Family Fun

Spring Family Fun Ideas to Do in May

April 23, 2022 By Terri Thompson

I don’t know about you, but it can be quite difficult to come up with simple family fun ideas, especially ideas that are inexpensive (or even free).

My mind always goes to ideas like a trip to the movies, or to bowling, or dinner at a restaurant. They’re all fun ideas but can end up costing a lot of money. You can’t do these all the time, so you end up skipping family time.

So what can you do? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a list of inexpensive and simple family fun ideas that could be done any time? I think so.

Luckily, I’ve got just the list for you – some Spring Family Fun Ideas you’ll love!

Enjoy some simple and fun quality time with your family this May with these Spring Family Fun Ideas. Print off the list and go have some fun together!

Here are some ideas for the month of May. The weather is warmer and daylight lasts longer so you can spend time together outside. These ideas are perfect for springtime and May, but many can be done at anytime of the year.

So, print out your list, hang it up, and plan some family fun time.

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Spend some time with your family this spring with these simple family fun ideas for the month of May. Print out the idea list and have some fun!

Spring Family Fun Ideas for May

Go bird watching

Grab a bird book and go on a bird-watching hike. Choose a park or a nice hiking trail. Watch, observe, and listen. If you don’t already have a bird guide, you can borrow one from your local library for your hike. You can find some more family bird-watching tips at this post, Family Bird Watching Club.

If you’re looking to add a great bird field guide to your family library, I’d recommend either the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America or The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region or Western Region.

Have a favorite food dinner

Have a dinner consisting of each person’s favorite food. Don’t worry if they don’t exactly make up your ideal meal. That’s part of the fun! Pizza, peas, and ice cream sound perfect.

If your kids are old enough, let each person in the family prepare their favorite. You can have fun in the kitchen and at the dinner table!

Look at the clouds

Lie on your backs and find pictures in the clouds. What do you see? Can you make up stories about the pictures you find?

Turn this simple cloud watching time into story time and bring along a copy of Little Cloud by Eric Carle to read.

Create a family mural

Tape a large piece of paper to the wall and create a family mural.

You can cut off a large piece from a roll of paper to make a large enough mural the whole family can work on together.

Draw separate images or work together to make one larger image.

Play with balloons

Have a balloon party!

Play “keep it in the air”, where everyone works together to keep the balloon from falling on the ground, or play a game of living room volleyball.

You can also rub the balloons in your hair to try and get them to stick to the wall or ceiling. Warning: this activity can cause a lot of laughter!

Take a picnic to the park

Have a picnic at the park and spend the evening playing together on the playground.

If you enjoy picnics with the family, invest in some tools like a nice personalized picnic blanket and an insulated picnic basket so it’s easy to head out anytime you want.

Bake cookies

Bake cookies as a family. Make a family favorite recipe or try something new like these Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies at Kitchen Counter Chronicles.

If you make too many, package some up to deliver to friends or neighbors!

Go on a twilight walk

Go on a walk at twilight.

Look and listen. Do you hear different sounds at this time of day than you do in the middle of the day?

Pay attention to the sky and watch the change from daytime to nighttime.

Take silly pictures

Get out a camera or a smart phone and take silly pictures of each other.

You never know, you may find a new masterpiece that need to be printed and framed.

You could even make some of these simple Craft Stick Picture Frames to display your fun picture.

Have a dance party

Crank up the music and have a living room dance party!

It’s a great way to get moving, blow off steam, and have a lot of fun together.

Print out your spring family fun ideas and have some fun.

In order to make things easy for you, I’ve put all of these ideas in a simple printable list.. Print it out, stick it to the front of your fridge with magnets, and use it for family fun ideas all month long.

Get your printable May Family Adventures here.

Schedule your spring family fun time.

In order to make sure that we fit in some family time each month, I’ve found that it can help to schedule a couple of activities for the month. It doesn’t have to be set in stone, but if you plan on going on a bird-watching hike on Saturday, scribble it on the calendar and let the whole family know. They’ll look forward to it and so will you, which makes it less likely that you will skip it.

