I love summer. I feel like there is so much more to do in the summer than in the other months. It might be hot, but I don’t mind it so much. Summer is a great time to bring out the fun and easy toddler activities.
There are so many fun things to do that are toddler appropriate. And who doesn’t love anything that involves water? Summer is great because you can take the mess outside too. It’s easier clean up and less stress on mom. In this post I am sharing a bunch of ideas for fun summer activities for toddlers.
This post contains affiliate links.
Key Ingredients for Activities That Are Fun For Toddlers
One thing that is great about toddlers is it doesn’t take much to entertain them. They love cardboard boxes and a bucket of water. If you are going to do fun activities with your toddlers, plan on using some of these key ingredients:
- Washable paint. Take the stress away by getting the washable stuff, cause it’ll get everywhere.
- Water balloons. Buy the easy and quick fill ones.
- A shallow bin. This can come in handy for those sensory bins and water activities.
- Sidewalk chalk.
- Balloons. There are a ton of activities you can do with balloons.
- Play-Doh.
- Old clothes. Pull out those clothes they don’t really wear anymore, or even go to Goodwill and get a few clothes that can get dirty. It’s less stress on you and they don’t ruin their nice clothes.
- Wipes. Can’t have too many of these.
- A positive attitude. Haha, toddlers can be hard to work with, but don’t stress over the small stuff. Most things can be replaced or don’t really matter. And you can always throw them in the bath.
Fun Outdoor Summer Activities For Toddlers
There are so many fun outdoor summer activities for toddlers. Some are perfect for hot days and others can be done in the evenings when it cools off or in the mornings while it’s still cool. Either way, these are sure to be a favorite.
1 – Nature Scavenger Hunt
Do a fun scavenger hunt. You can go on a walk and look for items, do it in your backyard, or go to a park. You can download my fun toddler scavenger hunt.
2 – Kite
Even adults can enjoy a good flying kite. Buy one and take it to the park on those windy days. The Delta kites always seem to fly really well. Just don’t make the mistake of getting one from the Dollar Store. They don’t work.
3 – Ice Fun
There are a ton of fun things to do with ice. You can freeze balloons with water in them and then take them outside the next day and play with them. You can also freeze toys and then have the kids extract them with some kitchen tools.
4 – Sponge Targets
Make a target on your fence, or get a sheet and make a target. Then get those big sponges (you can find them at the Dollar Store) and get them wet in a bucket and try to the hit the target. If you make the targets out of chalk or something that easily comes off with water, then they can try to erase it.
5 – Make a Bird Feeder
Make a fun and easy bird feeder and watch the birds.
6 – Camp in the Backyard
If you can handle possibly not sleeping for a night, do a campout in the backyard. You can even have a fire and make s’mores. This is something the kids will always remember. If you have a trampoline, you could sleep on that too! If you need a good camping list, you can download this one for free.
7 – Nature Crafts
Nature crafts are so easy and toddlers love them. All you need is some paper and glue, then have them go around the yard collecting nature and gluing it. They love it and requires little work from you. You can also do a leaf rubbing by placing a leaf between two pieces of paper and then using a crayon on the top paper and color the imprint of the leaf.
8 – Fruit Picking
Find a place close to you that has a U-pick farm and pick some fruit.
9 – Shadow Drawing
Trace shadows with the sun. You can do this with paper and toys, or just your shadow and chalk.
10 – Sensory Bins
Make these fun sensory bins. Some of them can be done inside if you don’t mind the mess or take them outside.
11 – Stuffed Animal Picnic
Go on a picnic, but make it all about the stuffed animals. The kids will love it!
12 – Mud Kitchen
If it rained recently, let your kids play in the mud. Give them some kitchen tools to make mud pies!
13 – Bubble Foam
Make bubble foam. This can also be done inside in the bath or sink or in a shallow bin.
14 – Homemade Bubbles
Make homemade bubbles. Little kids can’t get enough of bubbles.
15 – Water Balloons
You can do a ton of things with water balloons. Have a water balloon fight, balloon toss, balloon races, balloon battleship, or just explore with them. Kids love them. Get the quick fill ones to make it easy on yourself.
