Fun ways to beat the heat with kids! Fun Summer activities that will cool you down during those hot Summer months! Perfect for all ages!
Where we live, the temp is around 105* on average right now. We really don’t mind the heat at all and are outside daily. Part of the reason we chose to move here was the warm weather.
I’m going to list some of our favorite activities for our kids during the hot Summer months.
Typically, we like to head outside first thing in the morning (after breakfast) to get most of our active play done while it’s only 90-95 degrees. The exception is the water park and pool which we will usually do in the afternoon/early evening.
Before I get into the activities, I just want to take a second to remind you to pack for the hot weather. Things like Insulated Water Bottles
and sunscreen with a high SPF
are definitely a MUST!
Also, if your kids are anything like mine, you may have to remind them to take water breaks and time to rest. My kids will turn red in the face just running around and playing nonstop. I usually remind them to have some water about every 20 minutes.
Another great idea is to pack a cooler or insulated backpack with some cold snacks (like apple slices, oranges, etc).
14 Fun ways to beat the heat!
- Hit up the water park: We’ve bought water park passes every year for about 4 years now and it is seriously one of our best purchases, even when the kids were younger! We get so much out of it. I highly recommend it if you live close enough to a water park!
- Water guns: We bought some cheap-o water guns from Walmart for about $3 and they are amazing. Even my 2 year old can pull the trigger with ease! First thing in the morning, we load up the water guns and bring a gallon of tap water for refills. The water guns we bought have a really wide opening, making it super easy to refill with a gallon jug of water. We play til we run out of water. I also like to pull the classic soccer mom move, and pack some cold fresh fruit & tons of drinking water =)
- Water balloons: Water balloon fights are so much easier with Bunch O Balloons self-sealing water balloons. Kids have it so easy now, back in my day we had to fill and tie each water balloon individually…
- Pool day: Have a pool day! You might’ve done this when you were little, but in case you didn’t– did you know you can make your own wave pool? Just take a few large intertubes and bounce in the water with the intertube around you to create the waves. Obviously, make sure everyone’s a strong swimmer before you do this, but it is a lot of fun!
- Gym Play Place: Shop around when signing up for a gym membership and find the one with the best child care. My kids LOVE the play area at my gym! It is huge! It has an inflatable bounce house, slides, tunnels, mini basketball games, doll houses, and even a few computers set up for the kids. I prefer to work out before the kids are awake, but a couple times a week I wait til later in the day so they can play at the gym.
- Make Sponge Water Bombs!: We love how simple and fun this idea is from Positively Splendid. Check out how to make these here.
- McDonald’s Play Place: We usually stop by the McDonald’s play place after we’ve been outside at the park for a couple hours. It feels so nice after being in the hot sun. I just order some yogurt parfaits and bottled water and then the kids continue to play but in air conditioning this time. By the time we get home, they are worn out! Check out our healthy fast food list for ideas on other good food options to order =) The nice thing about the parfaits is that they’re only a buck, then we eat a real lunch/dinner when we get home =)
- Make a Water Balloon Piñata: It’s exactly how it sounds, fill up 5 or 6 water balloons, tie them to a string and tie that to a tree branch then have your kids swing at it with a plastic bat!
- IKEA: IKEA has a free daycare filled with lots of fun toys and a ball pit! If you need a lamp, cookware, cutlery, furniture, sheets, towels, whatever, shop IKEA. They have such a variety of things and it’s as cheap as Walmart, but you can shop kid free! The only catch is that your kids have to be potty trained. Such a great option to kill two birds with one stone– the kids have fun & I get my random shopping done, now if only they had something like this at the grocery store…
- Make Bouncing Bubbles (that you can hold): We haven’t done this yet, but I saw it on Facebook and it looks too cool! Here is the link to the bubble recipe from A Little Pinch of Perfect. Most, if not all, kids love bubbles, so making ones that they can actually touch and hold will definitely be a win!
- Splash Pads: If we’re not bringing our water guns to the park, I make sure to choose a park with a splash pad. That way they kids have it as an option to help cool off.
- Trampoline Gym: This is not an every day activity for us, but definitely a good thing to do once or twice a month. If they offered monthly passes at a discounted price we’d go more often. Find out if yours has any specials. I know the one we like to go to offers buy 1 hour, get 1 free on Tuesdays =)
- Go Ice Skating: Such a fun change up from the heat!
- Squirt Gun Target Practice: Set up targets (usually disposable cups) that they can practice knocking over by squirting them with their water guns! This usually turns into a water gun fight!
There are so many things you can do to keep cool during the hot Summer months. We love to mix all of these into our Summer, but our go-tos are definitely gym bounce house/day care, park with squirt guns & picnic food, McDonald’s play place, waterpark and pool =) Let me know some of your faves in the comments below!
