30 Educational Summer Ideas for Students of All Ages
Summer is finally here! Kids are excited to finally relax and recharge from a long school year. Soon enough you might hear, “I’m bored!” What can they do during the summer? There are many educational activities for kids to do and we’ve come up with a list of 30 activities for kids of all ages!
1. Make a Summer Bucket List – What do you want to do this summer? What are some goals that you have? Summer goes by way too fast, so create a Summer Bucket List of 10-20 things that you would like to do this summer.
2. Read, Read, Read! – Reading at any age is extremely important. Encourage your child to read for at least 15-30 minutes each day. Plan regular trips to the library so that kids can pick out their own books. If they are interested in the material, then they are more likely to want to read. Create your own family reading challenge!
3. Write Your Own Short Story – Encourage your kids to write their own little book. In order to do this, they will need a beginning, a middle and an end. Kids can create their own characters with different personality traits. Have them think of a fun, catchy title to their story and then they can start writing! Check out the resources below to help them.
How Your Kids Can Make a Book in Under an Hour
4. Learning Apps – There are endless amounts of educational learning apps that kids can utilize during the summertime to keep on top of their math, reading, and writing skills. Kids can use these apps at any time on their phones or I-Pads and many of them are in the form of a game which makes it a lot more enjoyable for them. Check out some of these below:
21 Common Core-Aligned Math Apps for High School Students
5. Take a Class – Why not sign your child up for a class either at the park district, library, or online? There are so many different options for them to choose from such as art classes, STEM classes, music classes, cooking classes, martial arts and more. Check with your local community to see what they’re offering.
6. Get a Job – If you have a teenager then it might be time for them to get a summer job. The best types of summer jobs for teens are: local food and restaurant places, retail stores, community centers, baby-sitting, mowing lawns, life-guarding, camp counselor and movie theaters. Apply online at Snagajob, a website that offers jobs for teens in all states.
7. Create a Scavenger Hunt – A super fun idea for kids is to create a Scavenger Hunt! Make a list of 10-15 items that you and your friends need to find outside. Make some of the items easy to find but also make some difficult to find to make it more challenging. Break your friends into different teams and see who is able to come back first with all items!
8. Internships – Both high school students and college students can benefit from interning during the summer. This allows them to work in a field that they are interested in and receive mentorship from experienced individuals. Some internships are paid while others are not so please be sure to research them thoroughly before applying.
10 Paid Internships Abroad in 2017
9. Community Service – Teenagers can have a very productive summer by volunteering their time. A student’s involvement in their community can make their college application really stand out. What types of community service and volunteer work can kids do?
– Volunteer at a food pantry
– Contact local libraries to volunteer to read
– Help out at an animal hospital or rescue place
– Volunteer at a nursing home
– Contact hospitals
10. Camp Out in Your Backyard – Invite friends over and have a campout in your own backyard. If you have a tent, put it up and use sleeping bags to sleep in. Roast s’mores and play games outside. Remember to use bug spray!
11. Get Physical! – Since school is out, many kids do tend to get lazy and want to lay around the house watching TV and playing video games. Make sure they are being active! Sign them up for a sports team and encourage them to go outside and play. It’s very important to keep their physical activity up and there are so many ways that kids can keep active during the summer.
12. Learn a Musical Instrument – Research shows that students that are regularly taking music lessons perform higher academically than students that do not. If your child is not already playing an instrument, then consider having them start. Music provides many other benefits to kids too, such as relieving stress and anxiety, boosting confidence and improving their focus and memory. iAchieve Learning offers private music lessons to students for a wide variety of instruments. Click here to learn more!
13. Research Colleges – Summer is a great time to start researching and visiting colleges that you might be interested in. Students can start putting together their college applications, and even do an Online Campus Tour to hundreds of schools in the entire world.
14. Create Your Own Informational YouTube Video – What are you good at? Is there something that you would like to teach someone else? Create your own YouTube video showing viewers how to do something. This could be how to bake a cake, how to create a website, how to play an instrument, how to make a wreath – the possibilities are endless!
15. Get Creative – Let your creative juices flow and try a new art project. The website Fun-A-Day has 15 Summer Art Projects for kids to try. Also, check out these 50 Summer Crafts for Kids. Make a kite, make your own ice cream or create a seashell garden! iAchieve Learning is also holding Summer Art classes for kids ages 3-6 and 7-10. Come Branch Out and Get Creative at Twisted Tree Yoga to have some summer fun!
