While I am counting down the days until no after-school activities, sporting events, and homework, I know summer can have challenges of its own. Having the kids home for the summer may make for lazy, relaxed days, but keeping the kids from being bored is not an easy task.

Keeping the kids’ brains engaged over the summer is not an easy task either. However, there are ways that you can keep kids thinking while they are daydreaming at the beach.

Keeping Kids’ Brains Engaged Over the Summer (2)Head to the beach: Going to the beach doesn’t have to be an entire day spent in the water. Make a deal with your child that you will take him or her and a friend or two to the beach and even treat them to lunch if they will give you an hour of reading time. Pack up the sunscreen and a good book in your beach bag and go.

Go camping: If you have never gone camping before, taking your kids while they are little is a great way to engage their bodies and their minds. Camping takes a lot of preparation and some effort as well. Have your kids fully participate in the packing and purchasing gear. Take your kids to the local library and grab some camping books so they can be master campers.

Look into pitching a real old-fashioned tent or maybe even have them agree that they have to learn how to put the tent together. Nothing makes a kid’s brain work harder than trying to figure out how to pitch a tent!

Go on a picnic: Make a deal with your kids to take them on a picnic in exchange for them bringing along an educational game to play while picnicking—perhaps a good old-fashioned game of chess, checkers, or a board game that involves some critical thinking. They don’t have to know that these games keep them thinking, let them just think it is a fun idea to play board games in the park!

Visit a local museum: A trip to your big city to visit a well-known museum is not only a learning experience, it’s also a lot of fun. Most large cities have a science museum, art museum, and even a children’s museum. Check their website for special summer programming for kids.

Visit a historical home:  Taking a trip to a historical home can be fun and educational as well. You may not know there is so much history right in your backyard. On our list this summer is to visit the home of Betsy Ross! This will be a great lesson in the history of our flag.

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Visit a planetarium: Going to a planetarium loads kids up on science while giving them tons of fun. After our visit to the local planetarium, my little one was obsessed with learning about the planets! So much we had to get a telescope so that we can look at the stars and search for planets.

About the author

Stephanie Glover

Stephanie Glover

Stephanie is a food and parenting blogger living in the suburbs of Philadelphia. A Grande Life covers all things parenting and lifestyle, including yummy recipes and info on the hottest toys! When she’s not blogging, you’ll find her enjoying a hot cup of coffee and living a boy mom life.

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