This is the third summer in a row where I have my toddlers at home. My mission: keep them happy, learning, and cool as inexpensively as possible. (Because no one likes a hot, cranky toddler.) As much as we enjoy special trips to the zoo, vacations, and beach days in our family, those make up a small percent of our summertime. I’ve needed to find ways to keep the little troops entertained WITHOUT spending a small fortune.
If you and I are in the same boat, here are some fresh ideas for free summer toddler activities. For many of them, you can do them today with zero prep work. Most just require everyday, household items or things most parents already have around. I also have a huge list of season-neutral free toddler activities if you need more ideas for both indoor and outdoor activities.
Let the dog days of summer begin!
Free Summer Activities for Toddlers
- Have a picnic dinner, lunch, or even breakfast.
- Go for a nature walk and play “I spy.”
- Catch lightning bugs.
- Knock down sandcastles.
- Go to story or toddler rhyme time at a library.
- Draw with sidewalk chalk.
- Have a dance party to summery songs like “Mr. Sun.”
- Blow bubbles with a homemade bubble mix.
- Go to a 4th of July parade and wave to the fire trucks, floats, and marching bands. (Consider ear protection if your kids are sensitive or it gets really loud.)
- Bring a rubber ball to the park, and experiment with it. Watch what happens when you slide it, throw it from the jungle gym, or put it on the swings.
- Help mom or dad cook dinner (My article on cheap summer meal ideas is perfect for hot weather cooking.)
Free Activities That Keep Toddlers Cool in the Summer
- Use water-filled spray bottles to “wash” the windows – and themselves in the process.
- Make chocolate-covered banana “pops.” [Recipe here.]
- Water your plants (and usually themselves in the process).
- Play with streamers in front of fans or air conditioners.
- Give their toys a bubble bath, either in your own tub or outside in pots, pans, or baby pools.
- Run under a sprinkler.
- Paint the sidewalk, rocks, or a brick wall with water. If you don’t have brushes, you can make “nature paintbrushes” with twigs and grasses.
- Plain ol’ water pouring exercises. Give them buckets, bowls, cups, and spoons. Let them go nuts.
- Or, have them help you wash YOUR car. They can be in charge of the soap or water, depending on whether they’ll try to eat the soap or not.
- Set up a toy car wash! Line up all the trucks and trains you have, and your toddler rinse them one by one.
- Make this water balloon piñata activity.
Free Summer Activities for 1-Year-Olds
- Sensory play in the sand or wood chips at a park.
- Go for a walk and looking at newly bloomed flowers.
- Do yogurt finger painting (with an easy hose off outside).
- Sensory water play with frozen peas/corn in a tub or tote.
- Do a texture scavenger hunt outside: feel tree bark, grass, different types of leaves, rocks, etc.
- Put some rubber animals (ducks, etc) in a bucket or tub. Give them a pasta scooper, net, or colander and have them “rescue” the toys.
- Get their feet wet and make a footprint path. See the difference between bare feet vs sandaled feet.
- Make an outdoor “sticky wall” if you have contact paper.
- Give them a large box to climb in and out of, put things into, and pretend play with.
- Count outside. Everything is fair game: the trees on your street, wheels on your stroller, even the steps to go home.
Free Things to do with a 2-Year-Old in the Summer
- Play with sidewalk chalk.
- Go to a local splash pad.
- Grow easy plants (peas, beans, tomatoes).
- Go get some books from an air conditioned library. Then, have a reading party under a shady tree.
- Visit a body of water. Splash, catch minnows, or throw rocks.
- Do outdoor nature crafts! Make flower crowns from dandelions, birchbark bracelets, or fairy houses.
- Freeze ice cubes with drops of food coloring, then later try to melt the frozen rainbow.
- Make bouquets of wildflowers. Give your toddler some scissor practice with kid scissors and have them cut the flowers.
- Go fruit & berry picking! Support local farmers, if you can. Or you can check Falling Fruit for locations of nearby bushes or trees on public, accessible land.
- Make a mud kitchen with old pots and spoons.
Free Activities for Preschoolers in the Summer
- Play catch with wet balls or sponges.
- Make ice cubes with edible flowers and have a fancy tea party with all their teddy bears and dolls.
- Find monarch caterpillars and watch them transform into butterflies.
- Grab a mirror and do silly hairstyles to get long hair up off their necks.
- Go for a hike.
- Get some big pieces of cardboard and paint a mural outside.
- Make a DIY solar cooker and cook some s’mores in the sun.
- Take them grocery shopping, and let them check things off your list.
- Look for free festivals, fairs, and events in your local newspaper or Facebook group.
- Put plastic letters in a tub of water. Have them scoop out letters to match ones on a flash card.
- Go to as many new parks as you can find in your area.
- Make a DIY Water Wall with recycled 2 liter bottles.
There you go! 50 completely free summer toddler activities. If you’d like more frugal tips for moms straight to your email inbox, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter below.