Oh summer! A time of freedom, enjoyment and enthusiasm for kids. The only problem? Keeping the little buggers happy all summer long. It can actually be quite a challenge, with kids somehow believing that you should entertain them!

That can be difficult nowadays as most of us have at least one job and a heck of other obligations. And so, we’re always looking for clever and good ways to keep the kids happy without having to give up on our commitments or be unable to put food on the table.

To that end, today we’ve collected together seven ideas for your kids to try their hands at that will keep them occupied and happy and you from tearing out your hair.

Make your own book

If your kid has any dreams of being a writer, then why not give them a crack at it this summer? Maybe you’ll be surprised and find the next child author has been living under your roof all this time.

With the Illustory your kid gets to try their hand at making a book, either on paper or on a computer, which then gets delivered to your house in a hard cover bound book with their picture and information about them on the back.

That’s just an awesome way to keep them busy today and have a memory for tomorrow as well. I wish they’d had this when I was a kid. I just climbed things.

Build a lemonade stand

Kids can spend the whole day pretending to be grownups. What kid wouldn’t want a chance at that? Plus, they get to learn important skills, including math, business, as well as how to keep the dog from drinking up the lemonade while they’re not looking. Sounds like a winner to me!

Tell all your friends about it and have them ‘accidently’ drop by to buy a cup of lemonade. It can even be a great excuse to meet up with people you haven’t seen for a while and turn their lemonade stand into a garden party.

Writing service

Your kids have to do summer courses but they just want to go outside and play? Help them out by getting a professional writing service to write soe of their essays for them. Not everything, just the really hard ones that they’re really struggling with.

They’ll be so ridiculously grateful that they don’t have to spend the whole summer inside and studying. And when the normal year rolls around again, you can go back to being disciplined and making certain they do what they’re supposed to.

Science adventures

Check out lemon lime adventures for 20 great science experiments that your kids can try out with only minimal supervision. They might make a bit of a mess, but it might make them fascinated in science and nowadays that’s a surefire way to a good life with good prospects. And what is a bit of a mess compared to tomorrow and a happy today, I ask you?

That one was rhetorical. No need to answer.

Educational apps

Alternatively, if you can’t get them to stop looking at screens, turn that into a learning experience! There are plenty of educational apps out there, so spend some time doing one with the kids, get them excited and then turn it into a competition. Who can get more points, you or them?

Hopefully you’ll have an education advantage here, so that you don’t have to spend too much time on them. And if you do, it might mean you’ve got a genius on your hand. In other words, you can’t lose with this one.

Volunteer

Volunteering is a great service that will give your kid an opportunity to both have a great time and learn some civic responsibility – something that will help them throughout the rest of their lives.

If you do choose this path, make certain that you discuss what your kid will do, otherwise there’s a good chance they might not enjoy it. So find something that sparks your kids interest, even if it’s because a friend is going. If you don’t, there’s the chance that they’ll take exactly the wrong lesson away with them on this one.

Summer Bucket List

And finally, have your kid write a summer bucket list. No, it’s not exactly a service, but it will certainly help them plan. Then you know what they want to do. And if you help them do it they’ll have a good idea what you want them to do as well! (Note, it’s their list – if you take over too much, they’ll not have any motivation to actually do what’s on there).

From there you can all plan your adventures and you’ll always have something useful to grab back to when they’re yelling ‘I’m bored’ but you’re too busy to think of something for them. That’s what I call a win-win, wouldn’t you agree?