Ten Summer Activities That Support Your Child's Development

The American Occupational Therapy Association (2020) states, “Occupations have the capacity to support or promote other occupations. For example, children engage in play to develop the performance skills that later facilitate engagement in leisure and work.” Summer is the perfect time for children to grow and learn through play! Many everyday summer activities naturally support developmental skills. Here are some fun, meaningful  ideas to help children build important skills through purposeful play:

1. Sidewalk Chalk 

• Supports: fine motor coordination, hand strength, visual attention, handwriting  grasp 

• Ideas: hopscotch, tic-tac-toe, practice shapes/letters/numbers 

2. Sprinkler Play 

• Supports: tactile and proprioceptive input, coordination, endurance • Ideas: sprinkler obstacle course, jump over water streams, red light/green light

3. Picnic Packing

• Supports: fine motor skills, executive functioning, bilateral coordination, ADL  independence  

• Ideas: make sandwiches, chop fruit, pack snacks in ziplock bags or to-go containers

4. Playground Activities 

• Supports: vestibular, proprioceptive, and tactile input, body strength and  coordination, social skills  

• Ideas: swinging, monkey bars, ladder climbing, slides, playing with a friend 

5. Swimming 

• Supports: core strength, endurance, sensory regulation  

• Ideas: swimming races, floating challenges, retrieve toys from various depths

6. Bubble Play 

• Supports: hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, visual tracking, sensory  regulation, oral-motor skills 

• Ideas: pop bubbles with index finger, blow bubbles of various sizes, blow bubbles in 

different directions.

7. Scooter or Bike Riding  

• Supports: balance, coordination, core strength, endurance 

• Ideas: riding over chalk lines, obstacle course with cones/chalk lines, riding to landmarks/targets  

8. Car Wash 

• Supports: upper extremity and hand strength, endurance, tactile and proprioceptive  input

• Ideas: utilize a car wash checklist, wash/rinse/dry buckets

9. Sand Box 

• Supports: sensory exploration, tactile input, bilateral coordination, fine motor skills • Ideas: treasure hunt, sandcastles, sand kitchen

10. Nature Scavenger Hunt 

• Supports: sensory exploration, tactile input, visual scanning 

• Ideas: picture checklist, sort items by color/texture/category, make a craft with items

Resources:

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice  framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy,  74(Suppl. 2), 7412410010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001 https://dsamn.org/about-us/blog/5-fun-ot-activities-to-fill-your-summer https://azopt.net/summer-activities-to-promote-child-development/