that it can hold more bird seed.

Our feeder was a fun, simple and easy craft that will entertain the kids for hours in the future!

Do you like to recycle materials and craft with them?

Kelley is the mastermind in charge of her family. She loves to spend time crafting, cooking and making her kids laugh. She believes she was destined to be a comedian but has put her stand up dreams on hold to raise her two kids. She blogs about her family at thegrantlife.com and often entertains her readers with her wise cracks.