School’s out and summer’s in session. Whether you’re home-schooled or take the bus to get there, summer time is the best time for a break. And the moment you hear that bell ding-a-ling, it’s the sweetest sound you’ve ever heard. No more Mr. Williams telling you to do your math homework, say good bye to Eugenia the lunch lady. Summer sun, glistening beach, oh how you’ve been missed!!

You’ve been waiting for this day since forever, and you must have probably already made a list, a mental one if not written in colored sparkly pens. Chores can take a back seat for a while. The beach is where you need to be. It’s time to cool off and relax. Family time, and outings with friends, it’s just what the doctor ordered. And I’ll bet he’s enjoying the summer sun too.

But once you are at the beach, what do you do there? There’s an endless possibility. Things you could do alone, with family, or your friends. So if you haven’t yet made up your mind, but you know you want to go to the beach this summer, here’s some fun you could try under the sun, or while it sets depending on the time you visit the beach.

Beach Games and Activities For Kids

1. Build a Sundial

If you’ve forgotten your watch, this is the best thing to try at the beach. Look around for some light drift wood, pebbles or shells and an open spot for your little project. Place the wood firmly in the sand in a vertical position, you could dig a hole and secure it with some sand. Place twelve or four pebbles or shells in place of the clock digit. Based on the time you left home, you can figure out the approximate time it is now.

2. Musical Towels

Little children will love this one! You’ll need beach towels depending on the number of participants plus one extra. Now just follow the rules of musical chairs. This is a great way to pump up the excitement and enjoy time with the family at the beach.

3. Beach Reading

That novel you borrowed from Kim, it’s not going to read itself now, is it? If you intend to chill at the beach work on your tan, well then you could total bring a book too. Light reading material like magazines will suffice too.

4. Beach Tent

Get your survival mode on. Look around the beach for light branches or sticks that could serve as poles. Or you could bring some from home. Make sure they’re strong enough to hold the weight of a bed sheet. Place the makeshift tent poles in the sand so that they stand upright. Make sure they remain upright. Drape the sheet over the top and secure the ends around the poles so that your sheet doesn’t fly off. There! You now have shade from the sun. It could also serve as the perfect beach play pen for little kids.

5. Bonfires

Beaches that allow bonfire parties are more suitable for this. Just like camp you could roast marshmallows and make s’mores. Singing songs around the fire, telling ghost stories, a little game of tag, and the list goes on.

6. Picnics

There’s something about the beach and picnics. It must be the splashing around in the sea or that running about the sand that works up a good appetite. Tasty treats from home are great to relish by the beach. Get the whole family in on it, the more the merrier. Also make sure you think up some games to make sure the fun never ends.

7. Writing in the Sand

Set free the artistic person in you. Work on dry and wet sand to see different textured patterns. Apart from writing your name in the sand, try drawing a few things like squiggly lines to frame your name, a map to your spot on the beach, you could also add some sea shells to your drawings. Or, you could play some endless tic-tac-toe with a friend. You could leave little messages in the sand, like “This spot is occupied.”

8. Treasure Hunts

This will need some advanced planning. Invite your friends and family to the beach. Prepare a list of clues so that they can find some treasure on the beach. Be creative with the items they’ll need to collect. You may need to visit the beach beforehand to get a good idea of what can be found easily and not so easily on the beach.

9. Sandcastles

How can you resist building sand castles? That sand’s been put there for one reason and one reason only! So that you can enjoy it! So pretend to be a princess or king. There’s no wrong way when it comes to building sandcastles and if you don’t have as much fun building it up, you just might while tearing it down.

10. Beach Well/ Pond

Get ready to do some digging! You may need a spade or shovel and beach buckets. In a circle, build a little retaining wall with sand and water. Make it thick and strong so that it will be able to hold water in the center.

11. Swimming

Going to the beach without actually getting into the water will leave your trip incomplete. If you haven’t learnt how to swim, this is your chance. Get a parent or a friend who knows what they’re doing to help you out. Don’t try this if do not know how to swim. Safety at the beach should not be ignored.

12. Boardwalk Fun

Pick a beach that has a boardwalk with all kinds of games and thrilling rides. You could spend the entire day here trying out all the games, foods, candies and rides. It’s a good form of entertainment while at the beach. Sometimes local concerts may be hosted here in the evenings.

13. Pick Interesting Things

All kinds of interesting things wash up on the shore. Keep an eye out you may find something totally unique. Pick up shells you can use them in arts and crafts like wind chimes and photo frames.

14. Practice Your Skipping

If you’ve always had trouble jumping rope at home the best place to practice is the beach. The sand will cushion your fall should you trip or lose balance. So go ahead skip like no one’s watching. You could even practice a few skipping trick if your heart’s in it.

15. Go on a Beach Safari

There is a diversity of living things on the beach apart from the people of course! There are all kinds of little critters hiding in the sand and water. You don’t have to go deep in. Just keep your eyes open. Take a camera with you to photograph your findings. You could also go sightseeing on the water if that’s available at your beach. You could see dolphins, sea turtles and maybe even a whale?

16. Beach Football / Volleyball

If you manage to grab a couple of friends and go to the beach, football and volleyball are exciting activities you could try if you haven’t before. If you’re out with family you could play these games and have a merry time while at the seashore.

17. Pool at the Beach

This will work well with toddlers and little kids, parents want to keep an eye on and within close reach. Bring your little inflatable pool to the beach, blow it up and fill it with water from the ocean. Now the kids can safely cool off at the beach.

18. Sandy Keepsakes

School might be out for summer, but that doesn’t mean the fun of arts and craft should come to an end. Collect sand, but pick out all the shells, pebbles, leaves from it. Bear in mind you’ll need dry sand for this. You could add color to this at home or bring it to the beach with some other supplies like a pencil, glue, scissors and old cardboard. Cut out shapes and patterns on your cardboard and cover them in glue. Gently pour sand over your shapes and dust the excess off.

19. Makeshift Board Games

To get a change in scene, you could make the board game base at home on cloth. Like for chess you can color in white or black squares on a piece of cloth and voila! Ready chessboard, for the other pieces you can use different size or color rocks and pebbles.

20. Hiking

Some beaches have trails that allow you to go on hikes. So after you work up a sweat, you can cool off down by the beach.

21. Build Your Own Game

Make a little sand mountain with a hole in it, preferably the side facing you. Make a path that will lead to your mountain. You’ll also need a ball. To play, roll or toss the ball and try to get it into the hole. Use different distances to challenge the players.

Most of all, try to have fun when you arrive at the beach. And, don’t forget to take pictures. How else will you show your friends and classmates the amazing summer you’ve had at the beach?