At 4 years old, your child is finally starting to play more with other people than by themselves. More importantly, they will start talking about the things they like more actively.
There are a lot of fantastic milestones at this age, and summer is a great time to help them grow their interests and capabilities. I’ll help you find the top ten perfect summer activities for your 4 year old so that they can learn and play.
The best summer activities for 4 year olds are suitable for their development and provide an outlet for energy while also offering an age-appropriate challenge. Since 4 year olds are more sophisticated than their younger siblings, anything that lets them work with their hands is excellent. Tactile and colorful activities are great, but take things a step further.
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5 Summer Activities For 4 Year Old Girl
4 year old girls are ready to cruise around and explore their world more thoroughly than their young-toddler counterparts.
As pre-k students, they are learning to count and use lots of new words with their growing vocabularies, but they also appreciate the simple games and activities.
Here are 5 excellent summer activities for 4 year old girls:
1 – Kiddie Pool Bath
I recommend setting up a kiddie pool and bringing out the bath toys. You can put bubble bath solution in, too, if you like, but it’s not necessary.
Choose toys that help develop skills like identifying the alphabet. I recommend the Baby Loovi Foam Alphabet Bath Toy Set from Amazon for a summer of pool and splashing fun.
The animal and letter shapes are simple puzzles to fit together, and they help develop pre-reading skills and spatial awareness as she learns to spot the shapes that belong together.
- ✅ Foam bath letters (alphabet) - large size, light, comfortable and easy to attach. Just wet and stick! Child learns letters, colors, animals, makes up words, insert bath foam letters in the animal's puzzles.
- ✅ Fun bathing - foam bath letters it's when alphabet floats on the water and easily stick to plain surface when wet. Put floating bath toys into the water, stick it to the wall. It's so fun! Turn bath time into learning time: these foam letters will help your little one learn the alphabet, to spell, learn different colors and animals, and most importantly, have fun time.
- ✅ Big size bath foam letters and puzzles. Of course, it's a great gift idea - educational bath alphabet, foam letters! Bath letters set includes: 26 Letters (A-Z) - 2.13" x 0.4", 26 Animals -4.72" x 5.11".
- ✅ Fun & educational foam bath letters! These premium-quality foam bath toys stimulate your child’s senses, making bath-time an enjoyable experience. Bright and interesting preschool educational floating bath toys. There are not only foam letters over there, but foam puzzles too. It's certainly more effective for learning alphabet & animals. Not to mention how fun and interesting it is while you bathe your baby.
Last update on 2024-04-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
2 – Make Giant Bubbles
All bubbles are fantastic for summer fun. Kids of various ages appreciate them. You can always opt for little bubble wands or even bubble guns that put out thousands.
However, if you want to wow your four-year-old, I suggest making bubbles bigger than she is with a giant bubble wand and a tub of bubble solution.
Chasing tiny bubbles is nothing compared to watching one you could stand inside float around the yard.
3 – Kinetic Sand
Beach sand can be polluted or have living creatures inside. Plus, it’s tough to clean up. Skip the mess and try out a sand table with kinetic sand instead.
You can squeeze and mold it, though it falls apart slowly once the pressure is gone.
Kinetic sand comes in tons of fun colors, and it has a fascinating texture. Best of all, when you’re done, you can clean up by pressing the sand together and using it to pick up any stray bits that have fallen or become separated.
4 – Fly A Kite
If you have wind, then it’s a perfect day to fly a kite. Sometimes the classic activities are the best, and kite flying is always worth the time.
It takes a little practice and effort to get everything airborne. Luckily, keeping it there is reasonably straightforward once the kite is in the air, even for little hands.
Kites come in so many exciting and colorful designs that it’s easy to find one for any little girl, regardless of what she loves the most.
Holding on to the string helps with hand strength and agility, which is a fantastic way to build skill and get some sunshine this summer.
5 – Go To The Zoo or Petting Zoo
Animals are always a hit with kids. Even the most skittish children can appreciate animals from a distance.
For the more adventurous little girls, a pony ride or feeding a giraffe can help foster a lifelong love of the natural world and an appreciation for wild animals.
5 Summer Activities For 4 Year Old Boy
Little boys are known for their wild energy. Although the same is true of girls generally, it’s still a great idea to set up summer activities for 4 year old boys that help them use some of that endless energy.
Here are 5 fun activities for a great summer day with your 4 year old boy:
1 – Sprinkler Toys
Whether it’s a hose or a splash pad, this is an excellent age for water play in the summertime. If you have a local pool, little ones can undoubtedly start to work on swimming if they haven’t had the opportunity yet.
A slip-and-slide is probably a little beyond this age group’s timing and coordination abilities, but you could give it a try. However, I suggest a sprinkler-style toy for running around and getting wet outside when it’s hot.
The Anpro Giant Shark Sprinkler for Kids from Amazon is a hilarious way for your little boy to stay cool this summer.
The giant shark mouth gives him a gentile shower-like sprinkler to run through, and you can move it around to water the lawn for an eco-friendly water play option.
