10 Ways to Keep Your Kids Learning All Summer Long

The school bell will soon ring for the last time, backpacks will be emptied, and summer fun will be calling. While relaxation and enjoyment are essential, summer also provides opportunities for children to explore their passions and develop new skills. Here are 10 engaging ways to keep your kids’ minds active all summer long.

1: Outdoor exploration

Turn passive outdoor time into active learning, nurturing scientific curiosity, environmental awareness, and a sense of stewardship. Explore local nature preserves and parks with the help of field guides and identification apps. Discuss the vital role of each species and the critical need for conservation in the face of environmental challenges. Consider bringing a notebook to jot down observations or sketch what you discover. 

2: Family vacation

Turn your summer vacation into a valuable educational adventure. As you plan your journey, invite your kids to read about the history, culture, and geography of the locations you’ll be visiting. Spend time reviewing maps together—digital for navigation and physical for the big picture. Give everyone a say in deciding what to do. When kids help plan, they feel a sense of ownership over the vacation experience, which boosts their confidence and self-esteem. 

3: Summer reading

Enhance your children’s reading abilities by making family reading a summer habit. Visit the library weekly, checking out displays for the latest book recommendations. Bring young children to story time at libraries and bookstores. Encourage your teens to get involved in online or in-person book clubs. Add fun and motivation by joining a summer reading program or creating your own family reading challenge. 

4: Storytelling

Unleash the power of visual storytelling. Give younger children crayons, markers, pens, and paper. Encourage them to become the authors and illustrators of their adventures, drawing characters, settings, and exciting events that come to mind. Tweens and teens may want to explore different forms of writing, like short stories, poetry, screenwriting, or blogging. Along with cultivating your kids’ creativity, storytelling will help them develop essential communication skills and boost their self-confidence.

5: Robotic explorations

Without the pressures of homework and so many extracurricular activities, summer is the perfect time to explore robotics with kits and toys. Preschoolers can enjoy the simple fun of remote-controlled robots. Elementary kids can start building their own bots and experimenting with basic coding. And for tweens and teens seeking a challenge, more advanced robotics kits that require problem-solving and engineering concepts provide hours of engaging fun.

6: Culinary arts and nutrition

Bring the learning into the kitchen. Choose kid-friendly recipes that everyone can help with. Younger children can wash colorful produce or stir ingredients. Older kids can experiment with cooking independently and plan a family meal. In addition to building practical skills, everyone will learn valuable lessons about nutrition. Bonus points if your family plants a small garden and harvests crops for family meals (see below).

7: Family garden

Get your hands dirty and watch the magic of nature unfold together this summer. Gardens are a great way for children and teens to learn more about the natural environment by observing plant life cycles and discovering the interconnectedness of all living things. Decide as a family which flowers, herbs, and vegetables to grow. Then, visit a garden center together to pick up supplies. Set aside an afternoon to do the planting. Throughout the summer (and into the fall), everyone can take turns watering, weeding, and harvesting the plants. If space is limited, consider container gardening. 

8: Starry nights

Take advantage of a clear summer night for some family stargazing fun. For the littlest astronomers, point out the moon and stars, emphasizing their distance and round shapes, sparking their sense of wonder about the vastness of space. Older kids can learn about constellations, identify planets visible to the naked eye (like Mars or Jupiter), and download stargazing apps to navigate the night sky. For a more immersive experience, consider setting up a telescope or visiting a local observatory. 

9: Outdoor movie night

Create a memorable family night with an outdoor movie under the stars. Have everyone bring their sleeping bags and get cozy while you project a film onto a wall or a simple DIY screen you make together. Don't forget the essential movie treats: popcorn, a cooler full of individual drinks, and some boxed candy for an authentic theater feel. More than just a summer boredom buster, movie-watching can enhance your children’s critical thinking skills and encourage greater engagement with the world.

10: Neighborhood scavenger hunt

A photo scavenger hunt in your neighborhood gets your kids outside and allows them to observe their environment in new ways actively. As a family, make a list of photo prompts: flowers in a garden, someone’s pet, a street sign, a swing set. Younger children can be paired with an older sibling, or parents can watch from a distance while kids make their own discoveries. Consider a variation on the neighborhood hunt for family vacations, chronicling beach finds or historic landmarks. 

A summer well-spent 

With warmer temperatures and longer, more leisurely days, summer provides many opportunities for entertaining and educational experiences. After spending the next few months engaged in happy discoveries, your children should return to school refreshed, inspired, and eager to begin another school year in the fall.