25 Summer Programs for Kids: Hobbies, Project-Based Learning, & More
School is out. Learning should not only continue, but become more applied. Summer is the perfect time for children to develop skills they may not have time or resources to practice during the school year. Unfortunately, most summer reading lists and activity workbooks limit a student’s learning and leave little opportunity for creativity and invention. They’re just busywork.
We want to prepare kids for the evolving future while helping them feel entertained and enlightened by their work. The following resources are for all types of learners and give kids the freedom to stay true to their personal passions and character strengths.
Accelerating human progress through education and having fun at the same time. Let’s look at the twenty-five most popular ideas that will help your kids stay mentally active during the summer.
1. Self-Paced, Personalized Online Learning
Self-paced programs are the perfect learning alternative for busy summer schedules. Whether your kids are road-tripping in the car for a few hours, watching a sibling's sporting event, or sitting in the airport, there are still ways they can learn new things.
Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) organization with the mission to provide equal education opportunities to children of all ages around the world. Khan Academy has a Youtube channel complete with instructional channels on all subjects and grade levels – allowing children to stop, play and pause to take notes whenever they’d like. Depending on your child’s favorite subject areas, they have complete freedom to navigate through the courses that pique their individual interests.
2. Problem-Solving Cohorts with Kids Around the World
Wondering how to make your kids fall in love with learning while preparing them for the real world? Synthesis allows kids to connect with others that share their same passions, engage in one-hour real-world game simulations and develop long-term, transferable life skills.
Synthesis gives kids the space and freedom to be innovators with other students who encourage their ideas and thought processes. A specialized selection process will pair them with a cohort of other students and a high-caliber teacher to foster individual thinking in a group setting. Kids in the program learn how to use tools to solve real problems without age/grade level restraints. The minimum learning requirement is only one hour/week, so it gives kids the chance to enjoy the typical summer activities too.
3. Get Creative in the Kitchen
With several online summer cooking lessons, Home Cooking NY teaches kids and teens to measure, mix, chop, whisk, knead and even use the stove all on their own. Through this virtual camp, they develop education and curiosity around food. If you don’t want to go off of a structured program, utilize some Youtube videos, EatingWell recipes, or your own cookbook. Cooking gives kids autonomy and self-confidence and improves their math through measuring and weighing.
4. Noteworthy News for Curious Kids
Time for Kids writes kid-friendly news stories so all ages can learn about our world, the people in it, and recent events. Kids can sort by topic and their specific reading grade level, so articles are comprehensible.
5. Get Outside – Absorb Nature’s Teachings
Boy Scout and Girl Scout Camps allow kids to learn necessary survival and outdoor skills. This long-standing, well-known youth program offers character development and values-based leadership training. At only $25/year, plus a few additional fees for activities, the program is a budget-friendly extracurricular. They also provide financial reciprocity for families of lower-income levels. Kids learn how to get comfortable in the outdoors and interact with the natural resources available to them.
6. Make Some Music Magic
Sometimes listening to music is just as fun as making it. Little Kids Rock has put together a compilation of video lessons and song charts to teach kids about playing and reading music for instruments like the drums, ukulele, keyboard, and guitar. It could inspire a new hobby or hidden musical talent for your kids.
7. Get Crafty
On the hottest days of summer, keep the TV off and turn on your kids’ creative thinking brains by finding a craft. Pinterest is a great resource to find craft ideas based on your child’s interests. Head to Michaels, Dollar Tree, or Hobby Lobby to get some supplies and get crafting!
8. Building with LEGO
LEGO is a brand known for developing kids’ hand-eye coordination, strategic planning, and teamwork skills. Kids have the chance to create their own structures or go off of the kit instructions, which too can be adapted for the child’s play freedom. There are virtual and in-person events for kids to have the chance to connect with other kids who are passionate about building. Check out the LEGO Ambassador Network to find events in your area.
9. Summer Night Campouts
A summer night campout is a great reason to get the whole family together for a night of storytelling, s’mores making, tent building, and stargazing. Make it a little more educational by teaching your kids to spot what they see. SkyView is a great app that allows kids to see the constellations and planets in the sky and learn more about them.
10. When in Doubt, Hike it Out
An easily accessible summer activity, no matter where you are, is hiking. Encourage your child to collect leaves and flowers along the way to make their own trail guide nature journal. This can be the perfect opportunity to teach kids about perseverance, endurance, trail safety, reading a trail map, and turnaround times. Check out AllTrails to find hikes ranging in length and difficulty near you.
11. Kodu Creates Future Engineers
The Kodu platform gives users the opportunity to solve simple problems to learn a title-based programming language. It’s a great way for kids to learn how to create online programs from real-world events/actions.
12. Bring the Science Lab Home
Science experiments give kids the opportunity to question, learn about variables, form a hypothesis, and test solutions. Little Bins For Little Hands features over 50 experiments that are visually stimulating and sensory-rich. WowScience is another great resource for kids who want to learn more about science with games, videos, articles, and more. There are free and paid options depending on what you’re looking for.
