Are you ready for summer with the kids? I was talking with my daughter Krissy, and her kids just got out of school. She was saying she hasn’t gotten her summer kid’s schedules, activities or fun stuff for the kids set yet. We talked about activities, camping, summer camp, swimming, and our DIY Summer Camp… We hope you enjoy these kids ideas for summer and two free printables for making summer fun!
Summer for the kids is finally here, for us too! We are planning a few DIY summer camp packed with fun kids activities for our grandkids to come to spend time with us. Aunt Sammie and I have planned a little summer camp to give my Krissy daughter a break. She has four kids, all under 9 years old. We plan on having her kids come to stay with us for a week, one or two at a time. We listed our precious resources at the end of this post too, we hope this helps you have fun this summer.
Fun Stuff For The Kids
Audrey wants to learn to sew, loves swimming, hiking, and anything to do with crafts. As a matter of fact, after an embroidery kit, I gave her she dove in learning the skill and loves it! I even gave her a watermelon felt and embroidery purse kit I picked out for her birthday. She made it in one day!
What do your kids enjoy doing? We hope our list will have you adding more fun stuff for the kids to do.
- Below we have a list of DIY summer camp ideas, free printables, and resources for you to have fun this summer with your kids or grandkids, nieces or nephews…
Camp at my house will be so much fun! Peaceable Kingdom sent us a few items for our DIY summer camp. They have these great summer camp journals. They are so adorable! You might enjoy them for your kids or grandkids too, they are high quality and filled with really fun stuff for the kids.
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If you are sending off a child to summer camp you might want to surprise your child with this summer camp journal
There is a summer camp journal 
You can preview them over on Amazon by clicking images. Makes me wish I could go to kids-camp again. Why didn’t they have these when I was a kid?
DIY Summer Camp
Easy Printable and download options
DIY Summer Camp Ideas Free Printable
- For personal use only. When sharing please link to this post.
DIY Your Own Summer Camp
- Find activities nearby where you live and take field trips
- Have Game Days Or Game Times
- Plan Arts and Craft Activities
- (Inflatable) Backyard bowling
- Water Balloons
Games
- Get supplies like the summer camp journal for kids to fill out
- Felt Crafts
- Sculpty Clay Crafts
- Sewing
- Make crowns
- Visit the local pool or water-park
- Visit a museum or historic site
- Create a summer book list and Practice reading (free printable summer book reading list)
- Teach kids photography skills
- Hikes
- Park excursions
- Water excursions beach, lake or river walks
- Music Time
- Teach them an instrument
- Garden activities like planting flowers or succulents
- Teach Kids Cooking or Baking – Teaching Teens To Bake and Cook
- Roast marshmallows
- Set up a backyard tent
- Tie Dye (How to tie-dye ombre) (How to tie dye a sunburst)
- Exploring nature
- Build a birdhouse
or Paint a birdhouse
- Play Frisbee or Ball games like Four Square…
- Blowing Bubbles (bubbles
and bubble wands
)
- Bike Riding
- DIY Star Wars Tee Shirts (templates in the post)
- Music Time
- DIY ice cream sundaes stations
- Hula hoops
contest
- Exercise time, try simple yoga, exercise activities or jump rope
- Dance to music with dance ribbons
For us, this is a DIY list is perfect for when the kids come down to visit and join in our grandma’s summer camp. I have lots of activities and outings planned. We really liked these ideas too for at home camps DIY Summer Camp via momof6 and DIY summer camp via shespeaks.
For Sammie (my teen) I also subscribe online where she can learn activities on her own. There is skillshare, Craftsy, and CreativeBug which are just a few of our favorites. Right now, you can get 1 Month + 1 Class For Just $1 for CreativeBug which as e-courses for kids as well as teens and adults. All three have too many creative classes to mention. Head over to find out more. We like each one for different reasons. Mom’s you’ll love them for camp nap-time learning too.
Pinterest Board Kids Arts & Crafts
Fun Stuff For The Kids
In our local area surrounding Paso Robles, Ca. Outings to our local San Luis Obispo botanical gardens, our local pool, and beaches.
Then there are a few museums in the Paso Robles community that would be fun for the kids to see; such as the Estrella Warbirds Museum and Pioneer Museum. For the younger kids there is the Paso Kids Museum. And then there is the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero, CA which is at a lake with a great park.
If we head out to the coast in San Simeon is Hearst Castle and at the beach, you can view elephant seals at Piedras Blancas in San Simeon, just north of Cambria.
If we are staying close to home there are walking paths and parks nearby. The Historic Carnegie Hall Library and our local library.
Of course, we are making a book reading list, playing games, sewing lessons, pampering days, and lots of other kids activities will be happening for our home camp and making memories. You might enjoy our summer Pinterest board filled with ideas, checklists and crafts too.
Free Printable Blank Summer Reading List
I made a summer reading book list printable for my grandkids and thought you may enjoy them too. Feel free to grab the free printable and print them to add for your child’s summer activities. Easy print option via the link or image print on a standard good quality computer paper. Personal Use only. If sharing please link to this post. Thank you.
We also received this awesome 12 Postcards From Camp booklet, filled with fun postcards the kids can send home. They have a good selection of postcards kids under 10 years old would enjoy. Which is great for them to practice handwriting skills and connecting via snail mail.
A summer camp at my house always includes word games, and card games such as rummy, go-fish , slap-jack, and crazy eights. Peaceable Kingdom has the cutest deck of card selections. Here are just a few of the ones we have seen and loved. Which are great for summer camp or taking along for a camping trip.
All my kids, when they were little enjoyed camp at their grandmas. She did lots of fun stuff for the kids. They made forts by trees, laid out blankets and read stories. When they got bigger they went to kids-camp for nature, music, and dance.
What summer camp plans do you have for your kids?
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More Fun Stuff For The Kids
- Free printable camping checklist for summer camps, camping; resources and links to lots of camping checklists.
- 45 kids Crafts and Activities to keep your kids busy and have fun while learning!
- 45 American Girl Craft Kits & DIYs
- Kids Crafts 15 Kids Crafts DIYs To Make With The Kids
- 21 Cute & Fun Origami Crafts For Kids
- Fun With Stitchables Kids Crafts Books and Activities
- Visit our craft gallery