Which of these ideas are you going to add to your calendar this month?

Family fun activities I recommend

It’s so easy to have some family fun if you keep a few outdoor games around. Grab one and head outside for simple fun!

Here’s some fun ideas:

Ladder Toss Game

Ring Toss

Lawn Darts

Or one of these other ideas below.

10 Fun Walk Ideas for Families

January 24, 2022 By Terri Thompson

Going on a walk is not only good exercise, it’s also a lot of fun.

And, it’s a easy and simple family fun idea.

It’s so easy to just grab the kids and go on a simple neighborhood walk. You get exercise, burn some energy, and breathe fresh air. But, sometimes you want to mix things up and if you want to add a little variety to your neighborhood walk, here are 10 fun walk ideas for families.

Add some learning ideas, explore nature, and more. So, let’s get outside, get moving, and have some fun with our family.

Fun Walk Ideas for Families

Here are 10 fun ideas to add a little variety to your family walks. They’re great for kids of all ages and the adults will have fun too.

1. Go on a counting walk. Count the number of trees you see or count the parked cars. Come up with a few things you see routinely on your walks and have the kids count them.

Two young girls in pink hoodies taking a walk in the woods with a sunbeam shining down.

2. Take binoculars and look at your neighborhood up close! Find all the tiny things you usually don’t notice. Look up in the tops of trees. What do you see? You may need to take it slow on this exploration walk, but I guarantee you’ll find things you never noticed before. This is also a fun idea for a walk in the park or local nature center.

3. Make it a scavenger hunt. Look for something big, something tiny, something rough or something smooth like we did in our backyard scavenger hunt.

Simple backyard scavenger hunt on a clipboard with a pen.

4. Play “I Spy” while you walk along. “I spy something brown and green and taller than a house.” Whoever guesses first gets to come up with the next clue.

5. Go on a color hunt. See how many different colors you can find. You can have a casual color hunt or take our Rainbow Color Hunt outside to see what you can see.

More Family Walk Ideas

6. Take your camera. Document all the things you see on your walk, then turn it into a book when you get home or print out a few favorite photos. Don’t forget to take a few selfies with the kids!

7. Bring a bag and look for nature treasures like we did when we went leaf collecting. Use your nature treasures in learning activities the rest of the week.

Young girl with a small brown paper bag she is using to collect fall leaves.

8. Go on a listening walk. How many different things do you hear on your walk? Here is a fun idea for a listening walk along with a printable checklist.

9. Stop and climb a tree! If you don’t want to climb a tree, stop and examine a leaf, smell a flower, make a snow angel or jump in a puddle. In other words, enjoy the experience!

10. Find a new-to-you place to go for a hike. Your walk doesn’t have to be around the neighborhood! In case the idea of taking young children on a hike makes you nervous I have some simple tips to make it easy on everyone.

Two young girls examining the bark on a tree

Even More Outdoor Fun

Check out this article on finding the balance between outdoor safety and adventure from Teach Preschool. So, why not climb a hill and run back down it!

What is your favorite fun walk ideas for families?

Photo collage of the images found in this post: young girl taking a photograph, scavenger hunt sheet, girl collecting leaves.

Find More Outdoor Ideas in One of These Books

We’ve got a small library of books at home to help inspire us to get outside together. Here are some recommendations you may want to add to your home library.

Top Family Movies on Amazon Prime

January 18, 2022 By Terri Thompson

We don’t always plan ahead for family movie night.

Sometimes, it’s a last minute idea and there’s just not any time to go and find a great family friendly movie.

So, now what? Well, just head over to one of your streaming services and take a peek. For instance, here are some of the best family movies on Amazon Prime right now.

What are you going to watch for your next family movie night? You don't need to look any further than these top family movies on Amazon Prime.

Note: The age suggestions came from Common Sense Media. Please use your own discretion when choosing a movie. You know your family best!

Note: These fun family movies are available with your Amazon Prime subscription as of January 18, 2021.

Best Family Movies on Amazon Prime

There are so many reasons why I love my Amazon Prime subscription. One favorite part is the movie and TV selection.

