50 Awesome Things to Do with Your Kids This Summer

Build a fort

Then don't be offended when it's no grown-ups allowed.

Cook dinner together

Might we recommend one of these kid-friendly recipes?

Chill in a kiddie pool

Juice boxes for the kiddos, sangria for the over-21 set.

Dig for worms

Hardly the grossest thing you've touched since having children.

Make your own play dough

This five-ingredient play dough recipe shows you how.

Run barefoot through freshly cut grass

This is why you don't have white carpeting.

Teach them to make friendship bracelets

Are arm parties still a thing?

Go for a hike

Come up with an appropriate name for each dog you pass. What’s up, Sprinkles?

Make your own popsicles

Again, this is why you don't have white carpeting.

Watch fireworks

Bedtimes are overrated.

Rent a paddleboat

Secretly make your children do all the work.

Make homemade slime

Whip up something ooey, gooey and chemical-free with this DIY slime tutorial.

Assemble shish kebabs

Remember: Children love being put to work.

Attend an outdoor concert

Encourage dancing.

Sit on the porch through a summer thunderstorm

Count the seconds between lightning and thunder.

Have a campfire

Ghost stories optional.

Make s'mores

Extra chocolate mandatory.

Shuck corn

Insert requisite What About Bob? joke.

Do a cannonball

Or at the very least, goad your kids until they do one.

Play hopscotch

No stepping on the line!

Play skee-ball

You'll win that oversize gorilla if it kills you...

Start a lemonade stand

Frozen from concentrate? We won't judge.

Tie-dye a T-shirt

Hello, summer uniform.

Go to the zoo

Pro tip: The monkey house is air-conditioned.

Go to a baseball game

Fine if you only make it through three innings.

Make paper fans

I do declare.

Play a hand-clapping game

Down, down, baby, down by the roller coaster.

Don't be a wuss!

Wash the car

Children love being put to work, part two.

Let them bury you in the sand

Just remember the SPF 50.

Climb a tree

OK, fine. Stand at the bottom and bark at them to be careful.

Let them jump in the pool instead of taking a bath

Chlorine > soap.

Pull them in a wagon

Stroller, schmoller.

Have a watermelon seed-spitting contest

Winner gets...more watermelon?

Play a round of mini golf

Win a free game. Repeat.

Go to a carnival

If it doesn't feel a little trashy, you're not doing it right.

Dress them in red, white and blue

Take a million pictures.

Watch The Sandlot

My Girl or The Parent Trap are also acceptable family-friendly flicks for summer.

Have a water fight

As long as mom's not wearing silk, anything's fair game.

Collect seashells

Make a necklace.

Go berry picking

It doesn't matter if it's strawberries, blueberries or blackberries—they're all good in a pie.

Go to a drive-in movie

Bet there's one closer than you think.

Organize a scavenger hunt

Then send the kids scrambling to find something "slimy."

Take them to a water park

Feel smug when they conk out at 7:15.

Drive with the windows down

Just long enough for everybody's hair to get good and tangled.

Have a Beach Boys dance party

"Everybody's gone suuuuuuurfing..."

Have a garage sale

Donate proceeds to a worthy cause.

Eat fudge

Peanut-butter-chocolate or bust.

Catch fireflies

Argue with your S.O. about whether they're called fireflies or lightning bugs.

Embrace sand

In their car seats. In their sheets. In their hair. It's summer, y'all.