With camps, vacations, and other plans for summer fun suddenly cancelled, countless parents are left scrambling for ideas to entertain their children as they’re cooped up at home over the summer. Spending any long period of time in just one place can be suffocating, and for children used to running, jumping, and playing, it can be especially boring. And it’s no fun for parents either, who have to contend with fussy kids as they try to complete their other responsibilities.

Thankfully, even though it doesn’t seem so at first, there are plenty of fun and educational activities to do from the safety of home. In this article, we’ll outline just some of the many, many ways you and your family can use this summer as an opportunity to explore and grow. It might not be that one camp you’d signed up for back in January, but from board games to virtual museum tours to experiments in the backyard, there’s plenty for your child to do.

Traditional Activities

In an age where everything is digital, it can be easy to overlook traditional analog activities. However, the endless possibilities afforded by pencils and poker and pretend play shouldn’t be underestimated, and they can provide valuable family bonding time as well.

Arts and Crafts

One of the first things that pops to mind when you think of kids’ activities is arts and crafts--and for good reason. Children of all ages love messing with stickers and paints, creating wonderfully charming works of art from their imaginations. However, while it can be fun to just give a kid a crayon and let them go wild, guided crafts can be even more rewarding.

Many of these arts and crafts projects can be found online, ranging from making your own paint to designing paper masks, both in video and written form. And, best of all, pretty much all of them can be done with things found around the house with no additional cost--except perhaps cleaning up a few messes here and there.

Cooking and Baking

Similar to arts and crafts, cooking and baking with kids can be a great way for them to simultaneously experiment creatively while learning to follow instructions and pay attention to details. Of course, with the added benefit that you can eat whatever you make at the end.

Familiar options like cookies and cakes are always excellent choices, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you can teach your kids to make recipes from all over the world, providing the entire family with a chance to experience cuisine you might not have had before.

Board and Card Games

They may seem tedious and mundane to some people, but board and card games can provide endless amounts of fun for others. In an article from The New York Times, Joey Lee, the director of the Games Research Lab at Teachers College at Columbia University, states that a board game environment provides “a structure and environment that sparks laughter, creativity, joy and other pleasure-filled moments that come from solving problems successfully, optimizing one’s strategies, working together or competing against other players.”

Thus, whether it’s iconic classics that you probably already have lying around at home or a small investment you’d like to make in a new game you’ve never played before, such as Triominos or Quiddler, analog games can be a great source of family-friendly fun and brain exercises for everyone.

You can even invent your own game! With online tutorials of how to make game pieces out of everyday materials, such as newspaper, the possibilities are endless for how you can modify pre-existing game rules or completely design your own. Your child will have endless fun making and playing these DIY games.

No matter what you play, don’t let the friendly competition tear your family apart!

Virtual Field Trips

One of the biggest complaints of both parents and children this season is that it's frustrating to not be able to go anywhere. Unfortunately, though that problem itself cannot be remedied, plenty of institutions are offering online alternatives to their usual services. Obviously, the experience cannot be completely replicated digitally, but there are still plenty of interesting options to explore with your child.

Museums

Countless museums have been hosting online exhibits and events in the past few months. Subjects range from art to history/culture to science. Viewing some of these museums can be a good opportunity for children to explore their interests and for parents to introduce real world topics and discussions to their kids. The New York Times compiled an amazing list of online museums appropriate for children.

The Guggenheim Museum is one such museum that’s offering virtual programming with the creation of its Family Tours at Home, available on certain days. This 60-minute, $15 event is an interactive tour centered around a single theme, spotlighting artwork from the Guggenheim’s collection and special exhibitions. It includes creative and hands-on activities meant to engage the whole family. The Guggenheim has also released an e-book titled “A Year With Children 2020,” its annual show of artwork created by New York City students.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is also worth keeping an eye on. It offers an online show called “Spiky, Hairy, Shiny: Insects of L.A.,” which features a 360° tour of a variety of vibrant, striking bugs, including close-up shots. Children can also meet a skink named Tallulah in the museum’s “Walk on the Wild Side” videos, which also features other aspects of Los Angeles’ beautiful biodiversity.

But if your child is more of a history fan, it may be a good idea to check out The Tenement Museum--well known for portraying real immigrants with actors to explore New York history. This practice is being continued virtually, with children being allowed to “meet” historical figures over Zoom. Visitors can also explore the story of  the Puerto Rican Saez Velez family from the 1950s through video and oral history in Building a Community.

