Keeping your kids’ attention on hot, sticky summer days can be challenging—but it doesn’t have to be! There are lots of ways to make classic summer fun into engrossing, educational pursuits that will have your preschoolers begging for more. This collection of hands-on summer preschool activities will help strengthen core literacy, numeracy, science, and art skills—while giving your kids plenty of opportunities to celebrate summer in all its colorful glory! So go ahead—get excited, get messy, and get into the spirit of summer!
1. Bubble Art
Why not put a twist on a classic summer craft by turning foamy bubbles into colorful art? All you have to do is add some food coloring or paint to a regular bubble solution. Your littles can use straws to blow colorful bubbles directly onto their paper—leaving behind abstract watercolor bubble prints!
Learn More: Fun Learning for Kids
2. Feed the Shark
This beach-themed printable is a fun, hands-on way to have your little ones practice identifying colors and shapes. To play the simple game, have your preschoolers take turns drawing cards that indicate a shape or color. Then, they’ll select the corresponding fish and “feed” it to the toothy shark.
Learn More: Miniature Masterminds
3. Bubbly Ball Pit
There’s nothing simpler than throwing together some colorful plastic balls and bubble solution to beat the summer heat. Just mix balls, bubbly soap, and water in a wading pool or large bin and invite your little ones to join the fun! They’ll love the sensory experience of the bubbles and slippery balls.
Learn More: My Small Potatoes
4. Sand and Ocean Sensory Activity
Skip the beach trip for this ocean-themed sensory table activity. Add sand and water to a large bin, along with some shells and toy sea creatures. We bet that your preschoolers will love splashing around and watching the sand and water mix. It also makes for a great opportunity to discuss ocean animals and their habitats.
Learn More: Fun Learning for Kids
5. Make Sponge Bombs
This simple activity repurposes sponges for hours of summer fun. Unlike water balloons, they can be reused for multiple epic water battles—and they won’t require you to pick little pieces of plastic out of your grass! Make them yourself by cutting colorful sponges into strips and tying them together. Drop them in water and get ready for some refreshing water fun!
Learn More: YouTube
6. Make Some Juicy Watermelon Scented Slime
This watermelon-scented slime, complete with pom-pom “seeds”, smells just like summer and makes for great motor activity fun. It’s easy to mix up with glue, corn starch, and watermelon Jell-o powder. Your preschoolers will love this sticky delight!
Learn More: Coffee Cups and Crayons
7. Paper Bag Ice Cream Cone Sculpture
Do your little ones scream for ice cream? Help them fold paper cones and fill them with cotton ball “ice cream”. Then, let your little chefs act out their fantasies as they decorate them to create their dream desserts! Your kids will have hours of fun decorating these ice cream cones with dry beans, rice, or pasta disguised as hot fudge, sprinkles, and melted marshmallows.
Learn More: YouTube
8. Pool Noodle Boats
Why not reuse pool noodles to create these adorable boats? Slice up a pool noodle and help your kids decorate it with straw masts and foam sails. Once you’ve crafted your flotilla, launch them in a large bin or a wading pool. Your preschoolers will love experimenting by letting small toys go for a sail or creating “stormy water” with their hands.
Learn More: The Best Ideas for Kids
9. Seashell Painting Outdoor Activity
This painting activity is a great way to bring the beach home this summer. Give your preschoolers a variety of shells and paint colors. They can then use the shells as unique brushes or stamps to create a beachy work of art. They’ll enjoy the sensory experience of painting with these unusual tools as they develop their fine motor skills—and they’ll be left with their own one-of-a-kind creation!
Learn More: Momtessori Life
10. Printable Summer Coloring Pages
Coloring sheets are a great activity to keep on hand whenever you need a quick way to fill time. Download some summery coloring pages for some easy and seasonal fun that your preschoolers can complete on their own. Your kids are sure to enjoy adding their own creative flair to images of beaches, flowers, ice cream, and all sorts of summertime activities.
Learn More: The Spruce Crafts
11. Egg and Spoon Race Activity for Kids
This fun summer activity is a fantastic opportunity to develop your preschoolers’ hand-eye coordination and balancing skills. If you want to extend the fun, your kids can paint or color their own hard-boiled eggs first to give things some color and personalization. Next up, you can let the races begin! Set up a simple race course and explain the rules. Your little ones will have to balance their eggs on spoons as they race to cross the finish line. If their egg drops, they must start again from the beginning!
