We’d love it if you spent every summer day with your kids here at the Rebounderz Trampoline Arena in Sunrise, but we know that expectation isn’t very realistic. We’ll be very happy seeing you just two or three times a week.

What to Do

You know that, sometimes, your children are going to have to stay home with you. After they’ve spent the school year having almost every minute of their day planned for them, this free time can be a little tough on them, and on you.

They want you to entertain them. You want them to entertain themselves. And, sometimes, you entertain each other. The latter is our favorite kind of time.

For those times when you just can’t make it down to see us, here are our ideas for some fun, summer-time activities.

Bug Hunts

You’d be surprised how many different kinds of bugs there are in your backyard. If you live in an area prone to snakes or gators, this might not be the best activity. But if you’ve got a safe, fenced-in space, a bug safari can be great fun. Send your kids out with jars, nets, hats, and notebooks. They can catch and catalog all kinds of critters. When they’re done, you can spend some time with them looking up the names of their prey and learning about the role they play in your garden’s ecosystem. If you get there in time, you can facilitate their safe release.

Chalk Art

A tried-and-true standby, we still love chalk art. As a matter of fact, we sometimes have a hard time not joining in. There’s something about drawing all over the sidewalk or driveway that makes us feel, well, naughty. It feels like you are getting away with something. Thank goodness for chalk!

Backyard Campout

Have a backyard campout! Your kids can spend the afternoon planning their evening, setting up a tent, and gathering all of their supplies, like flashlights, snacks, pillows and walkie talkies. You’ll just have to do a run-through before the campers head out to make sure they’ve actually got everything they need. Make sure you’ve got one of those walkie talkies too!

Have your kids leave their electronics in the house for their campout. Let them tell each other ghost stories and spend time stargazing.

Dance Party

We love a good dance party! This week, you can have an 80s dance party, and next week, it can be all about the 50’s. Kids love Elvis! Just turn on the music and they’re off and dancing. Maybe if you host the neighborhood kids in a dance party, your neighbors will return the favor. You could even end up with a day all to yourself. We know you love your kids. Wanting a day to yourself does not make you a bad parent. Trust us.

Paper Airplanes

Do you remember making paper airplanes when you were a kid? We do! We remember spending hours with the other neighborhood children trying to get the design just right, depending on whether we were trying to achieve speed or distance. We’d tweak each design just a little bit to see what happened. An added bonus is that your kids will be learning scientific principles, and they won’t even know it.

Board Games

This is another thing we remember from long summer days. Games of Monopoly would last for hours and get ultra-competitive. At the end of the day, play a family game of Yahtzee. That’s fun for everyone, and it helps the little ones learn some math skills.

Read a Book

Kids who don’t read for enjoyment are missing out on a special experience. Encourage your child to read by starting with short stories or graphic novels. Better yet, read with them. Let them read a page, and then read a page to them. You’ll be surprised how much fun you have.

Have a great summer. We’ll see you here at Rebounderz in Sunrise tomorrow! Or maybe the day after that.