National Parks

Like museums, several national parks have also provided opportunities for virtual tours. Content includes webcams showing recent video footage from the parks, photo and video galleries, specialized kids activities, and informational articles and video information.

Yellowstone National Park, for example, gives visitors the chance to view video walks of the park’s many famous and beautiful locations, navigate maps to zoom in to and learn more about various landmarks--some of which are in 3D--and attend a virtual tour of the jaw-dropping Upper Geyser Basin.

Similarly, Grand Canyon National Park allows visitors to virtually hike down its many trails and virtually raft through its many rapids. Furthermore, you can gain insight into the lives of the ancient people who lived in the area with the Grand Canyon Archeology Virtual Tour, complete with interactive 360° photographs and the ability to watch archeologists as they work.

These are just two of many, many options available from locations all over the country.

Explore Science and Nature

Quick and Easy Experiments

Kids have always been performing science experiments, and there’s no reason for them to stop now. Everything from a classic baking soda and vinegar volcano to making rock candy can be a great source of fun and excitement for your little one. In addition to that, longer experiments like watering plants with different fluids to compare how well they grow can be a great dive into the scientific process. A quick search can pull up many options.

Of course, finding all the necessary components and instructions for some projects can be difficult, so if coordinating these experiments is a bit of a struggle, you may want to consider investing in a STEM subscription box for kids. Below are some recommendations:

• Kiwi Crate

• Price: $20 per month
• Age: All ages, with 8 different subscriptions for different ages
• Covers multiple topics and scientific areas
• Comes with a lesson that explains the concepts taught
• Example Activities: building catapults, replicating constellations with fiber optic lights

• Green Kid Crafts

• Price: $25 and up per month
• Age: 2-10+, with 3 different subscriptions for different ages
• Combines art and science
• Plants a tree for every purchase
• Example Activities: making bird feeds, a safari-themed box

• Groovy Lab in a Box

• Price: $29.95 per month
• Age: 8+
• Focus on the engineering
• Activities follow the engineering design process
• Example Activities: creating your own guitar, creating your own marble runner

• BitsBox

• Price: $29.95 per month
• Age: 6-12
• Combines physical activities with the computer
• Each box teaches a new computer science concept
• Uses JavaScript syntax, though parents don’t need to know this to help
• Example Activities: making apps on the BitsBox website that can be run on any mobile device or computer with a web browser

• Steve Spangler Science

• Price: $15 per box
• Age: 5-12
• Mostly one-time use
• Lots of art-related kits
• Example Activities: making play-dough, slime, volcanoes, etc.

The World at Home

But of course, you don’t have to spend money to have fun. Lots of exciting opportunities surrounding the natural world are available right in your backyard. The summer is a great time to start a garden, or at least grow a few little plants. Not only is it super rewarding to see plants prosper and bloom, it’ll teach your children responsibility and how to care for another living creature.

Another option would be to watch for the animals that live around your residence. Your child can keep a journal of the interesting rodents, birds, and insects they find. The same can be done for the plants that grow nearby. You can even make a long-term scavenger hunt out of this, marking off as many plants, animals, and other natural artifacts you can find.

Online Exploration

And as always in this digital age, nature can be explored indoors behind a computer screen as well. But don’t worry! It’s not as dreary as it sounds. In fact, these online opportunities provide kids with the ability to travel to faraway locations and experiment with tools they wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

For example, amazingly, there exists a site that allows Internet-users to view live footage of African wildlife from webcams placed around watering holes. Though there’s no guarantee they’ll see something jaw-dropping, this is an exciting possibility for your kids, and many games can be made while watching the animals.

In addition to this, the Smithsonian also provides several educational STEM games and simulations, covering topics from animal adaptations to water equity to experiments with sugar. These apps are available for kids ranging from kindergarteners to middle schoolers.

Don’t Be Afraid to Be Boring

However, despite all these options, it’s impossible to keep any child engaged 100% of the time. Parents can’t and, in fact, shouldn’t be entertaining their children every waking moment. Children seem to have an innate ability to entertain themselves, and if they get bored enough, often they’ll develop their own way to play and have fun. Sometimes, they might bother you for a long time before they finally go, but they will eventually. There’s no need for parents to guide their every activity. Kids can learn plenty just by themselves.

According to Steven Mintz, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of Huck’s Raft: A History of American Childhood, “All play is productive. They will learn something from whatever they do.”

So don’t be afraid to be a boring parent every once in a while and to let your kids be kids and just play.