22 free summer activities for toddlers

22 simple and easy free summer activities for toddlers – help keep them busy, active, learning, and having fun during the warm summer months!

My little guy loves to play, and he loves to play HARD.  Everyone always comments on how he doesn’t ever seem to stop – and it’s true!  Having such an active little boy is super exhausting and super fun all at the same time.  

My son does best when we’re active, and tends to look for trouble when we’re just hanging out at home.  With many long and hot summer days ahead of us, we’re planning on filling them up with lots of free summer kids activities:

• Get creative & silly with summer chalk photo ops
• Go on a nature walk
• Try some ice painting
• Go camping in your backyard
• Make a giant backyard board game
• Go swimming
• Have a picnic at the park
• DIY some giant bubbles
• Bake a treat and deliver it to an elderly neighbor
• Check out your local library’s classes and storytimes
• Make a homemade sprinkler for your kids to run through
• Play with shaving cream
• Visit your local children’s museum
• Make a simple summer sun craft
• Feed the ducks
• Bring books outside & sit in the shade to read them
• Have a “drive in movie” using cardboard cars
• Attend an actual drive in movie theater
• Visit a local dog park
• Chip away at a giant ice cube filled with surprises
• Visit a local farm or petting zoo
• Wash the car together

There are SO many more activities to do this summer, but that’s a start!  

*edited to add:

I wrote this post when my son was so itty bitty and now he’s going to be six this summer!! AND we’ve added two sweet girls to our family as well! 

I will update this to add some new ideas this summer – but here’s a really popular article I recently wrote on how to raise grateful kids.