Summer is here, and most of you are probably enjoying fun in the sun – swimming, hiking, trips to the zoo, playing in the park, or just enjoying the great outdoors while sitting on your back porch.

I’m sure you couldn’t wait for summer to arrive so you could let the kids run free outside, expend some of their energy, and soak up some Vitamin D.

But what about those days when the mercury is sneaking past 90 (or more) and there isn’t a cloud in sight?  You know, those days when it’s just too hot to even go outside?  What do you do on those days?

Here is a list of 10 things to do with kids and not even set foot outside the house.  Choose one activity or a few for a day of fun indoors, or maybe these ideas will inspire you to come up with some indoor ideas of your own.

Balloon Tennis/Volleyball

All you need for this activity is a balloon, a paper plate, paint stirrer, and some tape.  Simply tape (packing tape works best) the paint stirrer to the back of a paper plate and, voila, you have a homemade racket.  You don’t even need to have a ‘net’ if you don’t want to, but if you do, just tie each end of a string to a chair and spread the chairs out about 8 feet.

If you don’t have paint stirrers, you could use rulers.  If you don’t have paper plates you could just use your hands and play volleyball instead.  Or, you could always just play the classic game of ‘Don’t let the balloon touch the floor.’

Ping Pong Ball Toss

For this activity you will need some cups, ping pong balls, and a large table or area on the floor.  Arrange the cups in any pattern, and give each one a point value.  You can also fill each cup with water to change the difficulty level depending on how much water is in each cup.  Then toss or bounce the ping pong balls from a designated spot and see who racks up the most points.

Build a Fort

Gather up all of your blankets, sheets, and pillows, and build a fort.  Hide out inside and read some of your favorite family read alouds together.

Indoor Scavenger Hunt

Send the kids off on an indoor scavenger hunt.  There are many different ways you could do this, and it can work for many different ages.  Give your child a list of colors, numbers, or letters to find.  Give him a list of objects to bring back (use pictures if your child isn’t reading yet).  Or give her a camera to take pictures of objects or tasks around the house.  Or try one of these ten ideas.

Movie Marathon

Watch some of your family’s favorite movies together.  Or better yet, take a walk down memory lane and watch some of your own family videos.  And don’t forget the popcorn!

Masking Tape Fun

Whip out the masking tape and get creative.  Make an indoor hopscotch or a roadway for your toy cars.  Make a target on the floor and test your accuracy with mini bean bags, stuffed animals, or rolled up socks.  We used Beanie Babies for our target practice.

Make a Craft

Get out the art supplies and let your kids be creative.  Here are 50 Sensational Summer Crafts for Kids if you need a little inspiration.

Have an Indoor Picnic

Pull out your picnic blanket and lay it out on your family room floor.  Pack a basket or bag lunch and act as though you are having a picnic, but minus the heat and the ants.  And you don’t have to limit your picnic just to lunch – have a picnic breakfast or surprise Dad with a picnic dinner.

Balloon Stomp

Here is another fun activity with balloons.  Tie a blown-up balloon onto each participants ankle and then try to pop everyone else’s balloons.  The person with the last blown-up balloon is the winner.

Make Homemade Ice Cream

Cool down with a fresh homemade frozen treat.  You’ll have to start this activity early because it needs to freeze.  While it’s freezing, enjoy one of the other activities mentioned above.

 

What suggestions do you have for things to do with kids when it’s too hot to go outside?