There are some spectacular activities for summer that are cost effective and don’t require a lot of materials or time, although time is what you have when the kids are at home but don’t know what to do. You may also want to provide fun things to do so there is less screen time.

Bubble painting is a sure way to bring on some smiles as well as attention and interest.

• Cover your kitchen or picnic table in an art paper roll and tape it down. Large white pieces of paper, construction paper or computer paper can work as well.

• Pour bubble solution into a muffin tin and add food coloring. Neon colors are especially nice.

• Give your kids some bubble blowers to dip in the colored water, so they can softly blow beautiful splatters or pretty circles all over the paper. Once it dries, it can be your tablecloth for later.

Cloud Dough creates a wonderful sensory experience, not only with touch but sight and smell. Here are the ingredients.

• 1 cup of hair conditioner. There are different scents at the Dollar Tree that work great.

• 2 cups of cornstarch. Food coloring is optional but will give variety if you want to make more and divide the amount into different containers. You can also add glitter for some sparkly fun.

• If your dough is too dry add more conditioner. If it’s too moist add more cornstarch.

Make a Bird Feeder! This can get messy but is a lot of fun. The birds will be appreciative too.

• You will need cardboard tubes such as those from toilet paper or paper towels, peanut butter, and birdseed.

• Using plastic knives, let the kids spread peanut butter all over the outside of the tubes.

• Have the kids roll the tubes in birdseed until it covers the peanut butter.

• Tuck the feeders into lower branches of a tree or two.

Play some Balloon Tennis either indoors or out.

• Hand out paper plates that the kids can decorate with crayons, markers, stickers, etc. 

• Use large craft sticks (bigger than popsicle sticks). You can find these at Michael’s or any craft store.

• Assist the kids with taping one stick to the back of their plates. Masking tape or something stronger is best.

• Blow up some balloons and have a blast batting them around.

Make a Fairy, Dinosaur or Unicorn Garden using supplies from your backyard and the Dollar Tree.

• Gather sticks and rocks from the backyard.

• Purchase garden supplies and toys such as: fake moss, artificial flowers, gems, smooth rocks, fairies, unicorns, or dinosaurs. There are also tiny dollhouses and doll furniture there.

• Purchase (still at the Dollar Tree) a large clear plastic or tin foil container to place the garden in.

• Let the kids have a ball arranging all these things into their own beautiful garden that they can have hours of fun playing with.

Besides making fun crafts, there are many simple outdoor activities and places to go in the summer. “My kids and I liked to pack a picnic lunch and play in different parks that had swings and slides,” Mary Messer of Bountiful said. “We would often bring a frisbee along to toss around. We also enjoyed meeting our family and friends on those occasions.

“Another fun activity was riding our bikes together,” she said. “One of our best memories was riding on the Provo Canyon bike path which goes past Bridal Veil Falls. There we stopped to take photos and dip our feet in the cold water. Vivian Park was our next stop. There we enjoyed a picnic lunch under a shaded pavilion.”

She said her family appreciated the beauty of nature and wildlife. ‘My two oldest sons Wesley and Andrew were young and my daughter Emily was just a tiny girl who fit in the baby seat on my bike. These simple pleasures have become some of our cherished memories.”

Jessica Ericksen of Bountiful said simple pleasures are among the most enjoyable. 

“We love the Splash Pad or hiking,” she said. “I also have outdoor sprinkler days where we come up with water activities, like a little pool full of water beads or sprinklers under the trampoline. The kids love it and are pretty much entertaining themselves.”

Above all, enjoy the fleeting days of summer with your precious children.