16 – Sidewalk Chalk
Don’t underestimate the power of sidewalk chalk. You can draw with them, but you can also create obstacle courses, hopscotch, write inspiring messages, and more! Check out these sidewalk chalk ideas.
17 – Nature Bracelets
These are the best! Just get some duct tape and make a nature bracelet with the things in your yard.
18 – Sprinkler
If you don’t have a pool, buy a sprinkler. In fact, buy three sprinklers. This way you can switch them out and the kids don’t get bored of them as fast. I loved playing in the sprinkler as a child. Walmart has some pretty cheap ones.
19 – Pudding Painting
Do some fun pudding painting. Get a shower liner, vanilla pudding, and food coloring. Mix the pudding with different colors and place them in bowls. Give the kids kitchen utensils as paint brushes and let them go to town on the shower liner. Plus, they can eat it too!
20 – Window Art
Let your kids paint on your windows. It’s the perfect canvas and it washes off easy.
21 – Water Slide or Splash pad
The best thing I did this summer is buy a blow up water slide. My kids love it, and their friends come over and love it too. It keeps them entertained for hours. This is the one we have. You could also get a fun kids splash pad. We have done those in the past too.
22 – Glow In The Dark Ring Toss
Make your own glow in the dark ring toss with some bottles, glow tape, and glow bracelets (also get those from the Dollar Store). Put the glow tape around the bottles and set them up in the dark, then toss the bracelets at them.
Easy & Fun Indoor Summer Activities For Toddlers
On those too hot summer days, you might want to be inside. Here are some fun summer activities for toddlers to do indoors.
Homemade Ice Cream (In a Bag)
Who doesn’t love ice cream? Making it in a bag is even cooler.
Toddler Yoga
Get those kids moving and do some fun yoga. You can find some good toddler moves here or search on YouTube.
Color Scavenger Hunt
Do a scavenger hunt for colors. You can also do this activity outside. Have the kids find 10 different items of the same color around the house. This will keep them busy and they’ll have fun. You can download my color chart here.
Tape road
Get some masking tape and make a fun road on the floor for cars. The kids can make a fun little town. Mine play on this for hours.
Finger Painting
It’s always fun to finger paint. Buy a big poster board and some finger paints and let them go to town outside in either no clothes or dirty clothes.
Popsicle Bath
A surprisingly fun activity is taking a bath while eating a popsicle. It might also encourage bath time.
Crafts
Do a fun toddler approved craft. One of my favorites for toddlers is animal finger puppets!
Dance Party
Have a dance party. We like to look up fun YouTube videos for kids and dance to them!
Balloons
You can do so many fun things with balloons. My kids like to play keepy uppy or put water in a regular balloon and make it their “baby” (outside of course).
Q-tip Painting
A fun twist to painting that makes less mess and can be educational. You can get Q-tip painting templates here.
Build a Fort
Build a fort and then let the kids sleep in it.
Make Popsicles
You can do this with just about anything really. Sometimes my kids just like water popsicles. But we have also froze root beer, apple juice, and Kool-Aid.
Learning Crafts
Do some fun crafts that help you learn! Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean you can’t learn something.
Shaving Cream Fun
Learn with shaving cream or just play in it. All you need is some shaving cream and a cookie sheet.
Play-Doh Mats
Play-Doh is always fun, and Play-Doh mats make them even more fun.
Balloon Rockets
Make these fun balloon rockets and knock their socks off!
Science Experiment
Make a fun science experiment. The kids don’t have to understand the science behind it because they think it’s magic.
Paper Activities
Do some fun toddler dot to dots, line tracing, Sticker Dot activity, Toddler dinosaur puzzles, or letter tracing.
For even MORE ideas, check out my Summer Activities Binder!
I hope you found some fun ideas for some activities you can enjoy with your toddler in the summer!
There are so many fun summer activities to do with your toddler inside and outside. Most of the time they can be super simple activities. Toddlers are pretty easy to please. Make a super easy nature craft with some glue and sticks, or make a fun craft with some pudding and spatula. I hope you can find something to create fun and lasting memories with your little one.
Leave A Comment