Endless Summer takes on an entirely new meaning.
Today is the first day of summer! And you know what that means: relaxing by the pool, trashy novels, and tropical vacations.
Unless, of course, you happen to be a young mother.
Okay, so Seabass isn’t exactly school-aged yet, but like mothers of school-aged kids over the summer, I am all too familiar with the thought What the heck will entertain you today? Thankfully, I have a friend who is far more proactive than me. Her name is Stephanie and she has made a terrific list of activities to turn to whenever the kiddos get antsy this summer. I recently asked her permission to share this list with you all, and she graciously agreed.
Granted, many of these are specific to where I live, San Luis Obispo, where it’s never too hot or too cold to do much of anything. (Gloat, gloat.) But many are applicable wherever you live. Just get out there and do stuff. If you’re anything like me, it will provide sanity when you’ve squeezed the life out of all your other ideas.
Out and About
- SLO creek
- Pismo Beach/Avila Beach
- Montana de Oro
- Avila Valley Barn
- Bob Jones Trail
- Morro Bay – watch boats
- Elfin Forest – Los Osos
- Sweet Springs Nature Preserve – Los Osos
- Atascadero Zoo
- Avila Beach Park
- Farmers Market – SLO or Avila
- Children’s Museum – SLO or Paso
- Fly a kite
- Walk to Laguna Lake
- Santa Barbara Zoo
- Rancho Grande Park – AG
- Pool
- Visit a fire station / police station
- Jack Creek Farms – Templeton
- Monterey Bay Aquarium
- Denise the Menace Park – Monterey
- Live Kids Music @ Boo Boo Records – Wed. 10:15-10:45 (arrive early)
- Concerts in the Plaza – Fridays 5:30-7:30
- Blues Baseball Game
- Waller Park Santa Maria- feed the ducks
- Cal Poly – visit the cows and horses
- Library
- Klondike’s Pizza / Doc Burnsteins – AG
- Volunteer
- BBQ or Bon Fire – Port San Luis
- Bubblegum Alley
- Dinosaur Caves Park – Pismo Beach
- Walk around Atascadero Lake – play at the park
- Hike to Point San Luis Lighthouse
- Avila Beach Sea Life Center
- PetSmart – look at fish and birds
- Home Depot – touch tools (that’s my own addition to the list!)
Fun at Home
- Build a fort
- Camp in the backyard
- Paint or Watercolor
- String beads
- Draw with sidewalk chalk
- Make playdough
- Make flubber
- Wash the car
- Paint the house (water and paint brushes)
- Have a tea party
- Make a matching game
- Sensory table – cotton balls, soil, water, sand, dry pasta, beans, rice, etc.
- Catch bugs
- Have a dance party
- Make and fly paper airplanes
- Play dress up
- Make musical instruments from recycling
- Read
- Cook together
- Make an obstacle course
- Have a picnic
- Send someone a letter
- Make sock puppets
- Put together a puzzle or make one
- Toss handmade bean bags
- Toss a ball
- Run in the sprinklers
- Plant a flower
- Ride bikes
- Get a book on CD
- Watch airplanes land and take off
- Pudding finger paint
- Perform an experiment
- Sing
- Play Hide and Seek
I am Jaime, wife to Jacob. We are the smitten, stupefied, sometimes scared silly parents of a precious boy nicknamed Seabass and a darling girl nicknamed Sweet Chuck.
Higher Highs, Lower Lows 
That is an amazing list! I live in Phoenix and it is WAY too hot for anything not involving water. My husband and I took a trip up the coast about a year ago (LA to San Fran) and we would love to live in your area! Just reading all the neat activities you have locally makes me insanely jealous, and of course I’m jealous of the mild weather as well.
I am nearing the end of my maternity leave during which I had to entertain my two year old and try to sleep train a new baby and it was quite the challenge figuring out what we could do to keep busy around the house. Sidewalk chalk was on our list too, because he eats crayons. 🙂
Thanks for your great blog – I enjoy it!
Sigh, I miss the Central Coast. Even up here in the Bay Area it’s too friggin hot to go outside! Me thinks we’re headed down to Half Moon Bay today.
I really needed the “At Home” list. There’s lots do to where I live but some days are just too hot, rainy, or I just don’t feel like leaving the house again. Thanks for sharing!
Great list! Especially the “at home” one! I feel like I should print this out…
I love to see how Scarlett looks at the same activity differently as she gets older. We’ve taken her to feed the ducks since she was 8 months old, but it seems like every time she picks up on something different — like yesterday she was quacking!
Happy acres goat farm in templeton is a fun addition
Clearly, you are in need of these two books: A SLO County version, AND a SB County version:
http://www.bestfamilyadventures.com/ My cousin wrote them, after doing TONS of legwork to find as many cheap/free/easy activities as possible.