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One of the joys of parenting a preschooler is watching them discover something new every day. One of the challenges? Keeping up with their endless appetite for play.
During the summer, I find myself searching for activities that are easy to set up, inexpensive and engaging enough to hold my child’s attention for more than a few minutes. Bonus points if they also encourage sensory exploration and help develop fine motor skills without feeling like a lesson.
Luckily, creative parents have come up with plenty of simple ideas that check all those boxes. Start planning your summer fun with these easy DIY activities.
Watermelon counting
Nothing says summer like watermelon! This version is made of paper, but your kids will still love it. Using paper plates and construction paper, make your watermelon slices, then write a number on each slice. Hand over a hole punch to your child, and let them punch a different number of holes in each slice. Bonus: You’ll have some fun red confetti after this project for your next celebration! Head to Kindergarten Connection for details.
Ice cream pompom scoop
Nothing says summer quite like an ice cream cone. These felt pompoms will spark the imagination, and let kids work on counting (match the number of pompoms to the number written on a cone) and fine motor skills as they use the “handy scoopers.” Mix and match colors and pass the cones out to everyone. Turner Tots has all the details you need to recreate this fun activity at home.
Button octopus
Sometimes, even in the summer, you need a simple quiet activity. Kids will love hanging out with the button octopus, adding more and more arms, mixing and matching the colors. You’ll need to help with the initial creation of the octopus and arms, but once it’s made, keep it close by when you need a quick, engaging activity. Michelle at Taming Little Monsters has all the details you’ll need.
Shower curtain painting
Your little Picassos are going to love this fun outside activity. This clever idea gives kids a huge canvas to paint again and again, and keeps the mess outside — off your dining room table. Check out all the details about how to set up this fun activity on the blog Happy Toddler Playtime.
Snack necklace
This activity checks off two toddler needs at once: an activity and a snack. Let kids put their favorite snacks on a string and, voila, snack necklace! Check out all the details on the Happy Toddler Playtime blog.
Eric Carle–inspired firefly craft
For slightly older kids, this is a craft that will use up those toilet paper rolls. Pick up a copy of “The Very Lonely Firefly” by Eric Carle, and Buggy and Buddy will explain how to make this simple craft that ties right into the book.
Shaving cream and sand
Summer is the best time for those extra-messy activities your toddler loves but require a hose to clean up. Enter this shaving-cream-and-sand combo. Set your kid up on the driveway or in the backyard with a bin of play sand, then add shaving cream and mix. The blog Little Bins for Little Hands makes the process crystal clear.
Create a beach
If you don’t have a beach trip planned, you can create a mini version in your backyard with just a few supplies.
Creating mini play settings, such as a miniature ocean, can help ignite your child’s imagination and provide a jumping-off point for talking about creatures that live in the sea, the differences between water and land animals, and even how we can help protect the ocean by keeping it clean. Sand, water and some sea creatures are all you need for this simple activity from Playing House.
Ice bin transfer
On the hottest of days, break out the plastic bins and empty out the ice maker. Kids will love scooping the ice cubes from one plastic bin to the other, especially when they can watch the ice cubes melt in water tinted with food coloring. On the next sweltering summer day, this activity from the fabulous site Busy Toddler will be a welcome relief.
Tongs and water play
If the weather cooperates, your little one will love being outside, playing with water all summer long. Adding a few toys and tongs helps them with their fine-motor skill development as they work to grab small objects and move them between buckets. Check out the tutorial from The Empowered Educator to see how it’s done.
Painting with rain
Because the weather’s a little warmer, rainy days in the summer don’t necessarily have to be spent indoors. This gem of an idea from Housing a Forest shows you lots of different ways you can use the rain to your advantage. Kids can create wonderful artwork with supplies you probably have around your house.
Homemade paint recipe
I love the idea of letting my kids paint outside, but I’m still trying to wash the finger paint out of the concrete patio from our last attempt at plein air painting. This recipe for homemade paint from Repeat Crafter Me is designed for messy and artistic use outdoors. It uses ingredients you have around the house, such as flour and dish soap, and won’t make a permanent splotch on your patio.
Seashell exploration tray
Exploration trays are a great way to keep toddlers focused on a single activity. This summer-themed tray featuring seashells and a little plastic magnifying glass is as simple as it gets, but it will keep your child occupied and learning about the intricacies of texture. See how to put it together in minutes at the blog Our Country Road.
Helicopter seed dragonfly craft
Every time I recycle a toilet paper tube, I think it’s a missed opportunity for a craft. Here’s one good idea: Collect a few of those little helicopter seeds from a nearby maple tree and turn them into a dragonfly craft by following this easy tutorial from Juise. Your kid can pretend to fly it around the yard all day.
Water beads
Have you tried water beads with your preschooler yet? They’re perfect for kids who love tactile exploration. They’re actually floral beads meant to fill up vases, but they’re perfect added to a water bin, so long as your child is old enough to know not to eat them or inset them into their nose or ears (water beads send many children to the emergency room every year). The Imagination Tree explains the simple process of making a sensory bin with water beads. (Just keep them out of your drains!)
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission set a new safety rule for water beads in March 2026. Water beads can cause life-threatening situations if swallowed and the new rule limits water beads that are marketed as toys from expanding beyond 5 millimeters (about the size of a pea). You can read more about the safety changes here.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published several years ago and most recently updated by ParentMap’s content editor, Kari Hanson, on July 2, 2026.
