25 fun summer learning activities for kids

After lockdown and homeschooling, there’s an impulse to use summer to help young children ‘catch up’ – with more teaching, summer school and home lessons. But experts Play First UK are calling for a Summer of Play. Get inspired with these summer activities for kids that are so much fun they won’t even know they’re learning.

According to Play First UK, “Recent data shows that around two-thirds of primary school children are currently feeling lonely. Loneliness and social isolation adversely affect children’s short- and long-term mental health.” Many children’s emotional health suffered during lockdown, including those from marginalised and disadvantaged groups.

How play helps children

Play on the other hand has substantial benefits for children’s development and emotional wellbeing. Active and outdoor play is particularly beneficial for social and emotional health. These summer activities for preschoolers and young kids help in all kinds of ways. Learning Resources has loads of toys, games and other products that make your Summer of Play easier and more fun than ever!

Top 25 fun summer activities for kids

1. Have a picnic

This activity is simple to put together but never fails to create fun. Write a menu, prepare a themed meal, dress up in funny outfits – you can make it as silly and fun as you like!

2. Mix up homemade lemonade

Everybody loves to stir in the sugar or simple syrup.

3. Grill

Part of the fun of grilling is getting everything ready, carrying it outside, watching the meat or veg sizzling over the fire. Show your kids how to tell when things are cooked and let them choose which one they want.

4. Do chalk paintings on the sidewalk

Get artsy on the pavement in front of your home or on the patio and let their imagination reign without worrying about the mess. Challenge your child to paint a summer scene.

5. Go on a bug safari

Discovering the mini beasts in the back garden or the local park opens your child’s eyes to the richness of the world around them. Make it even more fun with the GeoSafari Jr Bug Viewer Jar and GeoSafari Jr Bugnoculars and afterward use the In the Garden Bug Counters with which children can sort the bug-shaped pieces by colour and bug type.

6. Pick wildflowers

Find an obliging field or pluck the dandelions from your lawn. (Be sure to follow the rules about where you can pick and what.)

7. Play an outdoor game

There are oversized game boards you can buy or draw a board game on the pavement and use your imagination for game pieces. Chequers is a great starting point.

8. Make s’mores

Toast marshmallows over the grill, around a bonfire or back garden fire pit, then build s’smores with chocolate and biscuits. You can even do it over the hob in a pinch!

9. Play in the sprinkler

It’s easy and fun to set this up: a hosepipe, bathing costumes and a bunch of running through the spray.

10. Go bird spotting

It’s never too early to teach them to become a twitcher! Get your children to tick off ones they see on the bird-spotting chart.

11. Do a local litter pick

Your kids will get a huge sense of satisfaction (and a larger awareness of green living) from taking a walk around the your neighbourhood with gloves, a bin bag and a grabber. The Learning Resources tick list lets them earn points when they Slash the Rubbish by picking up bottles, napkins and cans.

12. Build a village

Create a whole new world together with building toys. Get especially creative with Learning Resources building toys like the City Engineering & Design Set.

13. Do some DIY

Children take home projects, undertaken with mum or dad, very seriously. If they are too little to help with safe tasks on bona fide jobs, put them to work alongside you with their own toy tool kit.

14. Hang a hammock

If you’ve got a couple of sturdy trees or other strong structures in your garden, put up a hammock. Perfect for gentle swinging, storytime and naps.

15. Organise an outdoor movie

Get a projector, hang a sheet and settle down with pillows and blankets for a good film.

16. Let them become outdoor waiters

Enlist your children to serve snacks and drinks to the grownups. These can be real beverages in plastic cups or simply cups of “tea” (aka water) and a plate of biscuits. Doing it outside isn’t just more summery – you don’t need to worry so much about spills.

17. Create a butterfly or bee habitat

Use an assortment of wildflower seeds to plant a wildlife habitat in a spare bit of garden or a window box, then monitor its growth.

18. Do a bubble challenge

Break out the bubbles and make it even more fun with the Learning Resources bubble activity sheet.

19. Do Spring Bingo

Go for a walk, a drive or a wander in the park and see who can yell ‘Bingo!’ first

20. Set out a tricycle or bicycle obstacle course

You can use cones or simple items like rocks, or draw routes and obstacles with chalk to test their skill.

21. Create a shadow play

Wait until after dark then grab a torch and put on a show. Use hands and fingers or cut out shapes to make puppets.

22. Go on a treasure hunt

Place items in secret places in the garden and let the kids find them! Even teens still love the challenge.

23. Build a fort

Bring out lots of blankets and chair and build a fort where kids can hide from parents.

24. Be Sherlock Holmes for a day

You’ll need these lens magnifiers to investigate the clues close up.

25. Go on holiday!

Get a paddling pool, beach towels, floatie and these water toys.

Enter our Instagram Giveaway!

Tell us how you plan to spend your #SummerOfPlay here and you could win 1 of 5 Learning Resources Bundles worth more than £100 each! ENTER HERE.

More advice for summer activities for kids

• Fun activities to do at the beach with your baby
• The ultimate guide to stress-free party and playdate planning
• LOL: Rules for playing in the garden
• Top tips for planning great sleepovers

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