Learn More: My Bored Toddler
12. Have a Water Balloon Fight
Water play is always fun in the summer, but check these out if you’re looking to up the ante. This collection of water balloon game ideas will keep kids cool in the summer heat while giving them plenty of physical exercises. You can use these suggestions with traditional water balloons or with your DIY sponge bombs from this list.
Learn More: Monkey Joes
13. Erupting Ice Chalk
This fun activity uses things you probably already have in your pantry to create some eye-catching outdoor artwork! Combine baking soda, cornstarch, water, and paint, and then freeze it in cubes to make your erupting ice chalk. Once it’s frozen, let your kids color and play outside with the frozen cubes. As they melt, they’ll create an impressive watercolor effect on the pavement. But the last step is probably the most fun one: equipping your preschoolers with bottles of vinegar. They’ll love watching the chalk fizzle and dissolve as they douse it with a spray!
Learn More: Learn, Play, Imagine
14. Flip Flops Pattern and Color Matching
Long summer days are the perfect time to reinforce literacy and math concepts. These summery, flip-flop-themed worksheets provide a simple introduction to concepts like color and size matching, counting by twos, and easy sight words.
Learn More: Miniature Masterminds
15. Fireworks Math Activity
This festive summer activity is a great way to develop numeracy, counting, and correspondence skills. Using recycled toilet paper tubes and pipe cleaners, you can create these Independence Day-themed counting aids. Challenge your preschoolers to count the number of pipe cleaners on each “firework” and place it on the corresponding digit. The tactile element will engage them more fully in the counting 1:1 correspondence.
Learn More: Montessori for the Heart
16. Summer Book Read-Aloud
Reading is always a good choice for preschoolers, and incorporating a seasonal pick is a sure way to capture their attention and imagination. This rhyming summer read-aloud book is full of simple, repetitive phrases and plenty of sight words; making it an easy choice for reinforcing literacy skills.
Learn More: YouTube
17. Watermelon Counting Cards
This fun counting game makes for a great summer learning activity. Print these adorable watermelon-themed counting cards on cardstock and give them to your kiddos with some black play dough. Challenge your littles to create the correct number of seeds from the play dough and then simply arrange them on their watermelon slices.
Learn More: Modern Preschool
18. Sand Vinegar Volcano
This beloved activity is a great way to infuse a beach trip—or your schoolyard sandbox—with some explosive fun! Make this traditional science fair activity a summertime hit by adding baking soda and vinegar to a sand “mountain.” Your kids are sure to love watching their sandy volcano erupt.
Learn More: Growing a Jeweled Rose
19. Summer Songs for Kids
Have a summer sing-along! This collection of summer songs includes circle time songs and chants, and provides plenty of room for your students to add their own creative dance moves to the beat. Seasonal songs are a great way to start discussions with your kiddos about traditional activities and outings for specific times of the year.
Learn More: Let’s Play Music
20. Water Obstacle Course
What better way to cool down from the summer heat than with water games? Use whatever materials you have on hand to put together a splash-tastic obstacle course for your kiddos to enjoy. It takes a bit of time to get everything set up, but your preschoolers will love the fun and challenge that this activity brings about. It’s a great way to get them active on a hot day without having to worry about them overheating.
Learn More: Meaningful Mama
21. Ice Cream Writing Tray
Kids love ice cream and sprinkles. Combine the two in this colorful activity that’s sure to give them plenty of tracing and letter-writing practice. Fill a small tray with sprinkles for each learner, and give them a card with a letter on it—or write letters on the board. Using their fingers, paintbrushes, or pencils, have your preschoolers copy the letter by forming it in the sprinkles. The best part? If they make a mistake, they can just shake the tray to erase it!
Learn More: Mrs. Plemon’s Kindergarten
22. Play With Water Beads
Water beads are an awesome, open-ended learning aid. If you need some suggestions on how to make use of them, check out this list of inventive water bead ideas. From scooping to funneling and sorting, your kids will love finding new ways to engage with these popular sensory tools.
Learn More: Mrs. Plemon’s Kindergarten
23. Blow Giant Bubbles with DIY Bubble Wands
Sure, your littles could blow bubbles with generic, run-of-the-mill bubble wands—but why make things more interesting? Help your preschoolers create their very own personalized bubble wands with pipe cleaners and decorative beads. Help them twist their pipe cleaners into hearts, circles, or any shape of their choice. They can then attach beads to personalize their creations—and blow bubbles all summer long!
