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Let’s face it—summer can feel endless when the kids are home and the boredom sets in by Day 3. If you’re looking for a fun, flexible, and screen-light way to keep your kids busy (and maybe even sneak in a little learning), you’re in the right place!
I created this DIY Summer Camp at Home series to help parents like you plan simple, themed weeks full of low-prep activities, creative crafts, and outdoor fun—all without leaving your house or spending a fortune. Whether you follow the whole schedule or just pick and choose your favorites, the goal is the same: make memories, not stress.
From time travel adventures to backyard water games and artsy afternoons, this post rounds up all the best ideas from my popular email series so you can reference them anytime. Perfect for homeschool families, stay-at-home parents, or anyone trying to survive (and enjoy!) summer with kids. So grab some popsicle sticks, sunscreen, and your sense of humor—it’s time to bring summer camp home!
Week One: Harry Potter
Even if your kids haven’t read all the books (or any), a Harry Potter Week is packed with magical potential—and you don’t need a castle or a sorting hat to make it feel special. This theme is all about using your imagination to bring a little wizarding wonder into your home.
Activities to Try
- Listen to the audio books while driving around with your kiddos this week
- Watch one (or all) or the movies – marathon time!
- Try making these sorting hats
- Sort into houses for meal times
- Make your own wands with chopsticks and a glue gun
- Play some muggle quidditch. For details check out this post.
Snack Ideas
- Butterbeer: Root beer + whipped cream = instant cheers
- “Chocolate Frogs”: Use frog-shaped gummies or chocolate molds if you have them
- Witch Hats: Stack a cookie + Hershey’s Kiss + a dot of frosting
Low Prep Idea
Hogwarts Scavenger Hunt: Hide “horcruxes” (random objects or plastic eggs) around the house or yard. And for more ideas and printables check out this post!
Week Two: Space
Get ready to explore the galaxy without leaving your backyard! Space Week is a stellar way to ignite your kids’ imaginations and sneak in some science fun. Whether you’re launching “rockets” or pretending to walk on the moon, your little astronauts will love this outer space adventure.
Activities to Try
- Build your own rocket out of a water or soda bottle. Use a kit like this to launch it when you’re done!
- Visit a planetarium!
- Astronaut training day- could include a trip to a trampoline park to practice zero gravity!
- Have everyone pick a planet to learn and present about
- Watch a space movie like Apollo 13 as a family
- Star gaze- we love to lay on our trampoline and use the star constellation app to look at the summer sky!
- Moon rock hunt- details here.
Snack Ideas
- Eat like an astronaut! Try some dehydrated ice cream or other dehydrated foods to see what astronauts eat like!
- Rocket Kabobs: Stack grapes, cheese cubes, and strawberries on a skewer like a rocket ship. Details here.
- “Moon Rocks”: Freeze-dried fruit or popcorn tossed with edible glitter
- Galaxy Smoothies: Swirl yogurt or smoothies with food coloring to make a cosmic treat
Low Prep Idea
Cover a table or wall with black trash bags and stick on stars or glow-in-the-dark shapes, play ambient space music (Spotify has lots of “cosmic” playlists) and let kids create their own planets on a blank sheet of paper. For more ideas and printables check out these posts.
Week Three: Science
Put on your lab coats (or an old T-shirt!) and get ready to experiment! Science Week is all about tapping into kids’ natural curiosity with hands-on activities that are simple, messy, and full of “whoa!” moments. From fizzy reactions to homemade slime, this week is a total blast.
Activities to Try
- Fizz Lab: Set up baking soda + vinegar trays with food coloring and droppers. Watch the colors bubble and mix!
- Make Your Own Slime: Watch Flubber as a family and then make your own. Mix school glue, baking soda, and contact solution for the ultimate squish fest. Details here
- Sink or Float Test: Fill a tub and test different household items (spoon, sponge, LEGO, coin).
- Walking Water: Use cups, paper towels, and food coloring to make water “walk” and blend colors.
- DIY Lava Lamp: Mix oil, water, food coloring, and Alka-Seltzer in a bottle for groovy bubbling action.
Snack Ideas
- Edible Molecules: Marshmallows + toothpicks = build tasty atoms!
- Test Tube Parfaits: Layer yogurt and granola in clear cups or narrow jars
- “Petri Dish” Jello: Pour jello into shallow containers, then top with candy “germs” like nerd clusters.
- Ice cream in a bag: make ice cream in a ziplock and talk about states of matter.
Low Prep Idea
Use muffin tins or ice cube trays to separate ingredients for kids to mix. Let kids wear sunglasses, gloves, or paper badges to become “official scientists. Use what you have—lemon juice + baking soda + soap = fizzy fun with zero stress. For extra fun, make a “Lab Notebook” and have kids draw what happened after each experiment. For more idea and printables check out these posts.