- 🏊⛱️Upgraded Shark Sprinkler: We upgrade the base design, it helps to prevent shark arch from falling during use.
- 🏊⛱️Easy to Set Up: Fill up base of the sprinkler toy with water to create weight for stability, then quickly inflate both base and shark arch to nearly 6 feet. Plug it to a garden hose, turn on the faucet, let the fun begin!
- 🏊⛱️Kid-size Dimensions: Measures 51" x 31" x 68" to give kids plenty of space to splash around. It’s perfect for ages 3 and up kids to have endless water fun and enjoy the sun in your yard.
- 🏊⛱️Durable & Safe Material Sprinkler: Made of environmental material. Our sprinkler toy can promise your child's health will not be affected.
- 🏊⛱️Cool Backyard Water Toy: Anpro inflatable water sprinkler will be a hit at your next barbecue or garden party! This shark arch sprinkles water out like a mini waterfall, provides hours of good healthy outdoor water fun, nice sprinkler for kids.
Last update on 2024-04-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
2 – Get Muddy
Simple pleasures can be the most fun. Even if you don’t have a hose, anyone can make a mud puddle with a few buckets of water and some dirt.
Plus, mud is fantastic for making castles and mud pies. Set up an area in one part of the yard for your puddle, and in another spot, grab a large plastic tub to rinse off.
If you want to be extra with this activity, give your four-year-old boy some plastic digging toys. Alternately, he could have a mud rally with a few trucks.
Whatever toys you pick for the mud, make sure they’re plastic with no metal parts that will rust.
3 – Play Dough
Playdough is a great way to use your imagination and work little fingers. However, the downside to playing with it indoors is that it’s hard to get out of carpets.
The simple solution is to take it outside. Spread out a clean tarp and let your four-year-old make his playdough town. Or use a table for easy rolling-out and stamping play.
Kids love the Play-Doh Play ‘N Store Kids Play Table from Amazon. The textured top makes it easy to mold shapes, and there are lots of fun accessory toys, plus eight containers of different colored playdough.
Best of all, it’s easy to clean up because this table has storage for all the play tools when your child is done for the day.
- FUN TO PLAY, EASY TO STORE: This activity table is a great Play-Doh set for kids 3 years and up! Have a blast getting creative, then easily store all the pieces when the fun is done for the day
- LOTS OF COOL TOOLS TO SHARE: With more than 25 Play-Doh tools, kids can create basic shapes, fun animals, Play-Doh ice cream, or almost anything else they can imagine
- THEIR VERY OWN PLAY TABLE: Keep the Play-Doh fun off your tabletop as kids sit on the floor to explore and play. The 2 compartments on each side of the table hold all of the tools to keep everything in one place
- INCLUDES 8 PLAY-DOH COLORS: With 2 ounces of non-toxic Play-Doh compound in each of the 8 cans, there's plenty of color to cut, mold, shape, and squish
- CREATIVE FUN FOR ANY OCCASION: Birthdays, holidays, rainy days, and play dates just got better! This complete set is a great gift for kids who love arts and crafts like modeling clay
Last update on 2024-04-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
4 – Go On A Bug Hunt
You can take a magnifying glass, tweezers, and a jar or go all-natural with no tools for this great game. Hunting for bugs is a fantastic way for little ones to learn about being safe, what different insects do in nature and how to observe.
All you have to do is walk around and look closely at things. Flip big rocks and scope out the undersides of trees on your bug-finding adventure.
5 – Finger Paints
Summer is the perfect time to grab a few jars of finger paints and a roll of butcher paper. You can spread out on an outdoor table or roll out some paper on the lawn or porch for this easy creative activity.
Brushes are optional if you want them, but I strongly recommend keeping a few wet wipes around for those little fingers.
Let your 4 year old make a massive masterpiece or work together to create a scene.
Helpful Tips To Know About Summer Activities For 4 Year Olds
The best summer activities when you’re four are the ones that let you explore. Whether it’s checking out animals and insects, splashing in the water, or soaring the skies with a kite, it’s all about imagination and coordination.
Here are more helpful tips to know about summer activities for 4 year olds.
- A simple game of kickball or a folded paper airplane to throw is plenty to help stimulate your 4 year olds’ imagination. They absorb information so quickly at this age that it’s essential to take time for repetition to sharpen the skills and knowledge they already have—building on dexterity, vocabulary, sharing, and more will help when they reach school age.
- Choose activities or modify them based on what your child likes most. Some boys would rather ride a pony, and some girls want to play in the mud with their favorite plastic doll.
- Don’t worry about doing things ‘right’ at this stage. Letting your kids express themselves and try new things judgment-free will make their summer amazing no matter what you do.
Final Thoughts
At four, a lot of complex concepts are starting to solidify in your head. Ideas like last names, numbers, and taking turns are more comprehensible.
Every kid develops at their own pace. There’s no wrong time for playful skill development. Let your 4 year old show you and tell you about what they think is interesting even if you disagree.
They will have more fun if they know you are paying attention and participating, and it will be a happy, memorable summer for you both.