So, you don’t have to look any further for your next family movie night.

Here are my family’s suggestions of Prime movies you may love for your next movie night.

Fun Animated Family Movies

Despicable Me (rated PG, good for kids 6+) This popular film featuring those lovable minions is my number one choice if you’re planning a fun family movie night. Kids and adults both love this movie!

Puss in Boots (rated PG, good for kids 6+) If you’re a fan of Shrek, then you’ll love to see the back story of the swashbuckling Puss in Boots. This is another top choice for family movie night.

Monsters Vs. Aliens (rated PG, good for kids 7+) In this movie, a ragtag group of monsters try to save the earth from an alien mastermind. If you’ve got sensitive little ones, this may not be the best choice because of all the action. But, it’s similar to what you’d find while watching The Incredibles so most kids will be ok.

Hotel Transylvania: Transfomania (rated PG, good for kids 7+) Oops! A new invention has gone haywire and the monsters have turned into humans and the humans into monsters. Can they fix the problem before the change becomes permanent?

Anamalympics (rated 7+) This fun throwback animated feature (from 1980) features a fun bunch of animals as they compete in the Olympic Games. I remember watching this as a kid and it would be a fun one to watch to get ready for the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Live Action Family Movies

Snow Day (rated PG, good for kids 5+) After an unexpected snowfall, the whole town shuts down. Of course, lots of hijinks ensue as the kids try to keep the school shut down longer. This would be a fun choice if your kids are home for a snow day!

Mr. Popper’s Penguins (rated PG, good for kids 6+) This fun movie is funny interpretation of a classic children’s book where a business man inherits 6 penguins.

Cinderella (rated PG, good for kids 8+) There are many different versions of Cinderella, but the one currently available is a Prime exclusive. This live action version starring Camila Cabello and an all-star cast is fun and modern and a great choice to watch with your older kids (or for a mother/daughter movie date).

Sister Act (rated PG, good for kids 10+) This is another fun throwback choice about a nightclub singer forced to hide from the mob in a convent. This movie is fun, heartwarming, and full of music. It’s a great choice for a movie night with older kids.

What’s the last movie you’ve watched on Amazon Prime?

All the best family movies on Amazon Prime.

Get Amazon Prime to make family movie night easy.

If you’ve got Amazon Prime, it can be so easy to have a fun movie night. They’ve got so many family friendly movies, including all the ones listed above available via streaming (in addition to other great benefits). You can sign up for Amazon Prime via this link.

June Simple Family Fun Ideas

June 1, 2021 By Terri Thompson

For our family, June marks the beginning of summer. School ends, the weather warms up, the days get longer, and we’re all ready for a change of pace and some family fun adventures.

These June simple family fun ideas are perfect for the changing season. Some of these ideas will get you outside and others are perfect to do inside on a hot day. And, several can be done at any time of the year (not just summer). But, what brings all these ideas together is that they are simple, inexpensive, and a great way to connect.

Let’s plan a family adventure!

Get ready for summer with some family adventures! Save and print these ideas for June simple family fun and you'll be ready for family time any time.

Fire up your printer, print out your simple June family adventures, hang it up, and plan some fun.

I know you’ll find an activity (or two or three or four…) that your family will love.

June Outdoor Adventures

June is a great time to get outside and have some fun. So, these family fun ideas will give you a nudge to enjoy the outdoors.

1. Blow up a beach ball and play beach ball volleyball in your backyard. No net needed! Just have some fun.

2. Take a trip to a nearby nature center. Go on a hike, explore their visitors center and have fun learning about the wildlife in your part of the world. Nature centers are a great community resource and most are free or inexpensive to visit.

3. Trace each other’s shadows on the driveway. Add faces, hair, and clothes to make a silly shadow family.

4. Go stargazing. Pick a clear night and go outside to study the moon and stars. You can find tips for stargazing with your kids as well as a printable night sky journal at this link.

5. Lie together under a tree and look up. What do you see? Use this time to relax together and talk about all that you see.

