Summer Activities for the bigger kids

I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like a cruise director around my house.  The kids are always looking to me to help them beat their boredom.   My kids are difficult ages (13, 10, 6) and what one of them likes, the other two probably won't or vice versa.    I've been keeping my eyes peeled for ideas on pinterest for older kids.  There are lots of tips and tricks on keeping toddlers busy, but not very many activities for older kids. Here are a few we have tried that have been successful. Water Balloon Target Practice motherhood on a dime I filled up a bucket full of water balloons for the kids

Drew a target on the driveway

gathered some neighborhood kids

and took fire

SPLAT!

A successful game for all of the kids

Laser Obstacle Course

Nerf wars are a favorite activity in our house. This time, we added green paper targets and I weaved string through the upstairs to set a laser obstacle course.

Even the dog got in on the action!

It was a great family activity that kept us all busy and having fun together for hours!

Cloud Dough
juggling with kids You can call it cloud dough or moon sand, but whatever you want to call it, it's a wonderful sensory activity for kids.  And thankfully, I had all of the supplies on hand, so we whipped some cloud dough up one afternoon. You will need: 8 cups of flour 1 cup of baby oil large rubbermaid tub

I let the kids measure and pour the ingredients and then mix them all together

It was a lot of messy outdoor fun

And while, it looks like my youngest son is the only one enjoying this, the whole neighborhood had a great time playing with the cloud dough when we brought it out to the front.  Kids from age 2 to teenagers, had their hands in the dough enjoying the crazy texture.

What have your kids been doing to stay busy this summer? Got any ideas to share with me?