Learn More: What Do We Do All Day
24. Make a Sand Handprint
Ever wish you could keep a handful of summer for years to come? Now you can! Preserving your child’s hand or footprint makes a heartwarming keepsake that you will cherish for years to come. Using plaster of Paris right in an impression on the beach (or in a bucket of sand in your classroom) will give you a perfect form of your little one’s hand or foot.
Learn More: Crafting a Green World
25. Summer I Spy
This summer I Spy game is a great way for your preschoolers to practice their counting skills. Print out these colorful worksheets and invite your kiddos to try their hand at counting how many of each object they can find. Why not turn it into a fun race to see who can count all of the items first?
Learn More: Moritz Fine Designs
26. Make Some Ice Cream
A high-energy activity followed by a sweet and refreshing treat—what could be better? Your preschoolers will love making their own ice cream in a bag. You’ll just need some plastic bags, milk, sugar, flavoring of your choice, and rock salt. Start by combining the ingredients in a bag and then surrounding that bag with salt and ice. Then, it’ll be time to get moving—have your kiddos shake, toss, and squish the bags until the mixture has frozen into ice cream! You can even let them choose their own chopped-up fruit to enhance the simple recipe.
Learn More: Happy Toddler Club
27. Alphabet Tracing Popsicles
This fun popsicle-themed activity will give your kids plenty of upper and lowercase letter printing practice. If you cut out the popsicles, you could also challenge them to put the popsicles into alphabetical order as an extension activity.
Learn More: Preschool Play and Learn
28. Shower Curtain Painting
This outdoor sensory painting activity is a clever and inexpensive way to let your preschoolers create some larger-than-life artwork. Simply string up a clear shower curtain liner outside. Next, set your little artists loose with plenty of paint! This hands-on activity will engage all your kids’ senses and give them a chance to create without worrying about making a mess.
Learn More: Happy Toddler Playtime
29. Frozen Paint Outdoor Activity
How can you make summertime painting even more fun? Freeze it! All you’ll need to do is freeze washable paint and water in an ice cube tray with craft sticks inserted, popsicle style. Once they’re frozen, head outside and start painting! Your kids are sure to enjoy experimenting with this frozen twist on traditional painting.
Learn More: Busy Toddler
30. Color-by-Code Summer Printable Set
Coloring by code is a great way for your kiddos to practice following instructions while building literacy and numeracy skills. And even better- these cute, summer-themed worksheets will put you right on track for a sunny coloring session!
Learn More: Modern Preschool
31. Make an Outdoor Water Wall
This inventive STEM activity is a great opportunity for teaching about gravity and building problem-solving skills. Set up for this task by using a variety of repurposed materials to create a chute for water—you can complete this stage with or without your little ones. Then, guide your preschoolers in pouring water from the top so that they can watch it descend. They’ll be fascinated to see how the water pools at the bottom and surely have lots of questions about where it comes from.
Learn More: Learn with Play at Home
32. Sight Word Splash
This outdoor twist on sight word practice is guaranteed to be lots of splashy fun. Just use chalk to write some simple sight words on the pavement. Next, see if your little one can match the chalk sight words to the same words on flashcards—and if they do, they get to erase the chalk with a bucket of water! This is a great introduction to sight words for preschoolers and will help teach your kiddos to follow multi-step directions.
Learn More: Homeschool Preschool
33. Beach Pall Painting Process Art
Your preschoolers will get a kick out of the inventive “paintbrush” that they’ll use for this craft—an inflated beach ball! Give each of your kiddos a small beach ball and let them use it to paint or stamp colors on a large sheet of paper. They’re sure to enjoy experimenting with their balls to create all sorts of new and interesting artworks.
Learn More: Paper and Glue
34. Make a Paper Sun
This hands-on activity will give your preschoolers plenty of fringe-cutting practice, which doesn’t require as much dexterity as regular cutting. Just trace circles on yellow paper or foam, each with a smaller circle inside. When those are complete, give one to each of your preschoolers and guide them in cutting “rays” (small paper strips) around the edge of their suns.
