It’s the dog days of summer, back to school, and gearing up for maybe getting out of town for Labor Day Weekend! With so much going on, it’s easy to find new things to do at home every day with kids, whether it’s getting ready for school with lunches your kids will actually eat or celebrating National S’Mores Day on August 10.
So any day this month, just check this list, and you’ll find the perfect thing to do with your kids each and every day! For more ideas for fun summer activities, check out our Ultimate Summer Vacation Guide.
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These don’t have to be done on any specific day! But in case you want to, here’s something to do every day in August.
Free Games and Activities for Each Day in August
August 1 – World Wide Web Day
Kick off the month with an activity your child will love - going online! Today is all about celebrating the positive things about the internet, so check out our list of 100 Great Websites for Kids, and discover a stealthily educational and age-appropriate website, like Seussville or Poptropica.
August 2 – National Coloring Book Day
National Coloring Book Day is a great day to pull out those crayons and spend a quiet afternoon coloring together. Out of blank coloring pages? We’ve rounded up awesome Free Coloring Pages for Kids to Download, and you can collate them into your own homemade coloring book!
Get those hands dirty when you go outside and play.
August 3 – National Play Outside Day (first Saturday of the month)
Looking for a new game to play outside? We’ve got you covered with our list of 30 Outdoor Activities in Nature for Kids.
August 4 – International Friendship Day (first Sunday)
Taylor Swift has made sure there’s not a more popular way of showing your friendship than making a friendship bracelet. We’ve got two methods for kids that are super easy: Recycled T-Shirt Friendship Bracelets or Easy Finger Crochet Friendship Bracelets.
August 5 – Get ready for Back-to-School
Whether you just started back or have a few more precious weeks of summer, the start of school is on everyone’s mind, and today’s a good day to do a little planning. In our Back-to-School Guide, you’ll find everything from school jokes for kids to 100 fun lunch ideas.
August 6 – National Night Out Day (first Tuesday)
All across the country, police departments host National Night Out on the first Tuesday of August. Events vary, but all encourage kids to develop a familiarity and comfort with law enforcement officers. Check your local calendar and find an event near you to go to!
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August 7 – National Sea Serpent Day
Watch a movie together starring a sea serpent or other sea creature! Some of our favorite sea creature movies for kids include:
- The Sea Beast
- Luca
- The Little Mermaid (Ursula is the ultimate sea monster, and her sea eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, are definitely sea serpent-adjacent!)
- Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Cuddle a kitten for International Cat Day! Photo by Trevor Leyenhorst via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
August 8 – International Cat Day
Cuddle your kitten! Or seek out an animal shelter and visit the cats there. For an at-home activity, check out our favorite cat and animal memes, and then try your hand at creating one of your own together.
August 9 – National Book Lovers Day
Spend some quality time reading together! We’ve got so many great book suggestions, from banned books to bedtime stories, for all ages and interests in our Guide To The Best Kids' Books.
August 10 – National S'mores Day
Don’t settle for regular s’mores; make a whole project out of making a solar oven for baking s'mores outdoors. (Bonus, no fires required!)
August 11 – Perseid Meteor Shower peak
Take a nap this afternoon and then stay up to see this meteor shower, which is one of the best shooting star displays of the year. Here’s what it is and when to see it!
August 12 – World Elephant Day
Celebrate this awesome animal with a fun elephant craft! Here are three, easy favorites you can make with things hanging around your house:
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- Paper plate elephants (This post actually has 20 cool elephant craft ideas, but the easiest for littles is the paper plate pachyderm, scroll down to find it!)
- Toilet paper roll elephants
- Hand-print elephants
Get wet! It's hot and water games are a fun way to keep cool. Photo by Rose Gordon Sala
August 13 – Keep cool with backyard water games
From a simple water balloon toss to fancier DIY fun like sprinkler Twister, these water games for kids are sure to please all ages.
August 14 – National Creamsicle Day
Make your own creamsicle drink at home to cool off! This taste-alike Orange Julius recipe from Neighbor Food Blog is easy and delicious and contains no raw eggs (which many recipes include).
We also have some other secret recipes, from Disney's Dole Whip to Ikea Meatballs.
August 15 – Go camping without leaving your house
A backyard camping trip is a perfect activity for the whole family, and we’ve got tips to make it easy and fun.
August 16 National Tell a Joke Day
It’s Tell a Joke Day! We’ve got a whole guide filled with (clean) jokes for kids that leave them roaring, from Dad jokes to knock knock jokes and more. Have everyone find 4-5 favorite jokes and put on a family stand-up show!
August 17 – Balloon Airmail Day
This is one of those crazy, but fascinating, days! The first time an attempt to carry mail by balloon was approved by the USPS took place on August 17, 1859.
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In honor of the anniversary, write a secret message and send it off in a helium balloon! If the idea of sending a plastic balloon off into the environment doesn’t sit well with you, a message in a bottle achieves the same spirit!
August 18 – Have/plan a sleepover
Before it’s time to go back to school, have a sleepover! We’ve got games and snacks to plan the perfect overnight party. (If you’ve already gone back to school, spend today planning one for next weekend!
August 19 – Full moon
Tonight is a full moon! Go outside and howl at the moon, then tuck kids into bed with a not-so-spooky ghost story.
Have a lemonade stand, and donate the money to a favorite cause. Photo by Elvert Barnes Photography via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
August 20 – National Lemonade Day
It’s National Lemonade Day, and you know what they say. Whatever life hands you, make some delicious lemonade. We’ve got a recipe for Watermelon Lemonade that’s particularly refreshing.
August 21 – National Spumoni Day
Have you had Spumoni? It’s really fun for kids to make, as all you have to do is get pink, green, and chocolate ice cream, melt it, and refreeze it in a loaf pan. Make some to enjoy for dessert tonight.
August 22 – National Tooth Fairy Day
Chances are, if you have young kids at home, you’re either in the middle of the Tooth Fairy years or anticipating them! Get ready for the Tooth Fairy’s next visit by making a Tooth Fairy Door or Tooth Fairy Box.
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August 23 – Use your summer’s seashell collection to make seashell crafts
We’ve got 15 easy summery seashell craft ideas for kids.
August 24 – National Waffle Day
Anyone can have waffles for breakfast, but for National Waffle Day, make a whole waffle board for dinner.
August 25 – National Secondhand Wardrobe Day
Pick an item or an entire outfit something from someone else, and have a fashion show at night. You can also clean out everyone’s closets and get ready to donate all the items kids have outgrown this year to be someone else’s new secondhand wardrobe.
August 26 – National Cherry Popsicle Day
Make some cherry juice Popsicles. We’ve got some other favorite Popsicle recipes, too.
August 27 – National Banana Lovers Day
For your little banana lover, make these Banana Chip Oatmeal Bites. They’re perfect for breakfast, snacks, and school lunches.
Can you hold a bubble in your hand without popping it? Photo courtesy of Mommy Poppins
August 28 – Do some backyard science
End-of-summer meets back-to-school is the perfect time to indulge in some backyard science experiments.
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August 29 – Bubble party or bubble gun fight
Before summer ends, indulge in a massive bubble gun fight or bubble party.
August 30 – National Beach Day
Make your Bikini Box to get ready for a Labor Day weekend beach outing. (Here’s a list of all the items you’ll need to make the box.)
August 31 – National Eat Outside Day
Whether it’s bagels at the playground, a picnic at the park, or grilling and eating dinner in the backyard or balcony, eat outside today. If all else fails, go out for an ice cream cone, and celebrate the last day of August.
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