100 Summer Ideas for Kids of all ages!

So with summer now well on it's way, we may not want to spend oodles of cash to engage our kids. So low and behold, bookmark this page and make it a favorite, folks!
I have 100 ideas to refer back to when you hear the boredom complaints! If you have several friends who are interested, you could have a craft day where each mom prepares the materials for one craft and you set up tables at someone's house where the children can go from table to table doing many different crafts. Alright, and here we go!

1) Dye pasta/rice and let kids create jewelry and pictures.{Pasta, yarn, alcohol, baggies, food coloring}
2) Paint rocks (I don't know why, but kids love to do this).
3) Make stepping stones (kits at Hobby Lobby) and paint these.
4) Paint by number (at Dollar Tree and some online!).
5) Fingerpaint. Outside maybe?
6) Paint with foam stamps and rollers (Oriental Trading Company has 2 sets).
7) Print Doodle Art pages and color
8) Homemade crayons-Melt little crayon stubs in foil cupcake liners. Cool and color with your new creation.
9) Bingo stamper (dot marker) coloring pages from Oriental Trading Company. There are some free printable dot pages from DLTK-kids.com
10) Paint little plaster of Paris figurines found at Wal-Mart or Oriental Trading Company.
11) Paint sun catchers
12) Paint salt dough ornaments {flour, salt, water}
13) Get a rainbow loom and create bracelets and anklets
14) Visit different malls in the area besides Fox Valley or Premium Outlet.  Try Woodfield, Louis Joliet or Stratford Square!
15) Bounce Town in Oswego or Airtastic in Aurora
16) Lil Monkey Bizness in Wheaton
17) Kids Town in Wheaton
18) Let the kids play at either IKEA in Schaumburg or Bolingbrook in the kids play area while you shop!
19) Use perler beads (fusion beads) to make a work of art
20) Do rubbings of leaves, coins, a comb, etc...
21) Sand art- buy empty bottles at Hobby Lobby or Oriental Trading Company. 22) Visit Blackberry Farm in Aurora, IL
23) Make a special friend at a nursing home and visit weekly!
24) Make stick puppets and have a puppet show
25) Make homemade popsicles using juice, fruit, yogurt and or pudding
26) Visit the Riverwalk in Naperville and play at the park after your walk!
27) Decorate visors with jewels or foam shapes
28) Contact family members you haven't seen in a while and visit.
29) Make a mobile
30) Make a mosaic with paper or tile pieces
31) Make Rice Krispie Treats (be creative! dye them, add candies, etc)
32) Make an ice cream stand!
33) Make ice cream in a ziplock baggie recipe here. {milk, sugar, vanilla extract in small bag. Outside larger bag with rock salt or ice cream salt. Let the kids squish until they feel a soft serve feel}
34) Make homemade play-doh
35) Ice Sculpting: Make lots of ice cubes (Meijer sells different shaped ice trays), drop food coloring in them, and let the kids build scupltures outside. or just let them dry on the concrete for art!
36) Go to a pottery painting place. Some have specials on certain days!
37) Go bowling. Best tip, register your kids at kidsbowlfree.com You'll be happy you did!
38) Pony rides! The only one I know of is Jaynesway Farms in Bartlett. (Comment if you know any others!)
39) Start up with the library's summer reading club.
40) Register your kids for Resolution Church's Investigation Destination VBS (www.resolutionchurch.org) 4 nights kid free, dinners included!!!
41) Get snow cones or blend ice and flavoring to make them yourselves.
42) Go to the Phillips Park zoo for the zoo, park and there is a nice splashpad. 43) Go on a family bike ride.
44) Just play in the sandbox
45) Go to the Children's Museum
46) Go ice skating
47) Go to a waterpark
48) Go to an amusement park
49) Go to the beach; Centennial beach Naperville ($3/pp after 5pm!)
50) Go fishing
51) Go camping (even in the backyard).
52) Go ride Go Carts
53) Play miniature golf
54) Go to the $1 movies at Regal Cantera 30 on Tuesday & Wednesdays at 10am
55) Games Day
56) Puzzles Day
57) Gather giant boxes and let the kids make a "city" in the backyard (firestation, school, McDonald's).
58) Spray bottle painting. Buy a white flat sheet at Anna's Linens for $4.99. Let the kids loose on this one. {sheet, liquid watercolor paint, spray bottles}
59) Lite Brite
60) Spin Art
61) Lemonade Stand
62) Make S'mores
63) Plant a garden
64) Make soap or candles
65) Write the story of your family
66) Play dress-up with the girls (make-up, mani/pedi, and hair) or have a spa day.
67) Indoor scavenger hunt (save for a rainy day)
68) Outdoor scavenger hunt
69) 4th of July-Handprint painting flag (palm is blue, fingers alternate red and white)
70) Buy school supplies, be ahead of the game!
71) Make back to school crafts like a yellow school bus out of construction paper
72) Make a windsock use stickers and cutting the bottom off of a brown paper lunch bag , add streamers
73) Make an incentive, reward based chore chart. Fun for you and the kids!
74) Make a fort with blankets (rainy day)
75) Let the kids make a scrapbook using all the pictures you took of their Summer Fun.
76) Make a circus in your backyard complete with rope walking (jumprope), cotton candy and popcorn, stuffed animal circus acts and carnival games.
77) Go to a splash pad.
78) Create a sprinkler fun zone in your yard (Slip 'n slide, etc...)
79) Alphabet scavenger hunt- kids must find something that starts with A, then B, etc.... through Z
80) Camera/picture scavenger hunt- if you trust your kids with your camera, send them out to take pics of certain things.
81) Make homemade bubbles. Dollar Tree has giant wands, or you can make your own. {corn syrup, dishwashing liquid}
82) Make homemade goop. {cornstarch, water, food coloring, I recommend keeping it outside, in a bag inside or on a tablecloth.}
83) Draw with sidewalk chalk. Make a train to sit inside, or boat, or a race track.
84) Painting. simple.
85) Fly kites
86) Make face and body paint. {vegetable shortening, cornstarch, food coloring}
87) Go to an outdoor concert. Free concerts in the park are in Oswego!
88) Service project: contact the local food bank and find out what they are in greatest need of, then ask friends and neighbors to help. Or visit Feed My Starving Children with kids 5 and older. One is in Aurora near the mall! (http://www.fmsc.org/)
89) Buy window markers and let the kids go crazy...as long as they clean the windows when finished.
90) Make a pyramid out of empty cans and throw a ball to see how many you can knock down.
91) Make a birdseed biscuit. {birdseed, flour, water, cookie cutter, oil, foil, cookie sheet, straw, ribbon}
92) Make a time capsule.
93) Make a game out of cleaning up.  Maybe the kids can find old toys or clothing and donate them to Hesed House, Mutual Ground or Goodwill.
94) Make Jell-o
95) Make cupcakes together
96) Visit new local parks. Feed the ducks while you're there!
97) Go on a bug hunt.  Dollar Stores sell kids and magnifying glasses
99) Sponge art (water, hot day, sponge)
100) Movie time at home: make popcorn and have everyone's favorite candy on hand.


I'd love for you to add your own suggestions in to help others in the comment section below! Happy summer!