Deep in the Mid-Summer Slump? 9 Ideas to End the Summer with Fun

Whether you’re a go-go-go family or a slow, lazy days family, by mid-July, the fun of summer may be wearing off.

While we creep towards a new school year, I hate to end the summer with bored kids & a bored mom. Keeping a few ideas back to bring out now is a great way to end the summer with fun.

Have a reading challenge — Parents vs. Kids style.

Book bingos, summer reading programs, reading challenges. They’re everywhere during the summer. But by this point in the summer, they’re old news.

Switch it up with some friendly competition.

Kiddos or parents, who can get the first bingo? Or fill up the entire bingo card? My husband isn’t much of a reader & our boys are voracious readers who love competition, so no one was surprised when they filled a card in a week.
(My bingo set is on sale through July!)

Don’t forget to set up what each side can win!

Have a lemonade stand — in reverse.

Make a big batch, grab cups, and head to a nearby park. But you’re not going to sell the lemonade. Give it away! Kiddos of any age can get into this activity.

You could add a bucket for donations (optional, of course!). Then drive straight to your favorite local charity & hand it over.

Find a new library to explore.

Have you visited all of the libraries in your area? The nearest big city main library may have a fantastic kids’ section, a mini-museum, or other cool features. That little town of 5000? You may find a librarian who is delighted to chat with your kiddos for a bit — and has the time to do it!

Stop. Go. Action.

Grab your phone and some forgotten (or favorite) toys, and install Stop Motion Studio. Stop motion movies have a minimal learning curve & are lots of fun. Toddlers through teens can get into this activity.

(The app is a paid app with a free trial. We’ve gotten far more than $5 worth of entertainment out of it. My boys have even used it to recreate historical events or explain scientific ideas, so it doubles as a homeschool tool, too.)

Go online to get offline.

I often find interesting events happening around me on Facebook Events. You can sort by type of activity & location (online included). It’s a great way to find events with a low budget for marketing and/or super-niche.

Eventbrite is another excellent site to find events — local & online, free & paid.

College applications open soon.

Scrolling Facebook yesterday, I noticed that my daughter’s college has already opened college applications for 2022-2023. (CommonApp resets & reopens on August 1.) Now is the time to get things in order, especially if your kiddo knows where they want to apply.

It might be a stretch to call this fun — at least for mom! But I’m throwing it in anyway because I didn’t do it well last year.

(If you aren’t there quite yet, close your eyes & savor the sound of your kiddos. Just for a moment. It’ll be your turn soon.)

Need help with high school paperwork & the college application process? I’ve got you (as my teen would say). Check out this series I recently did.

Popcorn for lunch is always a hit.

We love this microwave popper. Check the microwave popcorn section at your Walmart, too.

Then add some fun flavor shakers. Yes, you can buy them. But when I decided last-minute that I wanted to do a “flight of popcorn” tasting, these recipes became our go-to. I make larger batches & keep them in little shaker jars.

Puzzles by day, games by night.

But don’t stick to the puzzles & games in your cabinet. Post in your local neighborhood FB group/NextDoor app & ask to swap for a weekend. It’s a fun way to try out new games & break the boredom of the same ‘ole, same ‘ole.

National Ice Cream Day may be over,

but National Ice Cream month isn’t! If you have an ice cream machine, this four-ingredient ice cream is our staple.

A couple of winters ago, I put up a hot chocolate bar in our kitchen. It stayed up all winter & stayed in regular use. I wanted to do something similar for summer. I landed on an ice cream sundae bar — it was such a hit, I brought it back in the spring this year!

A scaled-down version with a few favorite toppings for the rest of the summer would be easy & fun. Or invite neighbors or friends over & have everyone bring a pint of ice cream & a topping. Keep it easy.

Have you tried these activities?

• Build a blanket fort & watch a movie in it.
• Swimsuit-clad kiddos in the bathtub (with cool water)? Guaranteed to make little kids giggle.
• Grow crystals using Epsom salts.
• Add a twist on Legos with lego challenges.
• Make indoor snow!