DIY Summer camp

Whether you’re worried about the safety of summer camps, they are closed in your area, or just too expensive, for many families summer camp is off the table this year.

This post is written by Brenda Priddy of STEAMsational, a STEAM and science site for teachers and parents looking for hands-on STEM activity ideas.

However, you can still create magical summer memories with your kids with an at-home summer camp!

Making your own at home summer camp is surprisingly easy!

Follow along with the steps in this guide to plan out a summer camp at home for your kids. And be sure to check out the list of complete at-home summer camp themes below.

How to Make a Summer Camp at Home for Your Kids (without hassle or stress)

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You don’t have to be a creative genius to make a summer camp experience for your kids at home.

And if you’re a little braver, you can open your backyard to some of your kids’ friends or the neighbors on your block for a safer camp experience.

Follow along with these simple steps and you’ll have a camp outline in no time. Your kids will always remember the time you took to make the summer special for them!

Brainstorm ideas with your kids

Sit down with your kids to get some ideas of what your summer camp should look like. What kind of themes would they be interested in? Art camp, science camp, pirate camp, STEAM camp, math camp, space camp, and even Pokemon camp could be fun themes.

What types of activities do they want to do? If your kids were going to a camp that’s now canceled, ask them what parts of summer camp they were most looking forward to.

You may be able to create parts of that summer camp for them at home!

Create a schedule for your summer camp

A schedule doesn’t have to be set in stone for every summer camp you do for your kids, and this might feel restricting to some kids.

However, you want to create some schedule for your summer schedule to help keep things organized. This will ensure that you don’t run out of activities for your kids to do or plan too many activities for them.

The best way to create a schedule is to plan a theme or activity and block those into your schedule. You can make themes for each week to help structure your schedule, or choose a new theme for each day.

Use screens and tools for the things you can’t teach yourself

I’m not an artist, and teaching my kids art is something that my knowledge can only help so much.

Why not use other tools to help out if you want your kids to learn art or music while at camp?

Many online camp options can help show your kids how to cook, do art, or even how to draw!

You can use these to help supplement your summer camp so you can take a break from being a camp counselor for awhile!

Gather your supplies

You’ve planned out your schedule and found resources to help teach your kids the things you want them to learn while at summer camp, now it’s time to start gathering supplies!

Make a list of all the craft supplies, and materials for activities, you’ll need.

You can head to the store to gather these each week or make one big trip. Make sure that you don’t wait until the last minute to start gathering supplies!

No one wants to make a midnight trip to Walmart because they forget to get glue sticks for tomorrow’s art project.

Summer camps are such an important part of the summer for kids! They give your kids a chance to play and explore while getting a break from schoolwork.

If you are trying to plan your own summer camp, keep this guide handy to help you get started!

Ready-to-Go Backyard Summer Camp Themes

If you don’t have the time to plan activities yourself, you can save time by trying some of these pre-planned camp themes:

STEAM Summer Camp

Colors Summer Camp (for preschoolers and toddlers)

Animal Summer Camp

Craft Summer Camp

Spy Summer Camp

Resources for your summer camp

My kids love to craft! I love to craft too, which is why I just bought a Cricut, but back to kids crafts. These are all crafts that you can do inside or outside. You never no when you might get a few days or a week of rain and a crafts theme in the house are perfect for this time.

Backyard Summer Camp: Crafts

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I don’t believe that we should have our kids scheduled for every minute of everyday. My kids don’t expect me to entertain them. I’m pretty sure that the only time they tell me that they are bored and expect me to entertain them is why I am doing something very exciting, like cleaning a toilet. Yes, apparently that is my kids idea of a fun time.

Crafts for Your Backyard Camp

Tye Dye – Have you done tye dying with you kids yet? I didn’t realize under the fall past that we hadn’t. I don’t care for the look of tye dye, nor the staining mess. But my kids enjoyed it.

Decorate a Tote Bag – For my daughter’s 10th birthday I went a different way for the activity at her party. I gave the kids canvas tote bags and fabric markers. That’s it, they made their own tote bag for whatever they wanted to use it for. They are great for hauling library books.

Craft Stick Bracelet – I have big plans to do this with my kids this summer, I even bought the craft sticks to do it. Edited to add: We did it! The perfect rainy day craft.

Puffy Paint – Did you know, you can make your own paint with flour? We have been making this for a long time!

