5 Fun Summer Activities to do with Your Kids in Central Florida

I don’t know about you, but I am worried about summer.

What the heck am I going to do without school?! Drop off and pickup take up so much of my time and my oldest is out of the house for a majority of the day.

How am I going to keep everyone entertained all day while my husband works?!

I am a huge planner, so I love to have a long list of ideas to help me navigate these hot summer days with both kids home all day long. I put together a list of things that I am going to do this summer with my girls to keep us on the move and happy!

Here are 5 fun things to do this summer with your kids without leaving Central Florida:

1. Explore a new splash pad. Our neighborhood has a splash pad attached to our pool, but I know it will get busy with everyone home this summer. I also know that my kids will get tired of it if we go too often. Good thing there are a ton of splash pads in Central Florida for us to check out. Many of them are free, which is even better in my book!
2. Plan a beach trip or staycation. There are so many beaches within driving distance of Orlando and I know that the change of scenery will do all of us some good in the hot summer days. We recently checked out Cape Canaveral as a family and we already are planning when we can go back to explore Kennedy Space Center. Check out some of our tips to keep your kids occupied (and yourself sane) while traveling this summer. There are also a ton of fun places to plan a little family staycation in Orlando, so you don’t have to drive far to get away. Contributor Jennie and her family went to Weeki Wachee recently and they look like they had THE BEST time, it is now on our bucket list for sure!
3. Join your local summer reading program. For those hotter than hot summer days, keep your kiddos distracted (and quiet) with their summer reading program goals. My oldest loves to read and she loves a good reward for treat, so the summer reading program is right up her alley. I also love that time for myself so I can curl up with a book and relax for a bit. I love the smell of a physical book from the library, but I also love the portability of my Kindle Paperwhite. Need an idea of what to read this summer? I have a list of romance novel series that would be so easy to binge read by the pool! Not a big physical book reader? No worries, why don’t you try audiobooks?! Need some ideas how to read more for yourself? Try one (or more) of my 3 tips to reading more. 
4. Check out a new park or playground. Now that my kids are older, they enjoy the same sort of playground. When my youngest wasn’t walking or couldn’t do a playground without my help, I was always so worried about taking them without another adult to help. So now that they can both play without much help from me, we will be checking out new playgrounds and parks in Central Florida!

   

5. Explore your city to find some new and funky spots. This will be our first full summer in Florida and we cannot wait to use this time to explore our city of Clermont! We have been to the Showcase of Citrus and the President’s Hall of Fame… both are nothing like the entertainment we had at our house in Michigan. We love Clermont and cannot wait to get to know it better.