Quick Summer Activities Kids Can Do on Their Own
Activity ideas children can do on their own when you need ten minutes
Sometimes you do not need an activity that fills the whole afternoon.
You just need ten minutes.
These are quick summer activities kids can do on their own when you need to cook dinner, answer a message, unload the dishwasher or drink a cup of tea before it goes cold.
This guide is full of low-effort ideas children can start with minimal help. The ideas are small on purpose. They are for those everyday moments when you need something your child can pick up quickly and stay with for a little while.
In this guide
- Set a quick “beat the timer” challenge
- Pick one ready-made activity
- Try calm colouring, doodling or pixel colouring
- Ask them to make you a quiz
- Make a cosy reading corner
- More activities kids can do on their own with Busy Things
1. Set a quick “beat the timer” challenge
A timer can make a very ordinary activity feel more exciting.
Set a timer for five or ten minutes and give them one clear challenge.
Try:
- build the tallest tower you can
- make the longest LEGO snake
- complete one puzzle page
- write as many animals as you can
- draw as many tiny faces as possible
- make a paper aeroplane and test it
- find ten things beginning with the same letter
- tidy one tiny area before the timer ends
- make a card tower
- create the weirdest creature from blocks or toys
For younger children, keep it simple: “Can you build a tower before the timer goes off?” or “Can you find five soft things?”
For older children, add a twist: “Can you beat your score?”, “Can you use exactly 20 pieces?” or “Can you make it funny?”
If timers make your child rush or panic, use something gentler instead, such as “until this song finishes” or “while I make lunch”.
Try it on Busy Things: You could set a quick Busy Things challenge too. Can they compose a tune on Music Grid, beat their score on a maths game, create a picture, finish a puzzle or try one quick quiz before the timer ends?
2. Pick one ready-made activity
When you only need ten minutes, this is not the time to invent something from scratch.
Choose one ready-made activity and keep the instruction very clear:
- “Do this page while I make lunch.”
- “Choose one puzzle from the pack.”
- “Pick one drawing idea and show me when I’m finished.”
Good ten-minute choices include:
- a colouring sheet
- a drawing prompt
- a maze
- a wordsearch
- a spot the difference
- a simple quiz
- a puzzle page
- a design-your-own activity
- a page from a printable activity pack
Printable packs are useful here because the thinking has already been done for you.
You might like…
- Free Summer Activity Pack
- Free Drawing Activity Pack
- Football World Cup Activity Pack
- Space Activity Pack
- Free Colouring Activity Pack
3. Try calm colouring, doodling or pixel colouring
Colouring, doodling and pixel colouring are useful when you need something quiet that does not take much explaining.
You could use a colouring sheet, a mindful colouring page, a blank piece of paper, a doodle prompt, Pixel Colouring on Busy Things or a printable colouring pack.
Give it one tiny focus:
- colour using only three colours
- fill a page with tiny patterns
- decorate your name
- design patterned socks
- doodle around a shape
- hide five stars in the picture
- make the border as detailed as possible
- make a pattern someone else can finish later
You could also use our free mindful colouring activities if you want something ready to print.
Try it on Busy Things: Pixel Colouring and the colouring activities on Busy Things are good calm, screen-based options that still feel creative.
4. Ask them to make you a quiz
This is a good one for children who like facts, jokes, animals, football, films or trying to catch you out.
Ask them to make a quick quiz for you to answer when you have finished your ten-minute job.
Keep it small:
- five questions
- three multiple-choice answers
- one bonus question
- an answer sheet
The quiz can be about anything: animals, football, space, books, films, family, food, dinosaurs, their favourite game, things in the room or completely silly facts they have invented.
Younger children could draw picture questions, such as:
- Which animal is this?
- Which fruit did I draw?
- Which toy is hiding?
- Which one is the odd one out?
Older children can make it trickier with multiple-choice answers, true or false questions or a final “impossible” question.
Try saying:
“Can you make me a five-question quiz for when I’ve finished this?”
That gives them a clear task and a reason to come back to you at the end.
Try it on Busy Things: Children could use Busy Publisher to make their own quiz sheet. Five questions, a topic they know about, and the chance to test you when your ten-minute job is done.
5. Make a cosy reading corner
If your child enjoys books, a cosy reading corner can work well for a short breather.
Choose a comfy spot and add a few books, comics, magazines or fact books.
You could add:
- a blanket
- cushions
- a favourite teddy
- a bookmark
- a torch
- an audiobook, if you use them
Give them one tiny focus if they need it:
- find the funniest page
- choose your favourite picture
- read to a teddy
- pick three books for later
- find a page you want to show me
- choose a book for bedtime
You’ve just made a calm little pocket of book time while you get something done.
For more ideas, see our guide on How to Encourage Children to Love Reading
Try it on Busy Things: Busy Things has plenty for children who enjoy stories, including book extracts from well-known children’s authors, traditional tale videos and books from the creator of Busy Things. They could choose one to read or watch in their cosy reading corner.
More quiet activity ideas
You might also like:
- Mindful Activities for Children
- Free Drawing Activity Pack
- 100 Fun Drawing Prompts for Children
- How to Encourage Children to Love Reading
Need more ready-to-go ideas this summer?
Busy Things is full of colourful, playful activities for children aged 3-11, including creative tools, puzzles, quizzes, printables, colouring activities and games.
For a limited time, families can get 2 months of Busy Things for the price of 1, giving you more ready-to-go options for quiet moments, rainy afternoons and those times when you just need ten minutes.
Busy Things works best on a tablet, laptop or desktop computer.
More Busy Summer guides
This post is part of Busy Summer, our collection of simple activity guides for real summer holiday moments.
Try another guide:
- “I’m bored!”
Boredom-busters for when everyone has run out of ideas. - “Are we nearly there?”
Travel activities for long journeys, waiting around and holiday downtime. - “What can I make?”
Making, drawing and craft ideas that do not need a huge set-up. - “The weather’s had other ideas”
Rainy day and heatwave ideas for when outdoor plans are off. - “Can you just play nicely for five minutes?”
Ideas to help children play together with a bit less refereeing.