Learn More: A Dab of Glue Will Do
35. Ice Cream Sensory Bin
This ice cream-themed sensory bin will give your young learners plenty of opportunity for imaginative play. Fill a large bin with white pom-poms and/or cotton balls, and add in some sequins or small beads as “toppings”, along with small plastic scoops and cones or bowls. Challenge your little ones to compete to see who can stack the tallest number of scoops on their cones.
Learn More: Fantastic Fun and Learning
36. Fun With Playdough and Shells
This summer-themed activity is a great opportunity to discuss why animals have shells and how they use them. Play dough is a classic for a reason! By encouraging your kids to combine it with real seashells to create their own underwater creatures, you’ll be adding a new sensory element and encouraging more open-ended, imaginative play.
Learn More: Mother Natured
37. Shell, Glitter, and Bubble Sensory Bottle
These mesmerizing bottles can help you bring a relaxing day at the beach wherever you go. All you need are small shells, some blue glitter, and plenty of water for this super easy and engaging summer-themed sensory bottle. Get your little ones involved in adding assorted components to their bottles. Then, seal them up tightly and you’re good to go.
Learn More: Keep Calm and Mommy On
38. DIY Puffy Paint Art
Puffy paint will offer your kids a budget-friendly, super-fun craft with endless possibilities. Mix up shaving cream, flour, glue, and food coloring to create this fun art medium that is the best hands-on art activity for preschoolers.
Learn More: All Free Kids Crafts
39. Make and Test Penny Boats
Grab some foil and get your preschoolers on board for some summer fun by making penny boats! Start by helping your little ones shape boats out of aluminum foil. Then, test their buoyancy with and without pennies inside. You can include this fun lesson on buoyancy any time of year, but it’s particularly engaging when enjoyed outside on a warm day with a wading pool!
Learn More: Craft Corner DIY
40. Play in the Rain
Don’t stay inside on those rainy summer days! Have your preschoolers grab their rainboots and raincoats and take them outside for some puddle-jumping fun! Summer showers are also great times to observe plants and animals that you may not notice when it’s sunny.
Learn More: Playtime for Emmie
41. Bubble Wrap Sea Turtles
Have some crafty summer fun with your preschoolers by creating “turtle-y” adorable cards using their handprints, googly eyes, and bubble wrap! To make this sweet craft, simply trace each of your kiddos’ hands and help them cut them out. Then, they can glue their cutouts together and decorate them with bubble wrap, googly eyes, and markers. Voila- a cheery card and heartwarming momento all in one.
Learn More: The Best Ideas for Kids
42. Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
Take your littles for a walk outside to get some exercise by going on an outdoor scavenger hunt. Working in groups or independently, help them find the items listed on this printable and check them off one by one.
Learn More: Teach Starter
43. Make Giant Bubbles
How can you make blowing bubbles even more exciting? Super size them! A kiddie pool, some dish soap, and a hula hoop are all you need to make this fun summer activity come to life. Once you’ve mixed up some bubble solution in the pool, invite one of your preschoolers to stand inside. Using a hula hoop, you’ll be able to make a giant bubble right around them!
Learn More: Make and Takes
44. Make Sun Prints
Create stunning sun prints of leaves and other intricately designed objects for a fun and educational outdoor activity. You’ll need some sun print paper for this project, which is coated in special chemicals to make it photosensitive. Start by letting your little explorers gather outdoor materials in a variety of shapes, and have them arrange their items on the paper. Then, just leave the sheets outside and let the sun work its magic—its rays will turn everyday objects into art.
Learn More: Run Wild My Child
45. Make a Bird Feeder
Make some feathery friends by helping your preschoolers create these simple bird feeders. Using wood craft sticks and other easy-to-find supplies, this craft is budget-friendly and will take your kids less than 30 minutes to make. And once the craft is complete, your kids will get to spend the rest of the summer bird-watching!
Learn More: The Homespun Hydrangea
46. DIY Kinetic Sand
Sand, cornstarch, dish soap, and a bit of water are all you need to make a fun batch of kinetic sand. Mix them all together and your kids can build sandcastles whenever and wherever they please—much more frugally than with store-bought kinetic sand!
Learn More: Teach Beside Me
47. Go Berry Picking
Summer is a perfect time to explore orchards and farms with your preschoolers—and many even allow kids to pick their own goodies. Take a look around and see if you can find any farms that will allow you to pick your own produce. What a great way to enjoy the outdoors and show your little ones where their food comes from!
