As parents, we all know that finding things to do for the entire summer holidays is never easy. Those 6 weeks can seem to really drag, particularly if you have no plans.

The thing to remember is that you don’t always have to make grand and expensive plans in order to have fun. In fact, you may find that there are plenty of things that you and your kids can enjoy in and out of your own home. For instance, you can have a water-gun war in your backyard, do gardening, or enjoy laser tag in Derby (or near your location) by looking for a local gaming facility.

Similarly, to help you along the way, we have put together five great outdoor activities that you can plan for your kids this summer.

Den Building

Who doesn’t love the idea of building a den? This back to nature, mucky and muddy activity is great fun, and it lets your children go a bit wild. You don’t need a whole load of space, or resources for den building, and the end result means that they have their own place to hide away and play.

Create a reading challenge

Now this is one that you can do both indoors and outdoors, which is great for those days that are not looking quite so great. Reading is something that we should all try to encourage in our children, particularly when they are away from school. Which means that a reading challenge is a really good idea. Find a book that your child will really enjoy reading and set some milestones for them. This could be certain chapters or points in the book, and you can get together and talk about what has happened. You could even agree to read the book too, creating your own little family book club!

Build a bug hotel

Not everyone loves bugs, but if you have a child that is fascinated with the small, squirmy, or flying, then this is an ideal treat for them. There are a whole lot of different ideas on how you can build a bug hotel online, and for the most part, they are relatively easy. Not only do they let your kids get messy, but they also encourage them to learn about wildlife too. However, this could get out of hand if there are too many bugs and you find them hard to control. If at all you get in a situation like this, try calling an exterminator from firms like Pest Control Experts (https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/local/massachusetts/).

Treasure hunt

Kids love the idea of being a treasure hunter, which means that creating their own treasure hunt is a great project for them to do. You could get the older kids in the family to design one for the younger kids, or if you are a small bunch, you can get them to design one for you and you for them. This is a lot of fun for a family to do together, and best of all, you can decide what the treat will be at the end of it.

Grow some veggies

Gardening is a great activity for children as it allows them to get their hands mucky, and get outside. Not only this, but depending on what you grow, they will get a real sense of achievement from cultivating something from a seed. Veggies and fruits are a great idea for kids to grow as they are not only easy to grow, but they can then use them to cook with or eat.

As you can see, there are plenty of things that you and your family can do during the summer holidays without having to spend lots of money out. It is all about thinking about what things you like to do and putting these in place. The most important thing is to have fun, and spend some time together, as isn’t this what families are all about?