two children sit on a dock splashing their feet in the lake

5 Fun Ideas for the Kids This Summer

Summer vacation looms on the horizon as the school year winds down this month. And this year certainly has not been without its obstacles. In fact, the 2020-2021 school year has been more hands-on than usual for most parents. And while the challenges of remote learning are quickly starting to fade with the arrival of warmer weather, a new hurdle arises: how do you keep your kids occupied while maintaining peace in the household?
A sign with the silhouette of a palm tree with the caption "summer is coming"
Sometimes, all it takes is having a plan in place that will help take some of the burden off of your shoulders during the long, hot summer months. And since we’re all about lightening the load and making life easier, we’ve come up with five creative and fun things that you can do with the kids or set up for them to do on their own.

5 Easy Ways to Make Summer Vacation Fun and Exciting

These five ideas are but starting points for you and the kids this summer. Add some ideas of your own, or adapt these ideas to suit your needs. This summer, the possibilities aren’t just limited to the pool, the beach, or the local splash pad.

1. Get Cooking With The Kids

Children cooking pie with a parent or guardian in the kitchen
Since you have to cook for your family anyway, why not get the kids involved by teaching them how to make their favorite meals? The trick with this activity is to find things that the kids are good at in the kitchen or the grocery store. For example, let your kids help you choose veggies or let them find their favorite ingredients in the store. If you have your own garden at home, then show them how to pick vegetables. Next, give an impromptu cooking lesson on how to wash, safely peel and chop, and prepare those vegetables and other ingredients that you’ll be using in your recipe. When you get the kids to cook with you, not only are you teaching them a valuable skill, you’re also carving out meaningful family time with them. The best part of this activity is that when it’s over, you can all spend time bonding over a delicious meal that you’ve created together. Pro tip: these meals don’t have to be family favorites. You can also choose new recipes to explore together.

2. Reinforce Chores While Making Them Fun

A child giggling as they carry an armload of clean laundry out of the dryer
While school’s not in session, it's a great time to have the kids help you around the house. Household chores not only give the kids a sense of responsibility, they also help them understand the value of taking care of their living space as well as their personal belongings. This issue here is that most kids tend to see chores as a form of punishment. Knowing that, why not try to bring a little bit of fun into the experience by constructing a spinning wheel or a dart board with various chores listed on it? This way, the kids get to spin the wheel or throw a dart — make that a velcro dart to avoid any potential injury — and whatever chore they land on is what they will set out to accomplish for the day. If, however, they keep landing on ones that they don’t like, then you can always offer to let them do one that they prefer. This way, it will almost seem like a treat. If you want to go the extra mile, you can always find a way to make that chore fun by trying to make a game of it or offering a small reward if they finish in a reasonable amount of time. You can always tailor chores to your child’s age so that things feel like they are at that meeting point of challenging and yet not overly tough.

3. Take Some Time To Be Thoughtful

A mom and her young daughter look at each other as they both work on writing letters and drawing pictures
Teach the kids that it’s always nice to show someone you care. Make a fun afternoon out of writing cards to friends and family, and then sending them through the mail. Regardless of whether they’ve got friends overseas or right next door, it’s always fun to drop a note or a card in the mail and even more fun to receive a response back. In fact, weekly card or letter writing is a phenomenal way to increase creativity and communication, and as an added bonus, it teaches kids the value of communicating in a way that’s not digital. Moreover, when the kids have to wait for a letter, they learn the value of patience.

4. Create A Change In Scenery

Why not shake things up at home by allowing the kids to rearrange their rooms? When you give your kids the green light to move things around however they want to throughout the summer, you’ll be empowering them to be responsible for their personal space by making creative choices. Not only that, but allowing the kids to move their furniture and play around with their spatial awareness and organization is empowering. When the kids take control and rearrange their rooms it also refreshes their interest in a space that they’ve gotten all too used to this past year.

5. Find Adventures At Your Local Library

A woman smiles at a child as she helps him reach a book on the shelf
Going to the library may seem like a traditional summer thing to do, but when you really think about it, there’s always something exciting going on at your local library. Aside from lots of summer reading and crafting programs, the library also has guest speakers, classes, and a wealth of books and book series to get into during the warm months ahead. As the school year comes to a close, take a trip with the kids to your local library to pick out a book series that sparks their interests. Look for something that you can all read separately. Then, have mini book club meetings to talk about what you all are reading each week. Have discussions about your book’s author, the setting, the storyline, and anything else you all found interesting. Add to the fun by having special treats and snacks laid out just as you would for a book club that adults attend.

Don’t Forget About Yourself This Summer

While spending time with the kids engaging in summer activities can be a fun and exciting way to spend the summer, don’t forget to take some time out for yourself. Taking time to relax doesn’t have to be a huge deal filled with grand plans and scenic locations, instead, it can be something simple and quiet. A good rule of thumb is to always keep your favorite FAB CBD product on hand. When the kids are tucked away in bed, take some time to draw yourself a relaxing epsom salt bath. Light some candles, play some soft music, take a couple of vegan CBD gummies, and let the warmth of the bath, the soft lighting, and the CBD take you away to stress-free places.
A young woman holds a box and jar of anytime CBD gummies as she sits on the couch in the sunlight
If CBD Chews aren’t your thing, then there are many other ways to incorporate CBD into your life. FAB CBD has an excellent line of full-spectrum oils in an array of delicious flavors and strengths, a fresh citrus scented Topical CBD Cream, an amazing warming/cooling CBD Salve, and “Nighttime” PM CBD Chews to help you gain a more restful and refreshed night’s sleep. No matter which product you choose, savoring those quiet, stolen moments in your life will be much better with your favorite FAB CBD product added into them.

Beat the Heat This Summer Through Creativity

Make this summer one for the books by thinking outside of the box. The upcoming heatwaves don’t have to be all about beaches and splash pads. Instead, make it a special time filled with family bonding and activities that will help the kids to grow both creatively and emotionally. Use our five fun ideas as a jumping off point to come up with new and exciting ones of your own. You never know, maybe a few of those ideas will turn into summertime family traditions. And finally, don’t forget to take some time for yourself to rest, relax, and recharge. Your kids will be glad that you did.