School is out; summer is here. If you’re asking yourself, “What should I do with my kids this summer?” look no further! While we may be known as the cookie experts here at Whisked, we also know how to have great summertime fun with our favorite kiddos. So, we’ve created a summer bucket list for kids below. Cross them off your list throughout the summer!
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Easy Baking for Kids- Let’s start with our specialty. Baking is our favorite pastime, and there’s tons of easy recipes for kids to try out with the help of a parent or babysitter. Besides being great fun with a delicious outcome, kids can develop fine motor skills and learn about measurements through baking. Cookies will be fun to make and can help pass the time on a rainy day. If you’re looking for a shorter prep time with less ingredients, try your favorite brownie recipe!
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Fun Outdoor Water Activities- Any type of water activity will be perfect for a hot summer day! Purchase a few water sprayers from the Dollar Tree, and play games outside like tag or hide and seek- the water version of course. If you don’t have a sprinkler or the ability to set one up, look up spray parks in your town. These playgrounds include special fountains and sprinklers for kids to splash and run through. The Joseph Cole Community Center in NE Washington, DC offers a great spray park for kids in the summer! The city of DC also offers several outdoor public pools, which can be found in this list.
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Make your Own Popsicles- Easy and delicious, making popsicles is the perfect summer idea for kids. There’s plenty of popsicle recipes online featuring different fruits, yogurts, and even vegetables, but freezing the juice already in your fridge also works. Help your child pour the juice into special popsicle molds, or place popsicle sticks in a regular ice tray. Reusable popsicle molds are available in many stores - here is a cute option from Target. If you make the popsicles in the morning, they should be ready for an afternoon snack or a dessert after dinner!
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Create a Summer Craft or Game- Kids love arts, crafts, and homemade games because their young minds are so imaginative. There are endless lists online for both indoor and outdoor summer crafts, but our favorites are the interactive ones! Take pool noodle race tracks, for example. Simply cut a pool noodle in half longways, and prop it up to form a 90 degree angle with the ground. Then, have kids send toy cars down the homemade ramp in a race! Another classic summer activity is sidewalk chalk. Kids can illustrate your driveway or sidewalk with doodles and games, letting their imagination run wild.
- Garden- Gardening with your child can be a great outdoor bonding activity. It’s fun and simple, but can teach underlying lifelong lessons of patience and dedication. To start, purchase a few seeds packets from your local hardware store. Tomatoes, green beans, and cucumbers all grow well in the summertime in the northeast United States. Taking care of your little garden by watering the plants and weeding can be a small but fun daily activity. Should you decide to start the garden indoors, painting the flower pot with your child will also be a great way to personalize the garden with some artistic creativity.
