10 Summer Activities for Kids that Don’t Involve Screens

10 Summer Activities for Kids that Don’t Involve Screens

We bet that some of your most cherished childhood summer memories are the ones where you were outside getting dirty! When you think of past summer breaks,  you think of ice cream by the pool or a bike rides through the neighborhood and most likely, not the movies or games you played in front of a screen. 

Make your child’s summer one for the history books with an activity plan that you can use all summer long. Limit screen time and promote together time. Break the screen habit this summer with these 10 cheap family activities that will make memories for years to come.

Soap Carving

Soap carving is a great way to introduce children to the art of carving! With a few inexpensive items, a bar of soap and popsicle sticks, you’ll be on your way to an afternoon of imagination. Carving bars of soap with wooden tools made from Popsicle sticks gives kids a safe alternative to knives and wood. And making soap boats that float in the bathtub is good, clean entertainment during bathtime.

Try this simple whale soap carving tutorial from the Complete Guide to Soap Carving. Author Janet Bolyard’s soap brand of choice is Ivory, however, before she purchases new soap, she gives it a “freshness squeeze,” by gently pressing in one corner of the soap. If the corner of the bar is hard as a rock, the soap is too dry.  In the Complete Guide to Soap Carving, Janet will walk you through on how to make wooden tools and patterns, carving techniques, and 22 projects from quick carvings to more elaborate figurines.

Learning with Activity Books

Did you know that wolves can hear other wolves howl up to 6 miles away in a forest? Or did you know that the eyes and nose of a frog are on top of its head so it can breathe and see when the rest of its body is underwater? These fun facts can be found in our BigFoot Activity Book! Activity books are a great learning tool while on summer vacation. 

“The BigFoot Activity Book is my daughter’s new favorite book. She has been completing the puzzles and the activities whether we are at home relaxing or on the go.  I love that there are a great variety of stickers included inside of the book and the coolest sticker page is one she can color of her favorite character, Bigfoot!” – Blogger, Momee Friends of Long Island

Sample a few activity pages on our BigFoot page here or check out the entire BigFoot Seek & Find Series here.

Growing your Own Food

Get the kids in the garden this summer to disguise a science lesson as a day of outdoor activities! There’s a unique satisfaction of growing your own salad. It’s great fun— watching the plants develop, fighting off insects and bugs, harvesting—and then at the end of it all wolfing it down. By planting easy-to-grow kitchen crops, you will understand the life cycles of annuals— food plants that die down every winter and start again from seed in the spring—and what they need to flourish. The herbs and greens you grow will give you the chance to practice your chef skills in the kitchen. Get started with this spring salad box container tutorial.

Raising self-sufficient children is every parent’s dream. While teaching life skills and STEAM learning (science, technology, engineering, art, math), Eco Kids Self Sufficiency Handbook offers a wide range of ways to capture your child’s imagination while making a positive contribution to the world around us. Twenty-eight exciting projects support integrated STEAM such as building a wind turbine and a go-kart to creating light, growing vegetables, and making green gifts.

Making Origami

Origami is a great low mess option for those rainy summer days. It combines problem-solving with simple geometry folding in some art for fun!  “If your child is very young, help them by folding and unfolding the project yourself first. This way, your child won’t have to pay close attention to exact fold lines and will finish folding their origami in the blink of an eye. Work on a smooth, hard surface, and don’t forget good lighting.” – Mila Bertinetti Montevecchi, Author of Origami for Kids

Children can become interested in origami at a young age. But the diagrams and explanations provided often use advanced language that is directed toward adults, with symbols and vocabulary that are difficult for young readers to understand. Mila created her book, Origami for Kids, so that kids can also have fun following instructions and creating designs that are within their grasp. 

Reading a Book

The amount of time young children spend in front of a screen is an issue worldwide. Reading is your classic way of unplugging. Bringing books to life is a unique way to incorporate play and literacy while connecting to the characters in the story. As a family, you can create a piece of art centered around the book or act it out in a family play. It’s a chance to promote creativity and spark imagination development as your entire family unplugs.

Mario and the Aliens is a new book that tells a humorous story with some perspective about electronic devices. A sweet little boy named Mario learns to get off his computer and makes friends with space visitors. In addition to its mindfulness message, Mario learns to be open to new experiences and accept differences. At the end of the book, Author Carolina Zanotti includes discussion questions to get young readers thinking about ways to have fun away from a screen.