Does your tween aged child get bored easily during the summer months? Being a Tween is a tricky age (usually defined as a child between the ages of 9 and 12). They often want to do grown up things, but younger child things appeal to them, too. It kind of depends on their mood, and that always seems to be changing.
One of my pet peeves is seeing kids sitting around the house with their noses in a device of some kind all day long throughout the summer. I don’t mind it for short bits of time, but don’t be trying it all day long. In an effort to give my Tween aged children some ideas of what to do, I came up with this list of fun things to do throughout the summer months. Some of them are more girly and some of them are obviously slated toward the boys, but many of them are unisex. Feel free to pick and choose ideas that will work for YOUR Tween. Hopefully these will get your kids excited about doing something that’s not on an electronic device for a change! And do me a favor, if you find something not on this list, leave a comment below so we can add to it.
- Start a Book Club (in person or online)
- Write a Letter
- Explore Nature Around Your House, taking photos and sketching what you see
- Take a Babysitting Class
- Write a Story or a Poem
- Read a Book
- Make a Scrapbook of Childhood Pictures
- Entertain Your Siblings by Making a “Camp” for them to attend
- Go Camping in Your Back Yard
- Take a Bubble Bath
- Record Your Own Radio Show or Movie
- Interview Your Siblings and write a Family Newsletter about your “findings”
- Make Jewelry – Paracord Bracelets are pretty easy to learn
- Start a Business (mowing?, pet sitting, odd jobs, baby sitting, etc.)
- Make Popsicles for your Family
- Bake Something for a Friend
- Have a Picnic
- Play Charades
- Wash the Car and Play in the Hose
- Have a Tea Party (or a sports party!)
- Learn How to Hula Hoop
- Host a Scavenger Hunt or better yet, a Video Scavenger Hunt
- Decide on Something You’d Like to Improve About Yourself and Do it.
- Write a Play (and act it out?)
- Play Frisbee (or better yet, play night frisbee using a light up frisbee)
- Get a book about Braiding Hair and Learn How to Do Several New Braids.
- Shoot a BB Gun in the Back Yard (if you have the space and your community allows it)
- Play Catch
- Learn How to Make a Killer Paper Airplane
- Plant Something (and take care of it as it grows)
- Make a Marshmallow Gun (and have fun shooting it at your friends or siblings)
- Have a Water Gun Fight
- Play Croquet
- Go Geo-Caching using a GPS
- Take a Hunter’s Safety Course
- Build a Lego Masterpiece
- Play Dominoes, see how long you can make a domino train
- Craft with Duct Tape (Have you tried making a duct tape wallet yet?)
- Try Simple Woodworking Projects
- Play Board Games
- Volunteer Somewhere (church, library, animal shelter, etc. – this may require a parental volunteer as well)
- Learn Photography
- Learn to Play Guitar
- Try Science Experiments (You could use this cool book)
- Go Star Gazing
- Plan a Hike
- Make S’mores Over a Camp Fire
- Fly a Kite
- Try Wood Burning (with supervision, using this inexpensive wood burning pen)
- Go to the Zoo
- Make Your Family a Meal
- Go Fishing in a Nearby Pond or Stream
- Go Swimming
- Host a Fashion Show with Your Friends
- Get Your Ears Pierced
- Paint Your Nails Crazy Summery Colors (offer to paint your friend’s, too)
- Bake Cookies in Your Car!
- Make Ice Cream
- Go Canoeing
- Have a Water Balloon Fight
- Go Biking on a Trail
- Have a Mud Fight (get parent approval first!)
- Go Rock Skipping
- Go Fossil Hunting
- Host a Turtle Race
- Run or Walk in a 5k with your Parents
- Learn to Sew
- Go Garage Saling
- Brainstorm Ways to Turn $10 into $20
- Make Bouncy Balls
- Go Bowling
- Go Horseback Riding
- Visit a Flea Market
- Have a Relay Race with your friends
- Make a Sidewalk Chalk Mural
- Make a Box Maze (out of appliance boxes you collect from a local store)
- Go to the Beach (even if it’s at the lake and not the ocean)
- Create a New Food Dish Using 5 Preset Ingredients
- Tie Dye T-shirts
- Paint a Picture
- Design Your Own Clothes (by drawing them)
- Write a Summer Bucket List
- Feed the Ducks (or the Sea Gulls – ever tried throwing bread in the air to them?)
- Visit a Museum
- Shoot Air Soft Guns with Friends or Family
I hope this gives you a good starting point! We really do love summer! I hope you and your kids will embrace summer with me, get way from the devices and just enjoy being kids for a change!
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