Summer break is a wonderful time for kids to relax and have fun but it can also lead to the “summer slide,” where children lose some of the academic progress they made during the school year. The good news? You can help your child stay sharp, curious, and confident with engaging activities designed to keep learning alive—while making memories with family and friends!

We’ve compiled 12 hands-on, creative, and educational summer activities that not only support literacy, science, math, and critical thinking skills but also create meaningful bonding opportunities for your family and community.

Why These Activities Matter

When children are out of school, they risk falling behind in key skills. Our summer activities help:

• Prevent learning loss by keeping children actively engaged in reading, writing, and problem-solving.

• Build social skills and emotional intelligence through group storytelling, sharing, and cooperative projects.

• Encourage creativity and critical thinking by exploring science experiments, arts, and STEM challenges.

• Create lasting family memories by involving parents, siblings, and friends in fun, relaxed learning experiences.

What’s Inside the Guide?

• How to join your local library’s summer reading challenge and access free programs and resources.

• Tips for hosting a backyard storytime with friends, including crafts and snack ideas.

• A step-by-step guide to creating a “book trailer” video to build comprehension and creativity.

• Instructions for building a DIY puppet theater and putting on a show.

• Ideas for writing and illustrating your own mini chapter book.

• Simple ways to keep a daily gratitude journal with drawings to encourage mindfulness.

• Fun kitchen science experiments you can do with household items.

• How to measure and chart plant growth in your own garden.

• Backyard bug census to spark curiosity and observation skills.

• STEM challenge: design and build a cardboard marble run.

• Mapping your neighborhood to practice geography and math.

• Cooking a simple family recipe to develop life skills and teamwork.

• Plus, creative math fun with sidewalk chalk fraction drawings!

Get Your FREE Summer Activities Guide Now!

Ready to keep your child learning, growing, and connected this summer? Sign up for our newsletter to download your free copy of this Summer Activities Guide and receive regular tips, resources, and inspiration to support your family’s learning journey.