BEST Summer Fun for kids

The ABCs to the BEST Summer Fun for Kids

What are your fondest memories of summer? Do they include the city pool? Putt-putt golf? Late-night talks with your best friend on the porch? If they do, then you’re like me. There are songs I hear today that bring back the smell of chlorine and visions of lifeguards. Those are my BEST Summer Fun Memories. So what are some easy ways to add fun to your kids’ summer?

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“B” is for Best Friend

Some of my favorite memories are of hanging out with my best friend (who happened to be my neighbor). We would ride through the neighborhood, planning all the amazing things we were going to do for the summer. We would stay up late and get up early. The summer was ours and would last forever (or 2 months).

One of these memories was of making Monkey Bread. She taught me the fundamentals of monkey bread… biscuits, cinnamon, butter, and sugar. Oh man, I can taste that sugary goodness right now. Here’s the perfect kid-friendly recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

And, as evidenced by this photo, monkey bread is well loved (even as a swim break snack!).

Great for: all friends

Price: Supplies only

“E” is for Empathy

Last year, I purchased Smile on a whim. It turned out to be one of my daughter’s favorite summer reads. This year, we added Sisters to the collection. This New York Times bestselling set follows middle school Girl Scout Raina and her little sister, Amara, through the trials of growing up. If you have daughters like I do, this is a great book about the importance of lifelong relationships.

Great for: Elementary – Middle School, especially sisters!

“S” is for Sowing Seeds

Gardening is such a wonderful activity (so says my mother). I personally have a hard time with nature. We don’t always get along, and my gardening efforts often end in death. RIP, little tomato! (Channel your inner Veggie Tales here).

My kids joined a Garden Club this Spring in our local homeschool group. Their first harvest was a radish that we immediately had to take home and cook up! Since June is also National Fruits and Vegetables Month, this is the best time to start a garden! It doesn’t have to be a big garden in your yard. It can be an herb garden in your window! (Yay, it doesn’t involve me going out into nature and accidentally killing it.)

“T” is for Tall Tales

Some of the best times we have are during our family read-alouds.  The Chronicles of Narnia, Dr. Seuss, Percy Jackson, any J.K. Rowling book, and we are hooked! My kids love to read Tall Tales all summer and weave some of their own, too. The Reading Adventure Journal is a great tool for encouraging summer reading fun. Add the books and start encouraging each other to succeed with regular check-ins. (Maybe with some of that Monkey Bread!)

I’ll leave you with this BEST summer fun quote from novelist Henry James

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.Henry James

Dachelle

Hi, I’m Dachelle. I’m a homeschooling mom of 3 in the South. I love chocolate and have been known to hide it from my children. I can often be found reading a good book (or even sometimes just an okay book) and enjoying a jar of Nutella — don’t judge. I blog, here, at HideTheChocolate.com when I’m not creating book clubs and making lists…lots and lots of lists (it’s an addiction). Learn more…

www.hidethechocolate.com