9 Fun Indoor Kids Activities

Cooking

Kids love to help in the kitchen! While it may be too hot to cook anything in the oven, there are some no-heat options! Ask them for help in making sandwiches (cut them in fun shapes), making a fruit salad, or putting the peanut butter in their celery. Consider hosting an inside ice cream social for the kids and their friends! You could let them make their own desserts! Get some summer learning done while you’re at it – help kids practice measuring, fractions, and reading labels while they help with food preparation. Maybe you can even convince them to help clean up!

Take a Museum Trip

Shuttle the kids from one indoor location to another! During the summer, many museums have activities just for kids and families to enjoy. Pack a lunch so you don’t have to pay museum food court prices. Take a few hours to experience something new inside instead of melting outside. This is a great way to get out of the house, but stay out of the heat! Plus! Most museums are free!

Go to the Library

Again, go from one indoor spot to another! Many libraries have summer reading programs that reward kids for reading as many books as possible. This is a great chance to get some education and socialization over the summer. Enjoy free story hours and craft sessions whenever you can! You can normally find a kids calendar on your local libraries website, or posted on their bulletin board.

Indoor Trampoline Park

While this one could be pricey, hands down, this is one of the coolest ways to entertain a group of kids! Many locations offer open jump sessions, but also nights that are just for families. To save a buck or too, check coupon sites for promotions since these are often popular locations to visit during the summer. Burning energy and lots of social time – sounds like a great indoor activity to me!

Host an At-Home Spa

This activity might not appeal to every kid, but it might appeal to some of the youngsters in your life! Have your kids help you look around the house for the items you might need – nail polish, foot tub, lotion, etc. If you want to take this to the next step, get out the makeup too! Plan for a whole at-home makeover. Super easy and a great photo opportunity!

Board and Card Games

Create an Indoor Campsite

This can be the coolest way to camp, literally! Create enough space in your house to setup your tent and get out your pillows and sleeping bags. Pack your picnic lunch (or dinner) to eat by the tent. If you’re up to it, you could even roast some marshmallows on a gas stove in the kitchen if you have one!

Build a Yarn Maze

Get out at the yarn and get ready to have your kids entertained for hours. Take the yarn and wrap it around banisters, doorknobs, chair legs, door frames, basically anywhere you can wrap it safely. Watch the youngsters climb around this yarn maze and have a great time! Roll up the yarn as you go so that you can reuse it for other projects! Bonus activity: make it a scavenger hunt with something cool attached to the end of the yarn!

Indoor Slides

This one takes a little pre-planning and work, but it could be totally worth it to entertain the kids! Get large refrigerator-sized cardboard boxes and cut them to cover all the stairwells in the house. Slide from floor to floor for as long as possible! Be very careful of the little ones during this activity.

Volunteer

Take the kids to a place where your family can volunteer together! A few examples: many food pantries need help sorting and stocking, libraries need help re-shelving books, nursing homes need people to host activities, and so on. Look for opportunities that have educational and social value. Think of the great lessons for kids to learn while in service of others. You can find local volunteer activities on the website or app JustServe.