Summer is around the corner as well as a special birthday for my little guy who will be turning two soon! This is such a fun stage for him and I am so excited to make more memories together this season. My toddler is constantly on the move and it has been helpful for me to always have a running list of ideas on hand as inspiration. Creating a bucket list of activities is a fun way to gather together all of the fun you want to remember and do for the summer!
Here is a list of 40+ activities for the summer and I’m sure we will be adding to it as we go!
Splash in Puddles – April showers bring may flowers, and also lots of puddles for your toddler to splash in and play! This can get messy and sometimes muddy but remember, memories are made and children are washable!
Activity Bin Play – Fill up a plastic bin with beans, rice, or cereal and take it outdoors with some toy diggers and if they want let your child add to it from what they find around the yard like rocks, sticks and leaves. Click here to check out seasonal activity bin ideas! These activity bins can be anything you want them to be and are a fun way to promote some creative and new sensory play!
Visit a Construction Site – If your little one is anything like mine, a drive to some local construction happenings is the perfect way to spend a morning and to observe and learn what they do! My son could watch tractors, dump trucks and diggers work for hours, and we look forward to finding more this summer!
Sandbox play – My husband built a sandbox this spring and I am so thankful to have this as an option this summer! It is already full of tractor and digger toys and my son will be living in this for sure, as he asks about it every day so far.
Berry Picking – We are fortunate to live on property that hosts numerous wild berries every year and we enjoy going out with baskets and collecting them! My son eats them like candy and not many make into the house though! Always be sure wild berries are edible and a visit to your local berry farm is a fun experience too.
Nature Walk – Take a bag or basket along as you explore the outdoors and encourage your little one to observe what is around them and see what neat items your toddler finds and collects along the way. This becomes more fun as the leaves start falling end of summer as well!
Have a Scavenger Hunt – Have your little one find specific nature items around the yard, or maybe try hiding things that are familiar to them! I will hide my son’s little toy tractors and diggers throughout our yard and landscaping for him to find, or even bring out the plastic Easter eggs for him to hunt again! He is always so thrilled to do this and we can spend so much time doing this together.
Splash Pad – By far this is my son’s favorite during the summertime! It is so entertaining to watch kiddos have fun with the crazy water gadgets.
Pool fun – I like to fill up our small inflatable pool with shallow water and while my toddler plays, I can even relax a bit in a chair and cool off with my feet in it too!
Make Healthy Popsicles – Freeze your favorite organic juice or smoothie into popsicle molds for a cool and yummy treat for a hot day!
Sprinkler – This is always a quick and easy option to cool off. Plenty of energy can be burned off running around the yard through this on a hot day.
Waterpark – There is nothing like all of the water fun combined into one location for loads of fun, especially for the whole family!
Plant a Tree – We were looking for plants to add to our raised garden beds and I saw a cherry blossom tree on sale and I have always wanted one. We brought it home and our little guy loved the process of helping plant it in our yard!
Grow a Garden – Do you have a few plants or maybe a garden? Involving your toddler in caring for the household vegetation can help with some early learning in responsibility, not to mention fun with the watering can or hose!
Wash the Car – Speaking of the hose, the excitement my son has with helping us wash our vehicles or our tractor or spraying anything with the hose for that matter, comes with endless minutes of fun. Keep the water on a lower speed and let them go to town washing down the car, outdoor toys, spraying the driveway, side of the house or even the lawn!
Freeze Toys – Play “free the toys” and have your child use water, play tools and whatever else they can think of to find ways to get loose their toys from the frozen ice blocks you successfully made earlier. You can use bowls, cups or Tupperware to freeze them in!
Read Books Together – Open the windows and while you feel the fresh air and listen to the birds outside, cuddle up to read. Even better, bring a blanket and basket of reads out in the yard and under some shade for an enjoyable time together.
Library – We love making regular visits to our local library and being involved in various programs they offer there! I keep their monthly calendar for upcoming activities and this is always a wonderful option for learning opportunities and a way to cycle through new books.
Craft Outdoors – Bring a blanket outside along with some coloring books and crayons and enjoy some craft time in the sunshine. My son is obsessed with stickers and those can be fun to peel and stick as well.
Picnic – Try a nice park, or really you don’t have to go far at all to have a fun picnic! Simply packing something to eat and going out in the yard is nice for some fresh air and a change of scenery!
Turn Trash to Treasure – Find something that was about to be thrown in recycling and see if you can turn it into a fun activity together before getting rid of it! It always surprises me how much fun my son can have with something as simple as a box. In fact, try putting your young toddler in an open cardboard box with crayons and watch them be contained and occupied coloring the “walls” around them for a long time!
