Your family’s ultimate summer bucket list

Everyone has their favourite family activities for summer. But challenging your kids to try something new can help make this the best season ever.

Whether you’re looking for outdoor activities, eco-friendly ideas, travel inspiration or cultural fun, this guide to family activities for summer will help you put together an ultimate summer bucket list.

Getting outside

Getting kids outdoors is more important than ever – and doing it as a family is a great way to achieve that.

Here are some top ideas to get you started…

Find a sit spot

One of the best ways to connect with nature is simply to sit outside and be present with your surroundings. Have everyone in the family choose a relaxing place to visit throughout the summer: a quiet part of the back garden, a space in a local nature area or even a shady park bench.

The key? Find an easy-to-access place where you can really tune in to nature. As well as fostering your kids’ connection with local nature, you might spark some important conversations, too.

Start a family nature club

Make getting outside a regular event – and help others do the same – by starting a family nature club. Have kids name your club, then decide when and how often your club will meet. Research meeting locations, like a local nature reserve or a park with lots of different paths, good parking and public toilets. Do a couple of trial visits as a family, then invite other families to join. Sign up to Nat Geo Kids’ Family Newsletter for more activities to try every week!

Attend a star party

Although an inexpensive telescope or pair of binoculars will improve your chances of spotting more remote galactic features, the moon, the International Space Station and several planets and constellations can all be seen with the naked eye. Gather in your garden or local park to scan the skies or check out a star party hosted by a local astronomy club.

Celebrate the summer solstice – 21st century style

Kick off the longest day of the year with a sunrise hike complete with careful wildflower-picking to make a flower crown. (That’s a Swedish symbol of fertility and abundance, but your kids will just think it’s pretty.) Come evening, roast marshmallows over a garden campfire (instead of the traditional bonfire) when the sun sets. You could even make the event into a camping weekend or play some night games once it’s finally dark!

Eco-stewardship

Earth-friendly family activities for summer stay with kids long after the season has passed. “The single largest contributing factor to becoming an adult who cares for the environment is having shared experiences in nature with a caring adult during childhood,” says Cheryl Charles, cofounder of the Children and Nature Network.

Make your home wildlife friendly

Transform your garden, balcony or window boxes into an inviting habitat for birds, butterflies and other fauna or support hedgehogs by building a tiny highway through your fence. To attract pollinators like honeybees, replace a corner of lawn with native plants that provide lots of flowers, nectar and pollen. (Here’s a bee hotel craft for kids.) Add a bird feeder and a simple birdbath for feathered friends and add a flower pot or two (tip them on their sides and bury them halfway) for toad abodes.

Meet a farmer

Browsing a nearby farmers market can help teach kids about the impact of locally sourced food on the environment. Try sending them on a scavenger hunt for familiar items and weirder fare. Or set forth challenges: the biggest and smallest fruits, something that grows underground or four things that could go on a pizza. To seal in the eco-lesson, bring a map to locate each farm, then figure out how many miles your food travelled.

Go on a BioBlitz

A family bioblitz – recording as many plant and animal species as you can in a specific amount of time – is a great way to show kids the importance of biodiversity. Grab a guide or nature app to help identify flora and fauna, then set a goal. Can you identify 25 species? 50? 100? Have kids record their findings in a notebook, index cards or even a hand-drawn map of the garden. Split the family into teams and make it a friendly competition!

Organise a local clean-up

Is there a waterside area where litter tends to build up, or a playground that needs a new flowerbed? Tackle those issues with a green service day. Kids can design flyers to advertise the event, create an online sign-up and reach out to friends and neighbours to enlist their help. Parents can post information about the clean-up on community social media pages and solicit local businesses or councils to donate and lend supplies. (Here are some other ways families can help save the Earth this summer.)

Travel

Summer travel doesn’t have to mean jetting off around the world – the key thing is spending quality time together.

Here are some simple memory-making family activities for summer that don’t require a flight…

Plan a day out using public transport

Hop on a ferry. Ride the bus. Journey by train. Challenge your kids to plan a quick getaway that involves travelling via public transport. Start by brainstorming local places your family would like to visit, like a beach or museum. Then help kids read maps and schedules for various modes of transport to figure out how to reach your chosen destination. And remember – getting there is half the fun!

Be a tourist in your own town

Spend a day exploring your family’s hometown through the eyes of a traveller. Before the ‘trip’, encourage kids to pick up some brochures at an information centre or grab a guidebook at the library. Then help them design an itinerary with lots of new-to-your-family activities. One fun idea is to check into a nearby hotel the night before your adventure.

Preserve your memories

Document your family’s summer escapades by making a scrapbook. Encourage kids to collect plenty of souvenirs, from favourite photographs to postcards and ticket stubs. You can also include restaurant menus, pressed flowers or stone rubbings from a hike, party invitations, sketches and favourite quotes. Work on your scrapbook throughout the summer.

Culture

Help kids explore beyond their friendship group and embrace other cultures this summer. “it’s important for parents to celebrate diversity but showing children not only the importance of diversity but also how to embrace it,” says Julie Yeros, founder of Globe Trottin’ Kids.

Plan an international dinner party

Bring another culture home to your dinner table. Kids can help choose recipes, design a menu, decorate the table and pick out the music. Then take them to local markets and ethnic grocery stores to shop for ingredients. Encourage them to ask questions: Are there holidays when certain foods are eaten? Do some foods or ingredients have special significance?

Hold your own summer games

Add some competition to your summer fun with a family Olympic games. (Here are some fun facts about the Olympics to get your kids started.) Each person or team chooses a country – real or imagined! – to represent. Create uniforms, paint faces, make team flags and design medals. Events can be classic contests like relay races, games from other cultures and even silly stuff like water balloon tosses and squirt gun archery. Bookend the fun with opening and closing ceremonies.

Host a film festival

This summer, use your family movie nights to highlight diversity, equity and inclusion. Choose some family-friendly films, then amp up the red carpet fun. Kids can make movie tickets and prepare movie-themed snacks. (Perhaps coconut-flavoured popcorn for Moana?) Challenge kids to host the night, introducing the film with information about the actors and plot. For even more summertime fun, screen the movie outdoors under the stars. Your family can even have an end-of-summer awards ceremony to vote on things like Best Actor and Funniest Scene.

What family activities for summer are on your list? Let us know in the comments below!

Written by Gina DeCaprio Vercesi. Image credits: forest walk © RyanJLane © Getty Images. All others © Adobe Stock.