Week Four: Water Week!
Get ready to make a splash—because Water Week is here! This theme is always a favorite, and for good reason. It’s refreshing, active, and guaranteed to cool things down on those hot summer days. Best of all? You don’t need a pool to make it fun.
Activities to Try
- Visit a local pool, water park, or aquatic center
- Invite a few friends over to have a water balloon or water gun fight
- Ice excavation: Freeze small toys or treasures in a large container of water overnight. Provide tools like spoons, salt, or spray bottles of warm water for kids to “rescue” the items.
- Water balloon bullseye: draw chalk targets on the driveway, kids toss water balloons and score points based on where they land.
- Sprinkler dance party: hook up a sprinkler or hose and play music. Add silly dance challenges like “freeze when the water stops” or “limbo under the spray”. When it comes to yard sprinkler fun I think it’s hard to beat this classic.
Snack Idea
Easy 3-Ingredient Real Fruit Popsicles
Ingredients:
- 2 cups fresh or frozen fruit (e.g. strawberries, mango, or blueberries)
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt or coconut milk (for creaminess)
- 1–2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup (optional, to taste)
Instructions:
- Blend all ingredients until smooth.
- Pour into popsicle molds (or paper cups with sticks).
- Freeze for 4–6 hours or until fully set.
- To release, run the mold under warm water for a few seconds.
Flavor Combos to Try:
- Strawberry + yogurt + honey
- Mango + coconut milk + lime juice
- Blueberry + yogurt + maple syrup
Low Prep Idea
End the week with a backyard car wash—but for bikes and scooters! Set up stations with soapy water, sponges, and a hose for rinsing. Not only is it fun, but your gear gets clean too!
Week Five: Craft Camp
Welcome to Craft Camp Week—where glue sticks, scissors, and imagination rule! 🎉
This week, we’re keeping it simple, colorful, and full of creativity. Each day brings a new easy-to-set-up project for your campers.
Your Craft Camp Schedule
Messy Masterpieces Monday
- Try this: squirt gun painting, sponge stamping, or sidewalk chalk murals
- Low-prep tip: Tape a shower curtain to the fence for a splatter painting station!
Textile Tuesday
Wearable art, here we come.
- Try this: Sharpie tie-dye with rubbing alcohol or decorate old socks into sock puppets
- Low-prep tip: Let them design camp “uniform” T-shirts
Clay Creations Wednesday
Sculpt, smush, and squish your way through the day.
- Try this: Make creatures or pinch pots with air-dry clay or homemade salt dough. This air dry clay has been a HUGE hit at our house keeping my kid busy for hours. Best $20 I’ve spent this summer!
- Low-prep tip: No clay? Mix 2 cups flour + 1 cup salt + ¾ cup water = DIY dough!
- Challenge: Challenge your campers to make an animal with an occupation and a tool (ie a frog that is a scientist with a microscope)
Recycled Art Thursday
Time to turn trash into treasure!
- Try this: cereal box houses, cardboard robots, or paper towel tube animals
- Low-prep tip: Challenge kids to create something using only the recycling bin
Freestyle Friday
Set up a “maker table” with everything leftover from the week.
- Try this: anything goes—bracelets, collages, puppets, popsicle stick towers
- Bonus: Host an “Art Show” at the end with lemonade and music! Zoom in Grandma & Grandpa to see the creations!
Week Six: Camping
Ready to bring the great outdoors to your own backyard (or even your living room)? Camping Week is all about nature, imagination, and unplugged fun. Whether you’re setting up a real tent or just draping blankets over the couch, the magic of camping is easy to recreate at home.
Activities to Try
- Go on a family walk or hike
- Visit a state park, local visitor center or even a national park to learn about your area
- Have them earn badges as they do things throughout the week like: fire safety badge, hiking badge, star gazing badge, orienteering etc. (check out the link below for free printable badges).
- Backyard Tent Campout – Pitch a tent or build a fort and let the kids “camp out” for the afternoon or even overnight. Bring flashlights, sleeping bags, and books!
- Nature Scavenger Hunt – Create a simple checklist of things to find outdoors (like a smooth rock, a leaf with jagged edges, or something that smells good).
- Campfire Story Circle – Gather around (real or pretend) and tell spooky or silly stories. You can even use a flashlight under the chin for dramatic effect.
- Bug Hunt & ID – Look for bugs in the yard and try to identify them. Bonus points for drawing them in a nature journal.
- Camp Crafts – Make pinecone animals, paint rocks, or create friendship bracelets just like at a real summer camp.