13. Create with Code
Coding has become more popular for children these days as our world becomes more digital-centered. Through coding children learn how to visualize abstract concepts, apply math to real-world situations, and creatively problem-solve.
Scratch is an online coding community where children can learn coding language in combination with visual interfaces to create digital stories, games, and animations. It promotes computational thinking and problem-solving skills through creative computing and self-learning. Kids get to create their own programs and solve basic coding functions.
14. Learn About Mental Health with Engaging Animations
GoZen is an online social-emotional learning program that teaches kids how to transform negative emotions into their superpowers. Kids walk away with resilient thoughts, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, impulse control, and life skills. The animation characters are used as a relatable way for kids to understand their emotions while staying entertained by the programs.
15. Picnic and Playtime in the Park
Your local parks are the perfect place to spend a summer afternoon. Let your kids play pretend and invent their own games with their imagination. You could bring a picnic, sports equipment or other games to keep them entertained all day. Several local parks also offer gardening volunteer opportunities. As kids learn about how to care for vegetables, fruits, and flowers, they are also learning about where their food comes from and how it grows.
16. The Montessori Experience
Montessori is a unique educational approach that focuses on hands-on learning where the teacher individualizes the student’s learning experience based on their academic level. It allows the child to grow at their own pace and fosters curiosity and genuine care for all living things. The summer programs combine physical and emotional development spanning all subject areas such as art, music, science, culture, and more.
17. Local Cultural Events
In an effort to expose your child to new experiences, Eventbrite has hundreds of free and paid events that you can search for in your area to help diversify their days and nights while engaging with other kids and families. You can find an event time, date, and theme that works best for you and your family. Once you register, you can add it directly to your calendar.
18. Spend Time at the Public Library
No matter where you live, your public library is guaranteed to offer endless reading options, speakers, read-a-loud series, and kid-focused events. The library is the perfect place to spend the day to escape the heat while learning something new. Find your nearest library and give your child the freedom to find books that spark their fascination either from perusing the catalog or just walking around. They can pick high-level books that you can read to them or books that are at their reading level.
19. Language Lessons
Exposing your child to new languages and cultures allows them to gain a deeper perspective of our world while improving their pronunciation, vocabulary, and fluency later in life.
Duolingo Kids is a fun and effective app where kids have the chance to learn new languages! This language-learning platform allows early readers and writers to learn Spanish, French, and English. Exposing kids to new languages during their earlier stages of development helps them problem-solve, critical-think, and listen.
20. Deepening Basic Academic Skills
Academic camps, such as Sylvan Learning Centers, allow your child to strengthen skills and confidence in reading, writing, math, or algebra. They offer both in-person and online camps to keep your child engaged and learning in a collaborative environment. Sylvan allows kids to improve reading and math skills with personable tutors and flexible lesson plans.
21. Join the YMCA
Summer allows kids to expand their imaginations and take on new adventures. The YMCA is offering several summer camp programs to get your child connected in the community. In the past, the YMCA camps have allowed kids to become leaders and self-starters. Check out their Day Camp, Overnight Camp, Family Camp, and Specialty Camp options.
22. Get Moving with GoNoodle
On a rainy summer day, GoNoodle keeps your kids moving with various sing-alongs, dance-along videos, virtual obstacle courses, and mindfulness activities. You can play it directly from their website or pull up their YouTube channel on the TV, so kids have enough room to dance around.
23. Local Drama and Acting Programs
Even if your child isn’t the star of the show, getting involved in theater and drama programs is proven to build skills like public speaking, memorization, creative thinking, leadership, networking, and self-confidence. Check out their online drama courses here.
24. Virtual Astronomy Camp
To kids, our solar system and outer space can be confusing and elusive. Astronomy creates a foundation of physics and math. Children learn how scales of time, distance, and size are relative to one another through astrology’s teachings.
Cosmoto is offering all kids the chance to learn about space and astronomy online all summer with a FREE 5-week guided camp. Kids walk away with a certificate and knowledge about the world around them and how the entire solar system works.
25. Summer Camp
If you have made your way through this extensive list, the American Camp Association database lists thousands of camps and programs you can use to make the most of your child’s learning this summer. For a global search, check out World Camps.
Whether or not you’re in a classroom setting, learning new things can be a part of your child’s everyday life. By giving your child a chance to pursue new talents, try out new hobbies and explore new ways of creative thinking, they will learn to navigate the truest parts of their identity and purpose.
At Synthesis, we challenge children to recognize their potential for critical problem solving and guide them to work with a team in developing solutions. Summer gives your child time to develop all the skills they may not have as much of a focus on during the school year. Lifelong skills such as judgment, collaboration, and sense-making are all necessary for all phases of your child’s life.
Utilizing our global community, we bring together children on various planes of development and academic levels – demonstrating that collaboration and teamwork can be found through communication and connection. We even offer open play sessions, so kids can engage with people in their cohort more than once a week.
Learn more about Synthesis, a fun, collaborative-program solving program for kids.
