This post and its photos may contain affiliate links, view ourdisclosure policy.
Inside: 60 awesome summer bucket list ideas for kids (includes a free printable, too)
Table of Contents
Your kids won’t remember the era when there were no cell phones or other digital devices to occupy our time. They won’t remember the old TV would that would sit on its stand while we were shooed outside to play the day away.
With schools closed for summer break, all kids near and far come out of their houses at the crack of dawn to ride bikes, build forts, play games, and jump rope.
We’d play hide and seek, red rover, have tons of picnics, sit together and talk about ghost stories, explore the forest, and eat WAY too many popsicles.
Are you feeling nostalgic?
Meeeee toooo.
If you want your kids to have the same nostalgic summer experience, ditch the screens and choose some fantastic old-fashioned fun.
Gain access to our library of free printables!
Because we all want our kids to be happy and healthy — not just for right now, but for the rest of their lives.
Summer Bucket List for Kids: 50+ Awesome Ideas
The summer season comes with loads of free time for kids, providing the perfect opportunity to learn, explore, and try new things.
Our ultimate summer bucket list for kids is stocked with 50+ perfect ideas for your kids to have an epic level of fun this summer!
This list is divided into categories like indoor fun, outdoor fun, and evening ideas, so you can scroll down and choose the ideas that’d be ideal for your children.
download here
Outdoor Fun: Summer Bucket List for Kids
I think the best kind of fun happens outside in the fresh air!
You may get a little sweaty and sun-kissed (don’t forget your sunscreen), but outdoor fun is the real deal this season.
Below are outdoor fun ideas for our summer bucket list for kids:
- Lie in the grass, look at the clouds, and try to form objects
- Pick a huge tree, and have a picnic under it.
- Go to the beach, and watch the sunset.
- Go fishing
- Camp in the backyard and stargaze at night
- Fly a kite with all of your friends, and compete to make it more fun
- Run through sprinklers
- Play in a blow-up swimming pool
- Make lemonade, and sell it in front of your lawn.
- Swing at the park until you’re tired and dizzy
- Eat an ice cream cone from the neighborhood ice cream truck
- Go on a nature walk (see this epic guide here).
- Download our free Scavenger Hunt Bundle and have an epic scavenger hunt afternoon.
- For full instruction, see our Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Guide
- Blow bubbles
- Go to the beach and build a sandcastle.
- Make wishes on Dandelions.
- Climb a tree
- Jump in puddles
- Jump on a trampoline
- Bury a time capsule with all your friends, and open it when you grow up—the best kind of nostalgia.
- Visit a water park and try every single water slide.
- Visit a carnival and try a ride that scares you.
- Fill up balloons with water, divide them into two teams, and have a water balloon fight.
- Have an outdoor dance party, show some moves off
- Learn to ride a bicycle
- Plant a tree
- Go bowling
- Explore local parks
- Play hide and seek
- Dance in the rain
Indoor Fun: Summer Bucket List for Kids
On those pesky rainy days (which can be equally special in their own way), try any of these incredible indoor ideas:
- Visit a children’s museum.
- Go to the library and read your favorite book.
- Play your favorite songs and have a dance party.
- Play your favorite card game.
- Make slime. It’s one of the best activities for this summer bucket list for kids.
- Play hide & seek inside the house
- Stay up late and share your most embarrassing stories
- Create a secret handshake with your best friend
- Camp in your backyard.
- Ask your parents questions about their childhood
- Wipe the dust off the board games and play
- Write your bucket list
Check this out
Dream Big Printable Kit
ThisNEW Dream Big Growth Mindset Printables for Kidsis a collection of worksheetsandjournalingpages designed to help children understand that they have the capacity to doanything!
Kids will alsodiscover their brain’s ability to LEARN and GROW! Theywill understand they can achieve great results with practice and effort.
- Get a map and mark all the places you’d like to visit
- Cook your favorite recipe with little to no supervision
- Build your own LEGO city
- Learn a new magic trick and surprise all of your friends
- Stay up late watching a movie marathon. Recommendation: Harry Potter
- Do a science project.
- Learn to do origami.
- Make a blanket fort
- Play bingo on your notebook’s back pages
- Paint with your fingers
Art & Craft Fun: Summer Bucket List for Kids
Unlock the crafty side of you with these incredibly fantastic art & craft ideas to try this summer. These are easy to do, simple, take less time, and result in much fun!
- Hunt for small flat rocks outside, clean them and then paint them (you would probably love our free kindness activity kit for kids)
- Make homemade slime
- Make tie-dye shirts, and take pictures wearing them
- Decorate your bedroom according to a theme like Star Wars or Snow White
- Experiment with paper airplane designs
- Make sidewalk art
- Create custom frames for your family pictures
- Make friendship bracelets using ribbons and tiny colored stones.
- Do the Home Depot crafts
- Make paper boats and run them in a river (parent supervised)
Food Fun: Summer Bucket List for Kids
There are a whole lot of things you can do with veggies and fruits in the kitchen this Summer. Check these fun food ideas out!
- Go berry picking
- Make homemade ice cream, and try figuring out the recipe for your favorite flavor.
- Make a veggie garden
- Make and eat popsicles.
- Make lemonade one sunny afternoon for your whole family.
You Might Also Love
The Best Party Game for Kids
101 compliments for Kids
Family Conversations Starters
- Make potato chips
- Play Bob for donuts with your friends and family
- Make homemade pizza
- Switch things up, eat breakfast for dinner
- Light a bonfire at night and roast marshmallows
- Eat lots of watermelons, and stay hydrated
Ready for More?
Empower your kids with these 12 Mini Mindfulness Exercises for Kids. Get ’em right to your inbox.
Yes Please!
Games to Play: Summer Bucket List for Kids
Summer is not summer without games. Kids are not kids without games. SO: here are some exciting games for kids to play this summer (and remember for a lifetime)
- The Floor is lava
Do whatever you need to do to not touch the floor, which according to the game, is lava. Hop on chairs, benches, and couches. Then, try to get from point A to B.
- Tag
If you’re the catcher, touch someone to make them the catcher. If you’re not it, run from the catcher.
- Hide & Seek
Everyone has to hide except the catcher. The catcher has to find all the players one by one. The first person to get caught would be the next catcher, only if all the players get caught. To defeat the catcher, you must get to them and tap them sneakily.
- Duck, Duck, Goose
One player walks around, taps kids’ heads, and asks whether they are a “duck” or a “goose.” When they choose “goose,” that person must get up and chase the caller around the circle. The goal is to tap that person before they can sit in the “gooses” spot. If the goose cannot do this, they become “it” for the next round, and play continues.
- Thapdi
Race from point A to B. Then sit in a circle. The person who loses the race must sit with their eyes closed and their head down. One out of all the friends would tap on the loser’s head, and they must guess who tapped their head. If they think it correctly, the person who tapped would be the next loser.
Bottom Line
These are some of my favorite summer activities for this year’s summer bucket list for kids.
Choose a few items from the list, or heck, try to check them all off, and we promise, you kids will have a blast!
If you have any out-of-the-box summer ideas for this summer bucket list for kids, please comment down below!
One last time, snag your free summer bucket list printable right here!
Save this list for later: PIN it to your favorite board!