Snack Ideas
- S’mores Cones – Stuff waffle cones with mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and crushed graham crackers. Wrap in foil and warm on the grill or in the oven.
- Trail Mix Bar – Let kids build their own trail mix from a selection of nuts, cereal, dried fruit, and chocolate chips.
- Campfire Dogs – Roast hot dogs over a fire pit or use a stovetop if you’re indoors.
- Banana Boats – Slice a banana lengthwise (but don’t cut all the way through), stuff with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows, and bake or grill until melty.
Low Prep Idea
Don’t have a tent? No problem! Toss a sleeping bag on the lawn or build a living room campsite with blankets, pillows, and lanterns. Let kids decorate their own “camp” with paper signs, sticks, and stuffed animal wildlife. Throw on a crackling campfire video from YouTube and you’re all set! For more ideas check out these posts.
Week Seven: Medieval Times
Let’s throw it back around 1500 years to the Medieval time period! I’m talking dragons, knights, castles, renaissance, King Arthur- so many possibilities! Here are some ideas you can try with your kiddos:
Activities to Try:
- Let them build their own castle out of cardboard boxes or even a blanket fort- let them set up their fortress for the week! Check out this reel for inspo.
- Visit a Medieval Times type venue if you have one nearby. We recently went with my 12 year old and had a blast!
- Let them hatch their own Dragons and take care of them as their “pets” for the week.
- Watch a movie about that time period like A Kid in King Arthur’s Court
- Cut out some shields from poster board and let them decorate and design their own shield. Check out this reel for inspo.
- Storytelling and Theater: Share medieval legends, myths, and stories around a “campfire”. Try acting out scenes from medieval tales or even write your own short plays.
Snack Ideas
- Turkey Legs (Drumsticks) – Go medieval with chicken drumsticks or turkey legs—serve them up on a platter and eat with your hands for full effect!
- Goblets of Fruit – Serve fruit salad or juice in fancy cups or DIY goblets made from plastic cups and glitter glue.
- Mini Bread Bowls – Use small rolls hollowed out and filled with soup or dip, just like a feast in the great hall.
- Dragon Claws (Croissants) – Serve crescent rolls with jam or cheese inside—easy, tasty, and fun to name.
Low Prep Idea
Jousting Tournament – Use pool noodles for a safe and silly backyard joust. For more ideas check out these posts.
Week Eight: Glow Week!
Light up the night (or the living room) with Glow Week—a camp theme that feels like a party every day! With a little creativity and some glow-in-the-dark supplies, this week turns ordinary activities into something magical. It’s perfect for evening fun or indoor excitement when it’s too hot to play outside. Let’s end DIY summer camp in style!
Activities to Try:
- Glow Stick Dance Party – Crack some glow sticks, turn off the lights, and let the kids dance their hearts out to fun music. Bonus: Film it in slow-mo for hilarious results!
- Neon Painting – Use glow-in-the-dark or blacklight-reactive paints for fun art projects. Try painting rocks, paper, or even old t-shirts.
- Glow Bowling – Put glow sticks inside empty water bottles to make glowing pins. Use a ball to knock them down in the dark!
- Glow Games – Play classic games like ring toss, hide-and-seek, or hopscotch using glow sticks or tape that glows under blacklight. Check out this post for ideas.
- Glow Bath – Add glow sticks (sealed tightly) to a bubble bath or a large plastic bin for a safe and glowing sensory experience.
Snack Ideas
- Neon Jello Cups – Make brightly colored Jello in clear cups and top with whipped cream and sprinkles for a glowing treat.
- Glowing Lemonade – Tonic water glows under blacklight! Mix it with lemonade for a fun science-y drink (just warn kids about the slightly bitter taste).
- DIY Glo-Gurt Tubes – Freeze yogurt tubes and decorate them with neon stickers or glow-in-the-dark tape.
- Glow Popcorn Bags – Serve popcorn in paper bags decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars or markers.
Low Prep Idea
Flashlight Freeze Dance – Turn off the lights, play music, and have kids freeze when the flashlight shines on them. For more ideas check out these posts.
Wrapping Up Summer Camp at Home
Whether you’re splashing through Water Week, telling campfire tales during Camping Week, jousting in your backyard for Medieval Week, or dancing under the stars during Glow Week, the real magic of summer camp at home is the memories you create together.
You don’t need fancy supplies or a packed schedule—just a little imagination, a few simple ideas, and a willingness to get a little silly. So go ahead, lean into the theme (even if it’s just for an hour a day), and watch your kids light up with excitement. Here’s to a summer full of laughter, creativity, and connection—right from the comfort of home. You’ve got this, camp director!