Fun Summer Activities That Help Kids Develop*

The long summer holidays are the perfect opportunity for kids to forget the pressures of school lessons and timetables.

But for parents, that long stretch of time might not be quite so fun sounding. There’s also the thought at the back of lots of parents’ minds that a long stretch learning nothing at all isn’t a great idea either.

School years fly by and before you know it your youngster is making career choices. With this inevitable future in mind, it’s a great idea to plant career seeds early on – without making it obvious of course.

Here are some fun summer activities you can get involved with, that keep kids’ minds active and encourage them to aim high in life.

Make Your Family Career Tree

Building a family tree can be interesting for kids of all ages, with opportunities for art and craft skills in the form of photos or scrapbook style illustrations.

Going one step further, by providing more details about what each person did for a job or career opens all kinds of discussion opportunities around jobs.

Maybe you’ve had family in the armed forces, on the stage, musicians, engineers, civil servants, factory workers or artists. Talk about what each job entails, the skills they might have needed, how they learned to do the job, whether the job their great grandparents did is still in existence today.

It gets kids thinking about where they might fit into the family tree, but it also creates a great work of art and family reference.

Make a Film Together

We talk a lot about getting kids off their mobile devices, but what about channelling their use of phones and tablets into something more creative than mindless scrolling. Everyday tech can be a powerful tool for learning in a fun way.

If your kids love films, TV, or cartoons, encourage them to make a movie of their own using the video on their phone.

Rope in some friends with a similar interest, make up a story line, write a script or ad-lib, choose a location, or create a movie set in the garden, and start making a short film.

This is the kind of project that could be done in an afternoon for a quick one-take sketch, or it could take up the whole summer if they get engrossed in story development, character casting, scouting out locations, editing and scripting. Maybe they’d enjoy taking part in a virtual film club.

Lots of kids have an interest in movies or filmmaking without ever realising it could be a real career choice. There are lots of opportunities for study from short summer courses to post-graduate degrees in filmmaking at places like The London Film School. They also have an LFS Outreach Programme for primary and secondary schools. Maybe you could encourage your school to get involved in the future.

Build Practical Research Skills

As adults we know how important research skills are. Just about every new thing needs a bit of looking into, whether it’s finding a dentist or planning a holiday.

If you’re planning a holiday, or even a few day trips through the summer, get the kids more involved by encouraging them to research where you’re visiting. If they can find somewhere interesting to visit, you’ll all go. It could be a historic house, a museum or art gallery, or even a cool-sounding play area, zoo, or local activity.

If you need to, set a budget for the visit or activity. Without it you might end up paying hundreds you hadn’t anticipated for a trip in a helicopter, for instance. It never hurts to set boundaries and limitations.

Volunteer Opportunities for Teens

We tend to think of volunteers being in adult age groups, but there are a surprising number of organisations that also have opportunities for teens. Some as young as 12 or 13.

Research has shown that very young children like to help, even among toddler age groups. And it’s good for them to be allowed to do so. Helping others then becomes an intrinsic part of their nature as they grow up. For older children, volunteering where they can boosts their self confidence and self-esteem, empowering them to embrace opportunities and challenges in later life or when they’re considering career choices.

Take a look at these volunteering opportunities and the range of organisations who offer them to young people. There’s also an ‘opportunity finder’ if you want to seek out something specific.

The best way to encourage kids to realise their true potential is to give them the belief they can do just about anything they set their heart on. The doors of opportunity are there, we just need to show them where they’re hidden. Often, engaging in fun activities that don’t feel like work but get them thinking is a powerful conversation starter.