Summer Activities for Kids

In a Perfect World...

School is out! Summer has started and the kids are self-motivated with engaging activities! They are constantly outside! Wait...that’s not your reality? Do the kids want to play Minecraft for 8 hours? They're already bored and perhaps they’re driving you nuts. It’s ok to admit it! Get them flexing their creative muscle with this exciting summer activity for kids!

Photo Scavenger Hunts

Grab yourself this series of free printable Summer Photo Scavenger Hunts to occupy time creatively. Each will follow a theme and help your kids hone their photo-taking skills.

Children love cameras and will surprise you with how original they can be in creating interesting compositions. Please, don't help them. Just allow their creative minds to run free. There is no wrong photo.

Give them your phone or the iPad. Remember that point-and-shoot you brought everywhere in 2003? Dust that baby off and let your child have it.

Want to go crazy? Dig out your old film camera and explain that concept to their digitally wired minds! Here's a handy article on how to choose an analog camera for kids.

Either way, this set of hunts is the perfect summer activity for kids.

Time to Create

If your child can read, just hand over a printed copy and let 'em loose! Encourage them to take their time on each hunt and try a few shots at different angles.

The beauty of digital is you don’t have to spend money developing a roll of film where 75% are throw-aways.

Warning, your kids will overshoot and you’ll have LOTS of throwaways. You’ll end up with lots of keepers as well. Summer will be documented from the perspective of the one it was created for. Win!

The Scavenger Hunt can be as simple or advanced as you'd like. Small children can just snap the photos. Elementary or middle school-aged children can try the activity extensions, listed on each page of the hunts.

Additional Summer Activity Ideas:

1. Create a folder on the computer or an album on your phone of their favorites. Have them choose ONE image from each idea to keep instead of five of the same shot.

2. Print favorites to decorate a room, tack board, or notebook.

3. Challenge children to create a poem or story around a favorite image.

4. Print some photos and create a physical album. Have arts and crafts hour! (See my recommendations for where to print at this post.)

5. Start an online book that can be printed at the end of the summer (like Shutterfly). Let the kids design the pages each week after they take photos. Challenge them to write captions and date each week. The result will show progress and act as an archive of summer.

6. Do the Scavenger Hunt a second time but choose new items.