There's no shortage of fun things to do with your kids during the summer. Warm weather offers ample opportunity to bond as a family, go to the beach or lake, and enjoy nature. The months will fly by, and the kids will be back in school before you know it.

But summer can be more than fun and games.

Moms and dads can use this time to teach their kids important life skills.

What skills can you teach your kids this summer?

1. Cooking Basics

Kids should be encouraged to learn how to cook. Making a small meal for themselves, and maybe even you, helps build confidence and teaches them an important life skill. It's also barbeque season, so you can teach your kids how to grill, too.

It's easy to make hamburgers or hotdogs, and this is a great starting point for kids.

Cooking something as simple as pasta or an egg is also a great way to teach kids cooking skills. Baking cookies or even a pizza is another great option. Make sure to focus on cooking safety, especially when teaching your kids how to grill, to lower their risks of being injured.

If you teach your kids the basics of cooking, you'll also find that it's a creative outlet for many kids that want to experiment with different foods.

2. Basic Repairs and Maintenance

Basic repairs and maintenance have long created bonding moments for dads and sons, but moms and daughters can also get in on the action. There are a lot of small skills, which may seem irrelevant to you, that can help kids grow as a person.

You can teach your kids:

• Basic car repairs. It doesn't take much to fix a headlight, change the oil or swap out an air filter in the car. Teaching your kids these basics and the importance of maintenance will help your kids when they have their own vehicle in the future.

• Home maintenance. Teaching your kids how to repair broken locks or leaky faucets is a great way to introduce your child to home ownership.

• Equipment repair. If you have a lawn mower, or a boat, you can teach your child basic repairs, too. Boat Repairs London suggests teaching kids the proper way to sand a boat and paint it, too, if you're feeling extra adventurous.

3. Self-Defense

Learning to defend yourself is empowering. Parents can teach their kids basic self-defense if they know how to defend themselves, or they can sign their kids up for a self-defense class. There are ample martial arts schools that offer steep discounts in the summer.

You may also find self-defense classes at local high schools or YMCA centers.

If you like, take a class with your child and learn these potential life-saving skills, too. It's never too late to learn the art of self-defense.

4. How to Be Charitable

Kids have a tendency to stay home a lot during the summer, chatting with their friends on FaceTime or Snapchat, but this isn't the best use of their time. Sometimes, it's good to show your children how to be charitable.

The goal is to teach your kids that they can spend their time doing good for others.

A volunteer day with your kids is a great way to teach them a life skill. You can teach your child to be humble, giving and how to open their hearts to others. This can mean going to a soup kitchen together, or it can mean gathering and donating toys for the less fortunate.

There are a lot of places to volunteer, too, from nursing homes to your local YMCA.

5. The Concept of Hard Work

Kids spend a lot of time around the house, but you can teach them a skill that they'll use for the rest of their life: how to work hard. Don't let these precious summer months go to waste. You can use these summer months to:

• Set goals for your children

• Teach them time management

• Teach them that they need to work all year long

• Expand your child's sports training

If your kids just sit around and relax all day, it's teaching them that hard work is only a part-time effort. Children that want to make the varsity team or excel in sports need to train during their time off. This means instilling the concept of hard work into your kids at a young age.

Summer is the perfect time to show your kids that the hard work and choices they make today will pay off when they're older.