Metal Detect – Speaking of finding treasures, metal detecting is so much fun and you never know what you may dig up! Try this at the beach! My family loves this activity and we do it often on our property and my toddler loves joining in with his little shovel too. Always wear safety gloves and use caution in touching unknown objects.
Build Something Together – Whether it be a small bird house, a garden bed, or sandbox, our little people are wanting to badly to do big things just like us! Hand them some play tools or a tape measure and watch their excitement at being able to “help” and feel important being a part of building something they can enjoy too!
Tent Camp – You can do this right in your backyard for an easy and fun family experience together that doesn’t require too much planning at all! It doesn’t even have to be for the night, but maybe for a fun afternoon nap.
Go for a Walk – Grab the stroller or the wagon and enjoy some exercise with your little one. Bring a furry friend along for the ride!
Play I Spy – This is a perfect game while on a walk or to remember to have in your back pocket anywhere especially to keep a toddler engaged and distracted while having fun!
Pick Wild Flowers – We live on a country road and so we spot many wild flowers on our walks as well as around our home on our property! My son loves helping collect them for us to enjoy in a bouquet. It is so precious to see how excited he gets to find and give them to me!
Visit A Sunflower Field – We do this every year and they usually bloom end of summertime. We were a little late last year but still got to see a few, and they are so pretty!
Blow Bubbles – A simple and fun activity to do together or better with a little bubble machine that your toddler can have fun using as a less messy way on their own too!
Spray Bottle Fun – Fill a spray bottle with water and let them go to town spraying the driveway or even pretend to clean by spraying the house and the windows, or their outdoor toys.
Play Chalk – Drawing pictures, learning letters, hop-scotch, or creating little roads for the car toys… the options are endless with sidewalk chalk!
Paint Things Outside – Taking this paint and paper activity outdoors keeps the mess outside, but also can be fun to paint rocks or outdoor toys that can be easily sprayed off afterwards!
Visit the Children’s Museum – This is a good idea with endless learning and fun especially for a rainy day.
Build a Fort – A good ole blanket fort and a child’s imagination can be an entire morning of fun, or get creative outside and make a fort or a tent outside like the one I did last year! Click here to see.
Visit the Zoo – Always a fun and educational opportunity to visit the zoo. See how many animals they can name and all of the sounds they make!
Visit the County Fair – We love to visit our local county fair and it is especially fun for my toddler to see plenty of animals up close!
Fire Cracker Fun – After the 4th of July last year, we had plenty of boxes of snaps and poppers left over. He is too small for sparklers and so these were perfect as he loved throwing them on the concrete and hearing them pop when he stomped on them!
Have a Beach Day – Some days there really isn’t a better combination than endless water and sand on a warm day! Bring your favorite sand toys and life jackets for lots of fun!
Visit a Nursing Home – Or make a visit to an elderly great grandparent, as it truly can light up their whole day to see young children and have a new conversation. Maybe bring a thoughtful homemade gift, they will feel so loved and thankful you took the time to come.
Make a Card or Gift to Send Someone – Trace your toddler’s hand, make a foot or hand painting creation or have them color and put stickers on a card to send to someone. The internet is full of ideas and inspiration for this. It is a thoughtful way to show someone you care and also a fun activity to do with your little one.
Go to the Park – Checking out different parks is always fun, and most days we enjoy our saucer swing and seat swing in our own backyard!
Go to a Parade – Find when there is one local to you, plan ahead, pack some folding chairs and a blanket and enjoy some fun entertainment and your kiddo might get to collect trinkets and candy!
Have a Mini Photoshoot – I’m sure we all have a million and one photos of our mini-me’s but theres something so fun about finding a neat spot (planned or not) and just pulling out your iphone to get some fun and cute photos! Print them out for the fridge or send them to Grandma and Grandpa. I will take as many photos as my son will let me because we know it will someday not be the same!
Go for a Fun Drive – If the kiddos do well in the car, go for a drive over naptime and treat yourself to a drive through coffee. While your little ones nap, enjoy a quiet drive or park and focus on doing something for yourself like reading a good book or painting your nails or simply enjoying your coffee – hot! I have done this and sometimes it is the only way for my son to take a nap and also for me to focus on something other than tasks at home!
I hope this list can give you some ideas and inspiration for your summer! Download the bucket list below and see how many you can check off this season. What else would you add?
This is the day that the Lord has made;
Psalm 118:24
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
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