Learn More: Chesapeake Family Life
48. Make Summer Sunflowers
Nothing says summer days like cheerful sunflowers! Guide your preschoolers in creating mixed-media sunflower crafts using paint, glue, and sand. Give them toilet paper tubes to use as “stamps” for the petals, which will exercise their fine motor skills. The finished products will be long-lasting reminders of sunny fields of flowers!
Learn More: Kaplan Learning Center
49. Squirt Gun Painting
Start your summer with epic fun for your kids – try water gun painting! Fill small squirt guns with watered-down paint and then head outside and let your preschoolers create one-of-a-kind artworks. This creative summer art project is a blast to create; resulting in unique patterns that kids of all ages love to admire.
Learn More: 123 Homeschool For Me
50. Tie-Dye T-Shirts
Tie-dye is a definite summertime must-do activity, even with your preschoolers! Grab a tie-dye kit (and definitely some rubber gloves) and have some colorful outdoor fun creating your own personalized tie-dye tees. Help your kids experiment with different tying methods to see how they affect the finished product.
Learn More: The Artful Parent
51. Create a Nature Collage
Encourage observation and creativity on outdoor hikes with your kids by prompting them to collect leaves and natural treasures to use in beautiful nature collages. Just apply double-sided tape to pieces of cardboard and invite your little ones to arrange their treasures however they’d like. Your preschoolers will get to explore the wonders of the great outdoors and make a masterpiece at the same time!
Learn More: Learning and Exploring Through Play
52. Make Coffee Filter Butterflies
Help your kids create enchanting coffee filter butterflies! This simple summer craft transforms humble coffee filters into vibrant winged wonders. All you need to do is have your kiddos paint the filters with watercolor paints. Once dry, use pipe cleaners to tie the filters into wing shapes and create butterfly antennae. This fun, tactile project will result in a stunning summer art display.
Learn More: Honey and Lime
53. Recyclable Wind Chimes
This summer activity is a fun way to teach your little ones the basics of recycling. Gather up every plastic bottle and jar lid you can find and string them together to create colorful and unique wind chimes. Then, hang them up and listen to your hard work jingling in the summer breeze.
Learn More: Tiny Beans
54. Hide and Seek Painted Rocks
This fun, inexpensive craft is a great opportunity to teach the importance of sharing and encouraging others. Lead your kids in painting smooth stones with fun colors and kind messages—and when they’re dry, go for a walk and let your little ones have fun hiding them around the neighborhood or in the park for others to find. What a great way to make someone’s day!
Learn More: Welcome to Nana’s
55. DIY Sun Visors
Transform cheap paper plates and a bit of elastic into fun sun visors; a perfect summer craft for your kiddos. Just cut the plates into the right shape, add elastic to go around your little ones’ heads, and decorate away! Your preschoolers will love putting their own spin on their projects—and wearing their new creations to keep those rays at bay!
Learn More: Crayola
56. Sand Painting
Colorful sand combined with school glue are all you need to create these beautiful pieces of beachy art. Guide your preschoolers in using paintbrushes to spread glue where they’d like it. Then, show them how to gently sprinkle colored sand on top of it to add color. Let them dry and they’ll have their very own masterpieces!
Learn More: Kinder Art
57. Make Sun-Inspired Art
Rainy days don’t have to stop the summertime fun—with this simple craft template, your preschoolers can create their own sunshine! This fun activity will inspire your kids to use lines, patterns, and colors to design a funky summer sun!
Learn More: Teach Starter
58. Pool Noodle Racetrack
Pool noodles are cheap and plentiful in the summer—and they can be used for fun both inside and outside the pool! Grab a few pool noodles and split them in half with a pair of sharp scissors. Then, get some toy cars—you can turn the noodles into racetracks by leaning them against objects of differing heights. Let the race commence!
Learn More: YouTube
59. Salt Dough Ornaments
Get ready for your Christmas in July festivities with these adorable ornaments. Salt dough is an expensive way to easily create durable, paintable ornaments with your preschoolers. Simply mix up a batch of salt dough with just flour, salt, and water. Then, haul out those cookie cutters and work with your kids to cut out ornaments in whatever themes you’d like. Add some paint and you’ll have gorgeous decorations to enjoy any time of the year.
Learn More: Monterey Bay Parent
