Beating the Boredom :: 10 Indoor & Outdoor Summer Activities

Summer is upon us, and while most of us are thrilled at the moment, I have a feeling I may want to wave the white flag in a couple of weeks. My kids would love to be on the move having “special outings” all summer long, but sorry, not in this momma’s budget. So I love that our sponsors at Blackmon Mooring {yup, that carpet cleaning company that does so much more!} recognized that their loyal customers would appreciate a guide to summer, including everything from entertaining, summer clean up, safety tips, and fun activities for moms and kids alike. Their “Home is the Heart of Summer” guide is available for free download here. And I guarantee it will be a trusty resource for you all season long. After perusing through all of their fantastic {and reasonable!} ideas, I selected a few of my fave indoor and outdoor activities below to highlight, and tossed in some of our HMB Contributor’s posts as well. Enjoy!

Beating the Boredom :: 10 Indoor & Outdoor Summer Activities | Houston Moms Blog

5 Creative Indoor Summer Activities

{1} Sticky Spider Web :: This is one of those I can’t believe I didn’t think of that type ideas. Actually scratch that, I’m so not clever like this, but I appreciate that there are those who are! Simply take a roll of blue painter’s tape, choose a doorway or hallway and go to town creating a spider web effect. Then the fun part – have your kiddos grab little items to toss at the “spider web”. You could totally make this educational as well. Have them work on their counting as they throw. Or even better, use it as a bribe when working on sight words. Every time they get a sight word correct, they get to throw something at the web. My son especially would love this!

{2} Domino Play Day :: I love dominoes. Seriously, so much fun for kids and adults alike. And while it may look like I was running a gambling parlor, I swear dominoes helped my kiddos learn to count and work on patterns.  For the younger set, it’s a great opportunity to work on fine motor skills as well building all sorts of “domino trains” and other structures. Check out the web for other fun versions and step-by-step instructions appropriate for your children’s ages.

{3} Shaving Cream Painting :: For those of you feeling super brave, shaving cream painting is good for hours of entertainment. Strip the kids down and lay out some newspaper to protect the counters. Only 4 materials are needed, and I guarantee you have them around your house. Jenn has all the instructions here on how to create this fun {and gorgeous} artwork. Educational twist :: Talk about primary vs secondary colors and how to create different shades using the food coloring!

{4} Get Cookin’ with Underwater Jell-O Treats :: This incredibly simple, yet yummy treat is perfect for a hot summer day! All you need is plastic cups, candy fish, whipped cream, and blue Jello-O…and perhaps a little patience from the kids as the Jello-O sets in the fridge. I am already planning to do this great activity and incorporate it into a theme day – think Finding Nemo on the big screen, goldfish snacks, and reading Dr. Seuss’ “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.” Perfecto. {Speaking of cooking with your kids, have you checked out Hannah’s hysterical video? I think every mom can relate!}

{5} Laundry Basket Skee Ball :: The only potential dilemma I see with this activity is I very rarely have an empty laundry basket,  amiright ladies?!? However, this is too much fun so I’ll just plan to dump the laundry back into the dryer. What? Don’t act like you’ve never done that. Anyway, simply set up a few stations of laundry baskets. The first one will hold all those colorful plastic balls and the subsequent ones will be labeled with a point value. Take an old box to act as the ramp, and voila, it’s like Chuck E. Cheese up in here. {Pssst…for more great ideas using those plastic balls, take a look at Kelly’s post on turning your bath tub into a ball pit. BRILLIANT.}

5 Fantastic Outdoor Summer Activities

{1} Tarp Throw :: Okay, I’m looking in my garage right now for an old blue tarp. Simply cut out fun shapes, edge them in colorful tape, place a point value on each one, and tie between two trees or posts. Then have your kids practice throwing their favorite sports balls through the holes. I love that it’s a great challenge for one child or a fun game for a handful of neighborhood kids. Plus, can we say exercise? Win, win!

{2} Giant Water Bed :: Keep that tape from above handy! Using just duct tape and leftover dropcloths from your last painting project, construct a huge water bed for your kids to have an instant cool off. They will love running and jumping around, and if it breaks, turn it into a DIY slip ‘n slide! Anything to beat these 100 degree temps, right? We won’t tell if you sneak out there during your kid’s naptime to cool off yourself!

{3} Concrete Color Run :: Go ahead and run to your local Target and grab all the sidewalk chalk. I swear, my kids never tire of this stuff. I love Laura’s idea on creating a game using colored circles all over the driveway. Then, she calls out the colors while her son runs to each one. Educational and tiring – can’t be beat! You can also extend the game to numbers, letters, etc. We also love using our chalk for hopscotch, writing notes on neighbor’s driveways, making murals on the fence, and more.

{4} Night Under the Stars :: Ever since my kids were toddlers, we go outside and wish the stars and moon a sweet goodnight. Now that they are a little older, they are asking more questions about the sky. We love gathering books about astronomy {age-level appropriate}, reading them throughout the day, and as soon as it’s dark, head to our local park with a blanket to identify what we read about. Such sweet moments laying with my family and truly making some precious memories. One of those times where a later bedtime and a little morning crankiness is totally worth it.

{5} DIY Sailboat Races :: Don’t throw away those Diet Coke bottles that you are powering through in the summer. Instead, recycle them into clever boats using an array of straws and pieces of foam. Encourage your children to decorate with stickers and markers to personalize their craft. Then head outside to the water table or kiddie pool and have them “race” using waterguns to push them across the water. Winner takes all!

For pictures, details, and more ideas, do yourself a little favor download Blackmon Mooring’s summer guide.  {It’s FREE!} While maybe most recognizable for their carpet cleaning services, their uniformed and background checked employees do everything from tile and grout cleaning, air duct cleaning, to furniture cleaning. Trust me, if you’ve ever cleaned your tile with nothing but a brush and a bleach, having a pro do it is worth it’s weight in gold.  And in the event you should ever have an emergency, they also perform restorative services such as fire damage clean up and reconstruction. Schedule your appointment straight from their website today just by entering your zip code. I love that this almost 70 year old company has always kept the customer first – this Home is the Heart of Summer Guide is a perfect example of that, and we encourage you to reference it all summer long. Keep cool, mommas, and make some memories this summer!


Please Note :: While Blackmon Mooring generously sponsored this post, all thoughts and opinions are proudly my own. 

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Meagan Clanahan
Meagan is a Dallas native who has lived in the Katy area for over a decade. She kicked a soccer ball all the way to Louisiana to attend college at her family’s alma mater of LSU, where she promptly fell in love with a Texas Aggie in Baton Rouge for an internship. After swimming back to Texas following Hurricane Katrina, Matt and Meagan fell in love with the Houston area and now couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Following several years of infertility, their miracle twins Ryan and Quinn were born in June of 2010. She believes there is nothing better than a chilled glass of Pinot Grigio, a large Sonic Diet Coke, sushi take-out, Girls Nights Out, and a mindless book to curl up with. Besides playing chauffeur and catering to the whims of her children, Meagan also is the Co-Owner of Houston Moms Blog. You can keep up with Meagan at The Clanahan Fam and on Instagram @meaganclanahan!

1 COMMENT

  1. Informative..!! Thanks for sharing the summer activities, especially for children. In summer, children get bored very soon and they need some activities for chilling. These activities will really help readers for chilling in summer.

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