6. Explore a pond together. Observe and learn about all the animals and plants you see or try one of these simple activities for pond play at Buggy and Buddy. This might even inspire a second family adventure to the library to find some books about pond life.

June Indoor Family Adventures

Even in summer, sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate. Save these ideas for a rainy day, a steamy hot day, or anytime you’re looking for some indoor fun.

7. Have a letter writing evening and write letters to faraway family or friends. Use pretty stationary or decorate your own with markers and stickers. You can even go all in with a fun set of personalized notecards for your kids like this set from EightTwentyOneStudio.

8. Go to the grocery store or farmer’s market and buy a few new-to-you fruits (or vegetables). Have a family taste test and maybe you’ll find a new favorite snack.

9. Learn to make play dough together. You can find many fun recipes on my play dough Pinterest board. Gather up some loose parts (like rocks, pipe cleaners, or craft foam pieces) and start creating.

10. Discover a new genre of music together through books and music. YouTube and your local library are both great resources.

Print Out Your June Simple Family Fun Ideas

You can find all these family adventures on a printable list here. Just download it and print. Hang it on the refrigerator and you’ll be ready for a month full of family fun ideas.

Jot a few ideas on the calendar and you’ll be sure to have time with the family. Remember, a family adventure doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. You just need a couple of hours and a fun idea.

Get your printable June Family Adventures here.

Which of these June simple family fun ideas are you going to add to your calendar this month?

More June Family Fun Resources

In addition to all the fun ideas listed above, the following items are fun to have around for last minute family fun. Yard games are always a lot of fun!

Printable Family Summer Bucket List

May 13, 2021 By Terri Thompson

I must have blinked. That’s the only explanation.

One day I was taking first day of school pictures. And the next… my kids are bringing home backpacks full of all their stuff from school. Yep. It’s time for summer.

And guess what, I have no idea what we’re going to do!

So, it’s time to create our family summer bucket list.

Plan your family summer bucket list with this fun printable. Use your own ideas or use some of our suggestions for summer fun!

Why should you create a summer bucket list?

There are a few reasons why I love creating a bucket list for summer. First, it’s a great resource for ideas. That brainstorming session you had to create your list is so useful when everyone is sitting around bored. Don’t know what to do? Check your list!

Plus, it gives everyone a chance to provide input. Maybe your kids were hoping for some specific activities this summer. This gives them a chance to tell you their wishes for summer fun. And you can record them and make sure everyone gets to do something they were wishing for.

I always think of our bucket list as a source of inspiration for the summer. It’s not a requirement at all. In fact, I don’t think we’ve ever had a year where we crossed off everything on the list!

Family Summer Bucket List Ideas

So what are you going to add to your bucket list?

Here are a few ideas:

Go to the beach
Make a blanket fort
Have a picnic
Go camping
Make root beer floats
Build a photo album
Catch fireflies
Have a water balloon fight
Tie dye shirts
Plant a garden
Make s’mores
Feed the ducks. But, don’t feed them bread! Here’s a better option for duck food at Playground Park Bench.
Watch fireworks
Go fishing
Go to a drive in movie
Roller blade
Make ice cream
Ride a ferris wheel
Build a sandcastle
Go on a hike
Make suncatchers, like these easy painted suncatchers!
Bury a time capsule
Volunteer (Here are some great ideas if you want to help your local animal shelter).
Go on a boat ride
Run a 5K
Visit a museum

And if that’s not enough ideas. Here are 200 more fun ideas for your summer bucket list!

Record Your Summer Bucket List Ideas

Now that you’ve come up with your fun summer ideas, you need to write them down.

I’ve got just the thing for you, a cute watermelon-themed summer bucket list printable.

Just save and print. You’ll find space to record 10 ideas and also a printable with all the ideas I listed above. If you have more than 10 ideas, just print multiple copies!

Get your Watermelon Summer Bucket List here.

Are you ready for some summer fun? We are!

Awesome summer fun resources:

In addition to all the fun ideas listed above, you could also add one of these fun outdoor activities to your list. Play ring toss, ladder toss, laws darts or more! So much fun!