16. Learn How to Cook or Bake – Teach your kids how to cook or bake or if they already know how to, have them try out a new recipe for the family. For younger kids this is a great way to teach them how to measure ingredients and to cook safely. For older kids, this allows them to become more creative with their cooking and baking skills.
10 No-Bake Desserts That Kids Can Make Themselves
21 Fun and Delicious Recipes You Can Make with Your Kids
17. Start a Garden – Starting a garden is a great learning experience for kids of all ages. It involves careful planning, teaches responsibility and healthy eating habits. Help your child research what they would like to grow whether it be vegetables or flowers. Spend a day buying all materials and planting the garden together. Teach your child how to care for the plants and watch them grow and bloom.
18. Get Sleep – During the school year many students are overly stressed and don’t get as much sleep as they should. It is recommended that kids get around 8-9 hours of sleep each night. You don’t want your child to sleep all day during the summer, but do allow them to sleep in, within reason. This will vary depending on their schedules and what each family deems reasonable.
19. Start Preparing for the ACT or SAT – High school students may want to start preparing for the ACT or SAT during the summer. Test prep can be overwhelming, especially for students that are just beginning the process. Studying during the summer will be less stressful than during the school year and students can do it on their own time. iAchieve Learning offers one-on-one test prep for both the ACT and SAT and students will receive a complimentary textbook and also have access to our Online Test Prep Portal. To learn more about our Test Prep, click here.
20. Create Your Own Board Game – Challenge your children to make their own board game. There are so many fun games to play out there, but why not come up with something new? This is a fun project that kids can do on a rainy day.
21. Plan a Trip or a Getaway – If you are planning on taking a family vacation, have your kids help with the planning. Have them do research online about different places that they’re interested in seeing and ask them to plan out the itinerary for a day. Otherwise, have them research places closer to home so that maybe you can take a short road trip or stay somewhere fun for 1-2 nights.
22. Journal – Encourage your kids to keep up their writing skills over the summer. For younger kids, have them begin journaling by writing a couple of sentences about what they did during the day. Use these summer writing prompts from Journaling 4 Faith to get them started.
23. Make a Scrapbook – Have your kids create their own scrapbook! They can take their own pictures or use pictures of family and friends. You can buy creative supplies such as colored paper, stickers, and letters at The Dollar Store or any craft store. Check out How to Scrapbook with Children for some more tips.
24. Get a New Pet – A great way to teach kids about responsibility is by getting a family pet. You can go big and rescue a dog or a cat but if you’re not ready for that, then start off by getting something smaller like a rabbit, guinea pig or even fish. Set up specific rules and chores that the kids have to follow such as taking the pet for a walk, feeding it, and cleaning up after it.
25. Create Your Own Mini Olympics with Friends – Kids can get together and create their own Olympics with different competitive activities. They don’t need much at all to do this, just some organization and small props. Turn this into an annual competition for neighborhood kids and friends!
26. Learn a New Foreign Language – If your child doesn’t already know a foreign language, get them started over the summer! There are many free online resources to help kids get started such as Learn a Language or duolingo. You can also purchase an online course or hire a private tutor to assist you. iAchieve Learning offers foreign language tutoring and our instructors will come to your home to give the lessons. Click here to learn more about foreign language tutoring.
27. Declutter Your Bedroom – Since kids have all of the time in the world over the summer, why not do some summer cleaning! Have them go through all of their closets and drawers and donate clothes that no longer fit them or that they don’t wear anymore. Get everything organized in the place that it belongs. If there is a lot of stuff to get rid of, consider having a garage sale so that they can make a little money.
28. Learn New Card Games – When is the last time you played a card game? Many kids know the classic card games such as Crazy Eights, Spoons, Old Maid and Rummy. Try learning some new card games and have fun with friends and family. Check out the links below to try some new card games.
The Rules to All of Your Favorite Card Games
29. Go to a Museum – Visit a museum to change up your daily routine. Museums provide memorable experiences for all children, allow them to learn about something new, and give them a hands on learning approach. Research online which museums you would like to visit in your hometown or in a town that you’re planning to visit.
30. Find a New Musical Artist That You Like – Kids get very used to listening to the same musical artists and bands all of the time. Encourage them to explore other genres of music and find a new artist that they like to listen to. Going to live music events is a great idea, too. There are many summer festivals that provide live music in the summer.
Written by Sarah Kochan
