This summer, we have no camp, no scheduled activities, and no childcare. It’s about to get interesting!
But I’m not all that stressed (yet). Here is a list of 20 things we plan on doing here at home and around the fantastic city of St. Louis.
1. Our top summer at-home activity? Giant Ice Cube Excavation. The boys love doing this! Plus it’s free, and it only takes a day or so to prepare (we’ve been doing it twice a week since the weather warmed up!).
2. If you don’t have time for that, try the smaller version: animal ice cubes:
3. Or ice balloons!
4. Foil River. Make little boats to float down the middle!
5. GIve them an outdoor bubble bath… with extra bubbles!
6. DIY plumbing experiment. Try with different food-colored water and experiment with mixing colors for a little twist!
7. Make your own sand pit in your back yard (fyi, we simply dug a large hole, encircled it with stones, and filled it with play sand from Home Depot- easy!). Add water, stones, plastic animals, toy diggers, etc. Keep the kids shaded with a canopy or umbrella and they’ll be at it for hours!
8. DIY growing jar.
9. Stairway slide for rainy (or insanely hot) days.
9. Make guacamole with your kids (and maybe a margarita for yourself?).
10. Make ninja masks from t-shirts and play fight in the living room!
11. Eat a LOT of popsicles… then build something cool!
12. Make amazing structures out of marshmallows and spaghetti noodles:
13. Make your own outdoor mud kitchen:
14. Don’t want to use real mud? Try Magic Mud!
15. Try a Teddy Bear Picnic!
16. Make shadow people with chalk on a warm summer evening.
17. Make some brownies together, then top ’em with loads of ice cream! This is our favorite recipe.
18. Spend the entire morning at your local library! Most of them have amazing play areas with puzzles or reading nooks. Go to a story hour and stay after to pick out books and music.
19. Go pick strawberries! Or if you’re feeling ambitious, plant your own (they also work great in containers).
20. Make your own stump walk from discarded stumps (we picked ours up at our city parks & recreation department where they dump their tree-trimming waste.
And… if you are in the St. Louis area or planning to visit, don’t forget to check out these amazing things for kids to do:
The Missouri Botanical Garden (visit their site here and see more of our own pictures here and here and most recently here)… yes, we go there a lot!
The City Garden (visit their site here) and see more here and here.
The City Museum (our absolute favorite indoor place of all times- there is also an amazing outdoor part!)- if you do ONE thing in St. Louis, do this! Really, there’s nothing like it.
The Magic House – great for all ages, mostly indoor science and exploration. Plus, there’s a giant 3-story bean stalk the kids can climb!
The St. Louis Zoo. This is an incredibly kid-friendly place, with train rides and a children’s zoo within the zoo. Our favorite features are the hippo exhibit, the carousel, the sea lion tunnel, and the slide in the children’s zoo that goes underwater to view river otters!
Circus Flora– only through June 22nd so get your tickets soon!
The St. Louis Science Center– we can’t wait to check out their new Dinosaurs in Motion exhibit! Though the exhibit is expensive, the rest of the museum is free admission so it might be worth it if you’re planning to stay all day…
Shaw Nature Reserve– a wonderful place to explore. They also offer summer classes!
How about you? Have any good ideas to keep the kids happy this summer?
you are a genius! Its our first week of summer and I need ideas (we are in an apartment so messy play isn’t really an option) but I see several we can try! thanks!
Hey! I’d love to add this to my Friday ‘admiring’ post today if you don’t mind. I love these ideas – it makes me wish our summers were a little less structured during the days. (Boo, work!) I have a friend with a great local calendar – she basically takes a lot of the things you list and puts them on a calendar with more details – like specific story hour times and free days for places that usually charge admission. I’ve found it to be a great resource several times.
http://preparingforpeanut.com/stl-events-calendar/
this post rocks my socks off! to add to the list: tower grove farmers market and wading pool, watching a movie in our backyard (projector, clothesline, and a bedsheet), making forts in the living room (with twinkly lights because twinkly lights makes them so much more magical!), listening to audiobooks in the living room-twinkly lights-forts, and the u-city pool (now open at 9am!).
much love to you and yours neighbor –
This is the best list of fun, fun, fun things to do! You are an amazing mama. Your kiddos better treat you well. 🙂
Sam, YES! Great add-ons! I am absolutely giddy with excitement for this summer. And yes, we have been to the pool (at 9am) 3 times already, ha! We will definitely take you up on that back yard movie idea!
And Kate, yes, my guys treat me incredibly well!
This is awesome Lauren! We have an au pair joining us in June and I have been working hard to get ideas together for her. We are going to do all of these! Great ideas. Thank you!!!!
I think we will steal some of these great ides you posted and add kite flying, marbles (I loved playing marbles when I was a kid) and the beach!
Kristin, yes! Feel free to use!
Amazing! Who needs camp? You guys are always finding fun, and it’s a treat to follow along. St Louis also seems like a fantastic city!
Thanks Lauren, I did!
We love all the places you listed. We kick off most Saturdays at the Tower Grove Market, and it always feels like an unplanned playdate with friends because we always see them there.
We do an early summer camping trip with a big group of friends, and another one in the fall. They’ve become something of a marker for the change of seasons for us, and I love them. (Says the girl that NEVER camped a day in her life before having children.)
Lastly – I’d add all the various concerts around town in neighborhood parks, and Lafayette Square does the big outdoor movies once a month. And the kids’ symphony concerts at the Piper Palm House on Wednesday mornings!
I love summer.
This is ingenious! Several of these have gotten me through husband less days. Also, Sam, I am absolutely stealing the backyard movie idea! You are amazing at this!
Such a great list. Your boys are so lucky to have a creative, loving mama. High five on winning motherhood!
I want to do all these things and I’m not even a kid! Great stuff!