Sidewalk Chalk Paint – I haven’t made this for quite some time, but we have been lacking chalk drawing/writing surfaces lately.

Salt Painting – This is a fun, but simple craft you can do inside or out.

“Draw” a picture with your glue, a flower maybe? Sprinkle salt over the wet glue, covering it completely. Once dry tip the cardstock to remove excess salt. Use your watercolors to gently touch the salt. Watch the color magically spread.

Yarn Wrapping Letters – Make this super simple craft decoration with your kids. They can do the first letter of their name to hang on their wall. I would recommend cutting the cardboard for young kids so no one gets hurts.

Tape an end of yarn to the back of your letter and wind it around the letter, or even shape, until you have covered it completely, or as much as your child likes. You can use different types and colors of yarn to make your letter as unique as you.

I have a house full of superhero loving people. I even enjoy the movies. They love dressing up in costume and playing superhero. This superhero theme was inspired by and for them. We love being active, my kids never stop moving!

Backyard Summer Camp: Superhero Theme

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I don’t believe that we should have our kids scheduled for every minute of everyday. My kids don’t expect me to entertain them. I’m pretty sure that the only time they tell me that they are bored and expect me to entertain them is why I am doing something very exciting, like cleaning a toilet. Yes, apparently that is my kids idea of a fun time.

Superhero Activities

Design Your Superhero Cape – Grab some paper and have your kids create plan for your kids to plan out their own cape. You can make a simple cape for an old t-shirt, Pinterest has a lot of how-tos. You can also buy pre-made capes to decorate yourself.

Fitness Competition – Set up a little healthy competition in your backyard. You don’t have to do metals or ribbons but can if you want, and it adds a little more fun and challenge. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Set up relay races.

How can jump the farthest.

Plastic bow and arrow set to shoot like Hawk-Eye.

Balancing act. Do you have some where they can practice balancing? How long can the stand on one foot before needing to put their other one down?

“Aquaman” Water Density – Call it Aquaman if you want, but we simply called it water density.

Sticky Spider Web – Painters tape is sticky, but won’t ruin walls or paint. You could set it up outside between trees, or playground equipment, or inside in a hallway. You are going to make a spiderweb of tape. You want to make sure that little bodies (your kids) can move through it, but you don’t have to make it too easy.

You could also have them create them for their siblings, or other friends if you are including any friends in your background summer camp.

“Hulk” Slime – The only thing that is going to make this slime recipe Hulk like, would be to use green food coloring. Other than that, it’s just the best slime recipe we have ever used, and we have tried a lot.

Have fun. You can mix and match activities from all the themes. Do one theme a day instead of one a week. Make this summer a one your kids will always remember, for the fun, not for the hard times that the world is going through right now.

Water is the best part of summer! Jumping through the sprinkler, swimming in the pool, water balloon fights, and everything water related for cooling down. This DIY summer camp is water themed would be great during a hot, summer week.

Backyard summer Camp: Water Theme

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I don’t entertain my kids, inside or outside. But the best source for entertainment when they are outside is water. Whether it is a bucket of water, a kiddie pool, or a swimming pool. These kids love water, and love to get wet.

Activities for a water themed backyard summer camp

Water Balloon Toss – Water balloons are kind of like eggs. They break when handled roughly, and trying to catch them is hard.

Leaky Cup Relay Race – Poke a hole or two into a plastic cup. Full with water and race back and forth to fill a larger cup. Whoever fills the larger cup first whens. The more holes you poke into your cup the harder, and longer it takes. And the more wet the player gets.

Sponge Toss – Soak some sponges in water, and then have a friend, but wet game of toss. Toss the sponge around, back and forth. the first few people are going to get soaked… maybe soak the sponge again in a bucket of water. Add some dawn for bubbly fun.

Slip and Slide – You can make you own slip and slide, or you can go buy one, which is where I land because I don’t want make something else to be honest.

Kiddie Pool Fishing – Tie a piece of string to a stick, a paper clip on the other end of the string. Toss some fun little things into a kiddie pool and go fishing. No one fall in!

Sprinkler Red Light, Green Light – Turn the sprinkler on a hot day, and play a friendly, wet game of Red Light, Green Light.

Water Gun Target Practice – You can buy little dixie cups, and squirt guns at a dollar store. Build a tower of cups, and shoot at them with your squirt gun.