100 Summer Activities for Tween and Teen Boys

Posted on June 5, 2015 by eclecticlamb

100 Summer Activities Boys

Update: See the end of this post for an update on the changes we made to the list. We completed 100 activities but we did make many changes along the way.

This summer I will have my nearly 11 year old nephew and recently 13 year old nephew at my house two days a week while their Mom works at an office. I have enjoyed other summers with them and we did a combination of activities. This year I was inspired by lists of Summer Things-to-Do and worked with my nephews to develop this list. Of course this list is not only for boys. Girls can enjoy each of these items. But when searching for ideas I found a lot of ideas that my nephews would not want to do. Since I wanted their buy-in for each of these items we went through lots of ideas before getting to 100. They did come up with some of their own ideas. I separated the ideas into categories: Outings, Exercise, Science, Outside/Water, Crafts, Misc., Food/Drink. They did not say no to any of my Food/Drink ideas. I wanted an Education category but that was vetoed.

I have no idea how many of these we will actually do this summer but hopefully I will occasionally share our progress.

100 summer activities (PDF of all 100 items in abbreviated form)

At the end of this list I have some additional ideas I came up with that they rejected.

Outings

  1. Beaver Meadow Audubon Center
  2. Miniature golf
  3. Movie at planetarium
  4. Lego Store
  5. Visit a historic place
  6. Visit cousins
  7. Archery
  8. Factory tour
  9. Zoomobile at library
  10. Daniel Boone program at library
  11. Village Garage Sales
  12. Wildlife Defenders at library
  13. Collect eggs from cousin’s chickens
  14. Visit Great Grandma (bring baked item)
  15. Go to Ellison Park
  16. See movie at local movie theatre
  17. Picnic at Beach
  18. DEC Education Center
  19. Fort Niagara
  20. Skyzone
  21. Go canoeing

Exercise

  1. Walk to Tim Hortons
  2. Walk to McDonalds
  3. Play tennis
  4. Run/Bike around Village Park 1/2 mile loop

Science

  1. Create a baking soda volcano. Pour a bit of white vinegar into a plastic cup, add a tablespoon of baking soda and watch it “explode.”
  2. Microwave Ivory soap
  3. Other microwave fun – peeps, etc?
  4. Make magnetic slime and make it move with magnets
  5. Coke and mentos experiment
  6. Kool aid eruption
  7. Foam experiment with yeast, soap, and peroxide
  8. Experiment with food coloring, milk, soap
  9. Lava in cup experiment
  10. Take apart an obsolete and unwanted household object, like an old printer or clock radio, to see how it works. – see if relative has something
  11. Make a robot
  12. Clean pennies with vinegar, salt
  13. Build waterfall water wall
  14. Build and launch miniature rocket

Outside/Water

  1. Make a target with chalk on the sidewalk, and then throw wet sponges at it until it disappears.
  2. Water balloons
  3. Put a small toy in a balloon, fill it with water and freeze. You’ll end up with a toy frozen in a big chunk of ice.
  4. Set up a Lego scavenger hunt in the backyard. Give the kids maps or clue sheets for extra fun.
  5. Make ice sculptures by freezing different shaped containers full of water. Once frozen, take them out (use a little warm water if necessary) and use them as building blocks.
  6. Play croquet

Crafts

  1. Sun print paper craft
  2. Sculpt with clay
  3. Squirt shaving cream onto a paper plate and “draw” with your fingers.
  4. Make a toy boat. Add sails and decorations, and then float it in pool, river or tub.
  5. Create a wallet out of duct tape.
  6. Origami – crane and moving crane
  7. Paper airplanes
  8. Make greeting cards
  9. Draw a picture blindfolded
  10. Throw paint filled eggs at canvas to make art
  11. Exploding sidewalk paint bags
  12. Blow paint bubbles with straw painting
  13. Make wooden rope climbing monkey
  14. Shrinky dink craft
  15. Learn about another cultures holiday – make food, etc..
  16. Make Christmas gifts
  17. Family Photo magnets
  18. Duct tape pencil case
  19. Nail string art

Misc.

  1. Create a short stop-motion film using legos
  2. Play the board game Life
  3. Play Monopoly
  4. See if you can actually get a Slinky to go down the stairs
  5. Make a domino chain reaction. See how long you can make it, and try adding curves and going up and down stairs.
  6. Read a book, watch the movie, make themed food
  7. Lay down sheets of bubble wrap and have the kids get popping.
  8. See who can create the best shadow figures. All you need is a flashlight, a sheet and your hands.
  9. Play Balloon Ping-Pong Paper plates, Popsicle sticks, and a balloon are all you need
  10. Throw a balloon into the air and see how long you can keep it afloat without letting it touch the ground.
  11. Make a catapult (this is only one way, not sure which type we will try)
  12. Make your own bouncy ball
  13. Rubber band car
  14. Make a marble run
  15. Learn bird calls and test each other
  16. Star Wars movie marathon day
  17. Special Volunteer / Good Deed
  18. Make Lego candy dispenser
  19. Listen to various types of music
  20. Play with refrigerator box
  21. Learn some magic tricks put on a show

Food / Drink

  1. Beverage challenge. Set up chilled cups of seasonal drinks (lemonade, iced tea, fruit water) and try to identify each while blindfolded.
  2. Play restaurant: Have the kids create a menu, take orders, cook the meal and serve.
  3. Make your own rock candy
  4. Make candy from maple syrup experiment
  5. Bake soft pretzels
  6. Make bagels and experiment with toppings
  7. Guess taste of various ingredients while blindfolded (include whipped cream)
  8. Make ice cream
  9. Decorative cake with dry ice and book (if can find dry ice)
  10. Make fried dough
  11. Make and eat Popsicles
  12. Battered fried apple rings
  13. Flower Pot cupcakes
  14. Mini ice cream cakes
  15. Make corn fritters

100 summer activities (PDF of all 100 items in abbreviated form)

Some Rejected Ideas

  • Fruit picking
  • Take photos of plants and animals using different filters and frames
  • Paint the sidewalk with water, see how fast the sun makes it disappear
  • Draw a game board on the sidewalk and make up the rules
  • Create a sidewalk masterpiece with chalk
  • See who can build the tallest tower with blocks or Lego bricks
  • Massive bubble battle
  • Water cup race – balance cups of water on their heads
  • Make and navigate an obstacle course made out of recycled items
  • Collect items from nature and make a collage
  • Play War, Old Maid, or Go Fish
  • Make your own puzzle
  • Create your own comic book
  • Make a summer vacation scrapbook
  • Grab binoculars and go bird watching
  • Make tie-dye T-shirts
  • Build a house of cards
  • Lie outside and watch the clouds
  • Make potato stamps
  • Grow cress heads
  • Visit ancestors at a cemetary
  • Draw a picture with your foot
  • Dye popcorn kernels and make a mosaic
  • Pony bead crafts
  • Interview a family member and make a digital recording

I hope that this gives you some activities to do with the kid in your life.

Update: These are the 100 items we ended up completing.

About eclecticlamb

https://eclecticlamb.com/
This entry was posted in Adventures, Bento / Cute Food, Crafts, Food, Party Planning. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to 100 Summer Activities for Tween and Teen Boys

  1. Mary Lee says:
    June 5, 2015 at 1:36 pm

    A lot of your ideas sound educational to me! Don’t tell our nephews though!!!

    Reply

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