101 things to do with your kids this summer (Catholic edition)

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  1. Get a whole bunch of cardboard boxes from the store and let kids build and create with them
  2. Make giant bubble wands
  3. Play flashlight tag
  4. Chalk simple Sudoku puzzles for older kids to solve on your driveway or sidewalk
  5. Make up your own board game
  6. Collect leaves and flowers and press them in books
  7. Memorize a Scripture verse every week
  8. Wash the car
  9. Run a lemonade stand
  10. Learn how to do a new household chore
  11. Write letters to your elected officials about an issue that is important to you
  12. Have a dance party with Christian music and refreshments
  13. Find 10 different types of bugs
  14. Take older kids on a field trip to city hall, the state capitol, or your local courthouse to see government at work
  15. Celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary (August 15) by going to Mass and eating herbs
  16. Keep a bird watching list
  17. Make your own comic strip series
  18. Make homemade colored play dough
  19. Make a backyard weather station and keep a weather diary
  20. Write letters to Pope Francis
  21. Celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 12) with devotions, Sacred Heart cupcakes, and valentines from Jesus
  22. Make your own book of prayers
  23. Make puppets and put on a show depicting the life of a saint
  24. Play hopscotch
  25. Write letters to far-away friends and relatives (or better yet, make care packages)
  26. Ask to take a tour of your local newspaper or television station
  27. Let kids brainstorm chores they would like to do around the house (beyond regular chores), and negotiate a “fee” for their service
  28. Visit a museum
  29. Go to daily Mass
  30. Celebrate the Feast of St. John Vianney (August 4) by having a fundraising garage sale for your favorite charitable cause
  31. Make homemade musical instruments and then make a band
  32. Go stargazing (bring along Bible verses about the stars)
  33. Celebrate the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola (July 31) by praying an Ignatian Examen
  34. Make balloon rockets
  35. Have kids scavenge their belongings for items to donate to the local thrift store, with the promise that they can purchase an item for every two they get rid of
  36. Go grocery shopping for your local food shelf, and have kids decorate the grocery bags
  37. Celebrate the Feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha by learning about the Native American peoples in your area
  38. Decorate a tree or bush, Christmas-tree style, in honor of the Fourth of July
  39. Make a bird feeder
  40. Visit an animal shelter
  41. Make a family prayer table or decorate the one you have with special objects
  42. Have kids make and decorate their own summer calendars, and let them fill them in with activities and events they think up themselves
  43. Make a pilgrimage
  44. Let kids decorate brown paper grocery bags before taking them grocery shopping
  45. Learn the principles of painting an icon, and then paint an icon of your favorite saint
  46. Identify 10 different types of rock found in your area
  47. Make an outdoor prayer space and decorate it with found items, homemade wind chimes, flowers, and more
  48. Practice the seven corporeal works of mercy
  49. Do lectio divina with a nature sit spot
  50. Clean out, organize, and decorate your bedroom
  51. Buy washable window markers and let kids decorate the window with the name and symbol of the saint of the day
  52. Play hide the button (or penny)
  53. Make homemade ice cream or slushies
  54. Go to Eucharistic adoration
  55. Celebrate the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29) by going on your own missionary journey
  56. Play balloon bouncing games
  57. Read a book of the Bible that your kids haven’t heard before and put on a play
  58. Make juice popsicles
  59. Plan a kids’ Olympics—have kids practice all morning, then hold the games after lunch
  60. Make fairy houses
  61. Celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ by making homemade bread and going to Eucharistic Adoration
  62. Help your kids make and keep a container garden
  63. Chalk the driveway/sidewalk
  64. Have kids study the mission of the saints, then come up with their own spiritual mission statement, along with a coat of arms or personal logo and/or motto
  65. Learn a survival skill (what to do if you are lost, first aid, CPR, how to ask for help, changing a tire)
  66. Listen to audiobooks from your library
  67. Celebrate the Feast of St. Augustine (August 28) by having kids write their spiritual autobiography—either a true one (their lives up until now) or the one they would like to be able to write when they are “old”
  68. Reproduce a famous painting in chalk on the driveway/sidewalk
  69. Make a neighborhood parade
  70. Read as many Newberry or Caldecott award-winning books as you can
  71. Receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation
  72. Identify and forage wild edible plants in your area, then make a meal incorporating them
  73. Let kids make a hidden treasure hunt for younger siblings or neighborhood friends
  74. Join a citizen science project
  75. Make elaborate paper airplanes and have flying contests
  76. Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel by telling her story over caramel treats
  77. Try praying the Liturgy of the Hours
  78. Let older kids make a neighborhood newsletter featuring interviews with neighbors
  79. Go geocaching or letterboxing
  80. Find a foreign pen pal using an online pen pal finder
  81. Work your way through a prayer book by saying a new prayer every day
  82. Have a picnic somewhere special
  83. Make a book (and maybe publish it using an online self-publishing service)
  84. Memorize a new prayer
  85. Spend a rainy day visiting different area churches in a stained glass scavenger hunt
  86. Make homemade boats to float in a kiddie pool or local pond
  87. Teach your kids how to make a new recipe
  88. Have a bonfire with s’mores
  89. Make a tie dye t-shirt or decorate a t-shirt with fabric markers
  90. Collect litter in your neighborhood or park
  91. Let your kids plan and make lunch or dinner
  92. Tour your local fire station
  93. Run silly races (rolling, backwards, crab walking, etc.)
  94. Celebrate the Feast of St. Martha (July 29) by taking the day off from all household chores
  95. Identify 10 trees in your neighborhood
  96. Identify 10 birds in your neighborhood
  97. Celebrate the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 22) by making crowns of wildflowers
  98. Blow up balloons and let them go without tying them
  99. Learn a new card game
  100. Celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (August 6) and mark the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima by praying the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary with the intention for peace
  101. Make the most awesome peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever