If you’re a parent, you know the summertime involves two words: school’s out. And while having the kids home for the summer is definitely nice, it can be really hard to juggle work and family time. Coming up with kid-friendly activities to keep your little ones entertained at home isn’t all that easy. But if you play your cards right, not only will you make the most of summer with your little ones, but you’ll probably end up missing that quality time when they go back to school.

So, if you don’t want your kid to spend all day on your tablet, here are some kid-friendly activities for them to do to fill up their time:

Create and Arts and Crafts Corner

When you need a break, you can easily keep your child distracted with an arts and crafts corner. That way, while they’re hard at play, you can tend to whatever you need to do around the house. For example, here are some activities they can do while in their new creative space:

• Collage making
• Clay modeling
• Paper maché
• Origami
• Fabric painting
• Stamping
• Puppet making
• Rock painting
• Sticker art
• Foam crafts

The key is to have a variety of activities available. Make sure to stock up on supplies like paints, markers, construction paper, and glue. Avoid smaller items like beads, buttons, or pom-poms, which can be a choking hazard.

Pro Tip: For younger children, pick activities that don’t require adult supervision so if you need to step away, you have peace of mind knowing they’re safe when you aren’t around.

Make a Sandbox

Parents of little ones know all too well how hard it can be to get them to leave the sandbox. If your kid loves playing in the sand at school, you could recreate that experience for them in your backyard. All you have to do is grab a frame to hold the sand, then pour in some clean, non-toxic play sand to fill it up.

Pro Tip: If your backyard is overrun with foliage, put down some geotextile fabric before adding your sand to keep any itchy weeds from growing through the frame.

Join a Virtual Field Trip

Do you remember how excited you used to be before an upcoming school field trip? Now, you can bring some of that excitement to your home via virtual field trips to museums, zoos, or historical sites.

Depending on the experience you pick, your little one can visit places like the San Diego Zoo, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and even the Great Wall of China! Plus, many companies offer really cool activities for kids to discover without ever having to leave the house.

If you have young kids, a guided tour by a helpful instructor can keep them entertained and teach them some fun facts about the exhibits. Or, if your children are older, they can try a self-guided tour to learn about their favorite places at their own pace.

Set Up an Outdoor Theater

Most children have no problem sitting for a couple of hours to watch a movie. So, if you need to keep them busy while you tend to other things, an outdoor movie theater is just what you need. This can be the perfect opportunity to introduce some of your childhood favorites to your kids.

The best part about setting up an outdoor theater is that you don’t have to stick to movies. You can do everything with a white sheet and a projector, from performing a shadow puppet show to orchestrating a karaoke party.