ENGAGING activities for the summer

Engaging Activities for Families for the Summer Season

By Brian Keith Shrewsbury

Classic Summer Outdoor Activities

• Head to the beach, lake, or pool for swimming, building sandcastles, collecting seashells, and playing in the waves.
• Go on a family bike ride or nature trail walk to enjoy the sunshine, fresh air, and summer wildlife.
• Plan a backyard or park picnic with homemade sandwiches, fresh fruit, and cold lemonade.

Creative and Educational Ideas

• Set up a backyard water station with sprinklers, water balloons, slip-n-slide, or a homemade water table for sensory play.
• Organize a neighborhood or backyard scavenger hunt looking for butterflies, birds, clouds, or different types of leaves and flowers.
• Create sidewalk chalk art, paint rocks, or build sand sculptures together as a family.

Active Play for Kids

• Visit MGA Gymnastics for fun summer gymnastics classes, open gym, or skill-building sessions that improve strength, coordination, and confidence in a safe, air-conditioned environment.
• Play classic outdoor games like tag, frisbee, kickball, or water balloon toss in the yard.
• Have a family water fight with hoses, squirt guns, or buckets for refreshing summer fun.
• Set up a simple backyard obstacle course with hula hoops, cones, jump ropes, tunnels, and household items for active challenges.
• At home, practice basic gymnastics skills like cartwheels, forward rolls, handstands against a wall, or hollow body holds on the grass or carpet for safe indoor/outdoor fun.

These activities are great for making lasting memories, staying active, and enjoying God’s beautiful creation together as a family during the warm summer months.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
— John 10:10

Bonus Kids Activity Book Ideas

• “My Summer Adventure Journal” – A printable or simple notebook where kids draw or write about each activity they do, collect leaves/flowers, or paste photos.
• “Gymnastics & Faith Fun Book” – A small activity book with coloring pages of gymnastics skills, Bible verses about strength (like Philippians 4:13), simple movement challenges, and places to track their summer accomplishments.